Hair 'Rats' and Padding

Items used:

Padding

Boddy Pins

Hair pins (large and thin)

Crimp/curlers/straighteners- Heat appliances 

Sectioning Comb

Paddle Brush

Hair padding is an essential thing to know when styling hair. In the Elizabethan era especially. So looking at padding and rats was something I needed to learn. To add volume without using lots of back combing, padding can be used. We used a scrunch of couch roll bunched up with tights tied over the top. This creates a good base and something which is easily bendable to work around each model.

Usually the section would start at the top of the crown of the models head. Here I've made a 2 inch decorative piece to go ontop of the padding. To pad the hair; section the hair into a cross shape at the front of the hair, this will give each side an even split. Padding is secured first using a running down the back of where the padding will be placed with a section of a small French braid. This is going downwards away from the crown of the head and ending with a thin plat completed at the end of the hair. This is then folded onto itself ensuring that the clips can securely go onto this attaching the padding. You then use padding (today I used couch roll with tights attached around the couch roll secured) this is bendable to be flexible with your designs. Place this in front of your braid and start to secure the padding with pins, poke a hole through the tights and underneath to pin onto the french plat we made to secure the hair. 

It's a more secure way for the hair to not fall out. In my photos I show quite a height with my padding as I used a lot of hair over the top so it became further down the head. To secure the hair underneath it looks neatest if you roll the hair under itself to get a smooth non messy effect. 

I developed my padding this week whilst working on a real person this time. I wanted the shape to be more heart shaped so I move the padding to be further apart from each other on both sides. 

The back did look messy here as I didn't use the rolling technique to hold the hair in place. 

Next time I will use the rolling technique.

This time I put the whole hair up. I used pin curls at the front and the rolling technique at the back with a bun.

I like the way the crimping shows through on top of the padding, it gives it a more decorative feel.

I'm pleased with this outcome as it looks a lot neater and to me more Elizabethan with the heart shaped front. I found padding is something you have to get used to over time to ensure its neat and tidy. I liked the effect the pin curls at the front made and for a final design I'm collecting ideas which could be included with these techniques.