My grandmother who is from Greece knows how to do this style!! She wore it in a childhood picture of hers and I asked her how she did it and she showed me. It's almost exactly like this
These tutorials are completely captivating. Since I have discovered them, whenever I am in a museum, and I see any statue, I always try to see how the hair is done. It came to the point that when my boyfriend notices some exceptional hairdo, he drags me to show it;)
Janet Stephens Dear Janet, I love Antiquity and I find it absolutely fantastic that your work helps to make these times so close to us living 2000 years later. It makes me also “lead“ my own little research. I’ m afraid, I am not very skilled with a comb so I will stay with enlarging my collection of coiffures. Now even men ’ heads do not seem so obvious. Thanks :)
If you are doing this all by yourself, USE ELASTICS for your ponytails and braid minders, as sussed by szbyzan below. For braid panels and "attaching", use thread/yarn thick enough to easily distinguish from your natural hair (and/or use a very different color). When you are ready to take the style down, tug on the sewn portions until you can isolate a thread. CAREFULLY snip it without cutting your natural hair, then tug again, snip again. Pull out the yarn fragments. Cheers! J
As an archaeology student (specializing in the Mediterranean archaeology) and a former hairdresser I absolutely LOVE this! I've been practising updos and all that lately, but I always had a love for historical hairstyles, only I never knew how to do it. Thank you so much! I will try this immediatly!
Somehow in my pan-curiosity I stumbled across this video, and this genre of re-creative endeavor. So glad that talented people such as yourself have the drive to do this and the generosity to share it! Revelatory. Thank you so much. It's awesome.
Most bronze/iron age examples that aren't Greek/Roman come from bog bodies in Ireland and Scandinavia, but it was primarily twisted buns using a hair stick to hold. Another historical hair artist Silvousplaits (she primarily does TV shows, hence why I'm not calling her an archaeologist) has made tutorials on how to recreate their hairstyles using period tools.
Thank you for this very consise video, Miss Stephens! Sectioning the hair lends itself wonderfully to experimentation with braids and twists. Miss Franklin has a beautiful head of healthy hair and the styles look lovely on her.
I just wanted to thank you for your videos. I’m in a bad flare right now and I feel like my skin is on fire every time I move, and having something both calming and engrossing to watch is really helping. Thanks!
Thank you so much LD, your opinion means a lot to me. I finally upgraded my old computer and can do more sophisticated editing. My plan is to replace many of the older videos with better, live versions (and create completely new ones, of course!). All the best, J
This is beautiful work! Thank you so much for sharing. You should know that the coin inscription "SAECVLI FELICIT" is abbreviated from "Saeculi felicitas" and means something like "prosperity and fruifulness of the age." The original and literal meaning of "felicitas" (noun) is fertility and fruitfulness, then by extension, good fortune, good luck, happiness. prosperity etc. So the coin was issued apparently to celebrate the birth of one set of twins.
It's like watching the Discovery Channel, only for hair and on RU-vid....and I don't bore after one show! Your job must be very interesting. Do you specialize in any time period for hair recreations? If only the Romans had any styles for fine, straight hair like mine. Civilization just doesn't seem to talk about we fine haired girls. What styles did WE wear?
KateandZena I’m curious too. I suspect that although lots of hairstyles were possible with a thick set of hair, there must have been a lot of hair rats and hair pieces to recreate the illusion for those who are not similarly blessed EDIT wow I did not realize your comment was from 7 years ago. I keep forgetting RU-vid has been around more than a couple years now
Use dirty hair, dry shampoo, crimp at base then tease and don't be afraid to supplement with hair rats or extensions! It's really fun to experiment! I've got similar hair and these tips helped me out a lot!
I'm absolutely blown away, I binged pretty much all your videos and the sewing technique is blowing my mind. It makes so much sense to tie and secure hair that way and seems more practical and secure than hair ties and bobby pins. I love doing people's hair and I will absolutely try sewing rather than pinning now! It's almost a shame you're the only one demonstrating hair styles using this technique.
I ACTUALLY HAVE HAIR LONG ENOUGH TO DO THIS!! i want to try the first one but it might be difficult to do on yourself. *shrug* might as well try. oh btw i love how you actually have refrences and everything for this.
Janet, I somehow missed this one, but I came back to watch after you began to speak about it today! This is so beautiful. The model is absolutely perfect for it too. Its amazing what you can do with a needle and thread in hair!
Well I've fallen in love with your videos. I found you by watching a documentary on "Mystery of Murdered Saints"..I looked up "Vestel virgin' and found your name on wikipedia, stating you had re-created their hairstyles authentically. I'm so glad you made videos on this as I am and have always been in love with braiding...I even did it professionally for a time. I think what you have done is amazing!
Wow!! Absolutely fascinating! I had no idea about how the ancient hairdos were done, but was always intrigued. You've made it into a wonderful revival! Thank you!
pufff, a long of time ago I needed this channel !!!!!!! exactly the content that i was looking for, thanks ofr doing it, and if you do a book, tell us!!!
I've never been more jealous of ladies with long hair able to be styled in such lovely styles! When young my hair was very fine & short, would not hold clips or accessories, any curls would fall out in less than half hour (even after sleeping in rollers overnight!), became oily during teen years & early 20's- never longer than top of shoulders- handy when I was in the Navy back then----after having my 4th child my hair matrix actually COMPLETELY changed & gradually started getting wavy, was still fine but became thicker then to my delight color changed from yucky dirty blonde to strawberry! Thanks to my grandmothers on both sides at 46 my hair has lovely curls that corkscrew often, grows middle of the back, changes color depending from dark blonde to copper, & I absolutely blush when total strangers come over & complement my curls & explain how thankful I am for their complement! Sidebar- my younger sister had VERY thick hair that mom could've definitely done this style to...made gorgeous Shirley Temple curls, etc etc which did not help my situation one bit with my fine, thin, oily, unstylable muddy stuff!! Thank you so much for your videos- huge history dork here so these are fabulous for me on several levels!!!
I am completely fascinated! Not even 4 minutes into this video yet...how interesting to know as a "hairdresser!" Many of my questions are being answered! I am so happy i found this video, so grateful you have shared this. I will be sharing this also!
Do you recommend not washing your hair a day (or two?) ahead of time before attempting these styles? Skipping a wash is common today before elaborate hairstyles, and the ancients certainly did not use daily shampoos that made their hair (unnaturally) silky...
I don't think it matters whether your hair is clean or dirty, but they are often easier when the hair is damp, it's more pliable. Romans were bathers, so the hair likely got wet pretty often, especially in summer! cheers, J
Wow, I was looking for channel like this for years! It's great, looking forward to some medival-european hairstyles (perhaps...I son't wanna push anyone) Thank you :)
As somebody who is making a graphic novel (for web) about certain ancient Roman emperors, I'm really impressed as well as helped by these videos. Maybe Ms. Stephens could do a clip about the hairstyles of male and female Gauls as captured in sculptures and coins?
I would love to meet you too but, I live and work in Baltimore Maryland! I travel to conventions, but I rarely get out of the salon otherwise. cheers, J
All your ancient world hairdos are amazing! I could watch them all day. :) I'm a Classicist myself, and have seen many of these busts. My first thought whenever I see them is always, "How did they get their hair like that?" (Partially because I keep my hair very long, and am always looking for new styles.) I'm so glad you're doing this work. :D
This is fascinating stuff. I read about your avocation in the WSJ and went immediately to your sites. I'm just a guy interested in learning new things, and this is perfect. You are to be commended.
I am so glad to see a model with even more hair than I do, mostly I look at the hair of people on videos and despair that mine could ever look like that.
Hi Janet, I am compeletly impressed by Your anchient hairdresses, esp the seni crines.. In Sep at the school of my daughter is the project week Romans. Now the girls in my dughters class want some updoes out of this time. How can I simplify your intricate hairstyles for beeing ready with ca. 12 girls in an hour?
These are such wonderful videos! I've been trying out some of them on my family, they have the right length and thickness, but really silky and straight hair... makes it just a little bit harder (I did the papillote curls on them; it was the first time I've managed to get curl to stay in!). have you considered doing any medieval styles? Also, where do you find the hair tools?
About 4 hours before a party I decided to try this style, by myself, with only Bobby pins, elastic and audacity. It's definitely nowhere near as neat as this video, but after 2 hours I have a passable hairdo for my toga party. Thank you!
Keely Smith Sorry so behind hand in responding, Keely. My favorite needles are called "Tatting needles", they are extra long, and have really rounded points. Wool needle point thread is getting harder to find since Paternayan bit the dust, but I hear a new company will be taking over their color list. cheers, J
Not difficult at all. just stretch the style a bit, find some thread and clip it. repeat until the style loosens up. then pick out the thread fragments. cheers, J
Just finding these! I’m thinking the thread looks more secure than pins. Lol. I would need several extensions to get this fullness in the braids. The model has such thick hair! Love the look! I think it would just about still be elegant on a night out. Is the rooster on the music track? Lol Also, 35 minutes??! I’d be braiding hours. Haha
I imagine it would have taken a lot longer than 35 minutes back in the day - with every strand of every braid combed right out to the end before braiding to get a perfect look and working much more slowly.
Love these tutorials. Thank you for the time and energy you develop into research and practicing these hairstyles to share them with us. If my hair was thick I would so try the first hairstyle of this tutorial.
Janet, I've just discovered your channel a few days ago. I hope you know that I am so inspired by the work you do. I honestly wish I could do these styles on my fine, short hair. Some of the stuff I can use.
She said it took 35 minutes from start to finish, how long does it take some women nowadays to blow dry their hair and then curl or straighten it? I think 35 minutes was doable in the morning, especially for wealthy women, right?
Every woman was different, just like now. Oil was likely used to condition or as extra weight if that was needed to control the hair. Hairstyles could have been left up for several days, redone every day (or partially redone) depending on the style and the desires of the individual wearer. cheers. J
Don't Despair! You can do any of these styles provided you have adequate length! I have some straight styles on the way! I specialize in ancient Roman, but I do other periods too, provided the styles don't require too much false hair. If you haven't already, check out my Renaissance hairstyle based on St Ursula. cheers, J
My hair is so thick and heavy that pins never hold more than a few minutes. I'm thinking that needle and thread maybe the answer for me. What does it take to undo these hair styles after?
Lovely video, although I could totally do without the hideous music. Now all I need is someone showing how to diy this. I wonder if using thread to make the bun hurts less than using a 1000 pins?
