Practising My Wash & Dry Hair Style

My chosen hair style for my Wash & Dry advert shoot is two dutch braids either side a middle parting. I wanted the hair to look almost wet, as if she had just come out of the poo and plaited her hair. I want the plaits to look very neat and sleek, complimenting her perfect, doll-like look. I considered making them a bit more messy to give a more realistic view of what the hair would look like if someone quickly did it by the side of the pool; however I want to create a fantasy and almost plastic looking image so I wanted everything to look neat and perfect.

Equipment:
-Hair gel
-Hair spray
-Pin tail comb
-Brush
-Hair elastics

Step by step:
1. Give the model a neat middle parting, all the way down to her neck, using a pin tail comb.
2. Apply gel all over the hair to give the hair a wet-look look.
3. Starting on one side first, put the front triangle of hair in to three even sections.
4. Do a normal plait, but cross the hair under each other three times.
5. Start doing a french plait, but instead of taking the hair over each time, take the hair under instead to create a more three dimensional look.
6. Continue this until you run out of hair to add into the plait and then finish it off with a normal plait.
7. Secure this with a small hair elastic the same colour as the model's hair.
8. Do the same on the other side of the middle parting.
9. Finish off my spraying hairspray all over the hair style to set it and smooth any fly aways.

I am really happy with how it came out because it looks very neat and even on both sides. I usually struggle with getting braids to look neat, however I think applying the gel on the hair first made it more manageable and smoother. I made sure to comb every section I used in the dutch braid to make sure it looked as smooth as possible. I found that the further I got into the hair style the more I understood about where it was easiest to hold the hair so I could keep each section separate and tight. I found it particularly important to keep the hair pulled tight around the neck as I think it is common for it to be slightly baggy there. When I do this look on my model I will ask her to lean her head slightly back to when her head is straight is is very tight and smooth to the head. I added the gel to the hair to give the hair a wet-look finish; however I found the gel dried and turned matte. I will therefore experiment with using a hair oil instead to keep the glossy finish for longer; I also think this will make it easier to manage and make smooth.