Introduction: How to Tease Your Hair Into a Easy Bouffant

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If you've followed me for a while, you may have picked up on the fact that I. Love. Retro. Fashion. I especially love the big, voluptuous hairstyles of the 50s and 60s called bouffants. What is a bouffant?

bouf·fant
bo͞oˈfänt/ adjective

1. (of a person's hair) styled so as to puff out in a rounded shape. "a blonde lady with bouffant hair"

noun

1. a bouffant hairstyle.

Read on to learn how to create a quick, easy, modern bouffant style for day or night!

Step 1: The Big Tease

Starting with dry hair, gather hair from the crown, at the top of your head toward the back. Hold the end of your hair in one hand straight up. With a bristle brush, gently brush backwards down the hair from ends toward your scalp to create a nest of hair. Start out slow to avoid creating impossible knots -- use hairspray if your hair is slippery and resists being teased.

Step 2: Get in There.

If you're not getting the volume that you want, you can also go back in with a comb and further tease the hair closest to the scalp. Avoid over-teasing the ends unless you're taking your bouffant into a beehive. If you're wearing your hair down, you want the ends loose so they can blend in with the rest of the finished style, as shown in the next step.

Step 3: Smooth It Out

With your bristle brush, lightly smooth out the teased area so the top of the hair is neat, with no sign of the chaos that lies beneath. :)

Use your fingers and some more hairspray to "mold" the hair at the crown into the shape that you want.

Step 4: Complete the Style

I was in the mood for a relaxed, low-effort look, so I finished the style with Paul Mitchell's Awapuhi Styling Oil, which has no hold but does magical, beautiful things especially to my overprocessed hair. It gives nice texture and wonderful conditioning, so it's a great product for everyday use.

Step 5: Take the Top Half, Twist It Under Itself, and Pin

And voila! You have a versatile, everyday bouffant with lots of volume and movement.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Instagram @KirikoKikuchi and/or email me at KirikoKikuchi@gmail.com if you want to talk hair, beauty, retro style, and anything in between!