How to Create a Puffy Bouffant

The puffy bouffant hairstyle made famous by elegant actresses of the 1960s as well as first lady Jackie Kennedy is making its comeback.Celebrities are sporting the hairdo at red carpet events and enticing the public to try to achieve its height and glamour. Create your own puffy bouffant at home for a formal occasion, retro party or elegant luncheon. Modify the instructions for a puffy bouffant to create a more casual look to top a ponytail or flip to wear with jeans and a figure-hugging sweater or miniskirt and boots.

Things You'll Need

• Fine-tooth comb
• Bobby pins
• Wire-bristle brush
• Hair spray

Instructions

1. Separate a section of hair at the crown of the head 4 inches wide. Clip down sections of hair at the sides and front of head and gather the crown section into one hand.

2. Lift the crown section of hair and use the fine-tooth comb to comb the section of hair on the back side, drawing the comb from the top of the shaft of the hair down to the root. This technique is called "back-combing." Back-comb the hair many times until that section lies like a raised nest of hair above the head. Spray the underside of the back-combed section with hair spray.

3. Pull the sides of the crown section to the back of the head and pin in place with bobby pins. Gently brush the top layer of the section with a wire-bristle brush to smooth it into the pinned sides. Fold the hair back to create the bouffant and tuck the ends under at the nape of the neck. Place bobby pins to secure the style. Spray with hair spray.

4. Gather the side sections and back-comb lightly. Wrap each section around the bouffant and secure with bobby pins.

5. Style bangs as desired. Spray the entire style with hair spray for extra security.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a smaller section at the crown of the head and back-comb lightly, leaving some hair in back loose, to create a modified and less puffy bouffant. Blend the less puffy bouffant on the top of the head into the hair in back and on the sides that you leave down or draw them into a ponytail.

• Back-combing and hair-spraying excessively can damage hair over time. If your hair is fine or brittle or breaks easily, consider wearing a bouffant wig instead of styling it yourself.

References

• UK Hairdressers: DIY Bouffant

Resources

• The Hair Archives