I love the casual-ness of a ponytail, but sometimes it just makes my hair look limp and like I didn’t spent more than 30 seconds fixing it. So here’s a great style that will add a little something extra to a fun summer ponytail.

Start by pulling the top third of your hair halfway up and secure with bobby pins to add a little volume at the crown.

Then pull the next third of your hair up. (If your hair is thick or very long you can divide it into more than 3 sections.)

And put this into a ponytail right underneath the section you pulled halfway up.

Then pull the bottom third of your hair up into a ponytail and combine with the ponytail you just made. Use a second hair-tie around it so the first ponytail doesn’t fall out.

Next, take a few pieces from the top of your combined ponytail and secure it underneath with a few bobby pins. Then let those pieces fall back to meet the rest of the ponytail. Smooth it out as needed.

All finished! Easy and casual.

Hope you have a great weekend! I sure am excited about a few things I have planned. (Going to start it off right with Saturday morning French Press and blueberry muffins.) Aren’t you glad it’s Friday?? xx

P.S. A few of you have been mentioning you are trying out the hairstyles…so excited to hear that! I’d love to see some pictures. Feel free to email me: yell@yellowelm.com, or post them on the Yellow Elm facebook page.

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My hair is a little bit too short and layered to do one of the super-fun topknots I see floating around on pinterest and the fashion blogs, so I created my own version, giving it a little twist to help it stay put. When in doubt, give it a twist…

I also gave mine a little extra poof at the top, because I didn’t want a super tightly pulled back look. I think that look is great on other people but it doesn’t work quite right with my face…one thing about hair is that you have to find your own way with it.

I started this with a little curling iron action

And some hairspray on the roots

First, pull up a chunk of hair from the very front of your head

After pushing it up just enough to add the right amount of poof, pin this front section down with a few bobby pins

Now pull the middle section of your hair up

Give it a twist and start to wrap it into a little bun

And secure with bobby pins

Now it will look like this in the back

Grab that last section and twist it up to meet the bun

Wrap around the bun as needed (this will vary depending on how long your hair is) and secure with bobby pins

All finished! I love how making a topknot this way is gentle on the face and a little bit loose, but super secure. It stayed put for me all day.

Here’s a much nicer picture of the back of my hair, hours later. You can even see I managed to change outfits without messing it up. How’s that for a winning style?

Happy Friday, friends! Have a lovely weekend. xx

Here’s another fun updo I tried in my hair…a messy and casual version of a french twist.

Start by pulling your hair halfway back and securing it with some bobby pins.

Next, pull a chunk of hair from each side of your head in to meet where you secured the other bobby pins, twisting as you go.

Secure with more bobby pins. If your hair is thick or really long, maybe try using a small butterfly clip.

Now twist up the remaining hair. If you have a lot left you can repeat the previous step until you have just a small piece left over. That will depend again on how thick/long your hair is.

Secure any pieces that are sticking out too much with more bobby pins.

All done! :)

Hope you’ve had a wonderful week! It’s been quite busy for me. Last night I was a model in a fashion show for charity. It was a step out of my comfort zone…I’ve never done anything like that before, but I had a lot of fun and benefitted a wonderful cause, and I’ll share some photos from my experience next week.

For the locals—I’ll be heading to the Valentine show tonight hosted by three of my favorite boutiques: Petals, Magpie, and Even a Sparrow. It’s located at Even a Sparrow at 213 Wade Hampton Blvd (next to Community Tap). I designed this sweet little postcard for them with all the details of the event:

Happy weekend!! xx

Here is a really quick way to get a sophisticated updo in your hair…

I started with some hot curlers to give my hair some texture. If your hair is curly or wavy at the moment you can skip this part.

After shaking out the curls, tease your hair at the crown just a little bit with a bristle brush.

Gather your hair as if you are going to pull it halfway up, then push it up right at the crown of your head, and secure with bobby pins. If your hair is really thick don’t grab too much hair for this part because you don’t want the top to be too heavy.

It should be very high at this point :) Give it a little dose of hair spray if you want!

Then pull the bottom of your hair up into a ponytail right underneath the part you bobby-pinned.

Secure it with an elastic.

Pull the top few pieces of your ponytail up to meet the section of hair you pinned earlier, give them a little twist, and secure with bobby pins. I pinned three strands from the top of my ponytail. If your hair is thick you’ll have to do more.

Next, pull up the bottom half of your ponytail and pin it underneath the rest of your hair. I used a tiny butterfly clip for this part.

Secure any loose pieces with more bobby pins.

All done!

Happy Monday! xx

Here’s an idea for a casual up-do you can style in your hair…

My hair is a little bit past my shoulders, but if you add more bobby pins to the twist this could easily be done with shorter hair.

Start with hair that has a little texture, if you can. This is a three-day old “scrunch” for me…meaning I washed my hair three days ago, scrunched it with some mousse when it was wet and blew it dry using a diffuser, and then used dry shampoo on the days in between.

Osis Dust It by Schwartzkopf is my little bottle of magic powder that helps my hair tease wonderfully.

I use a brush like this one to tease and smooth.

Once your hair is textured to your liking, grab a section at the front and start twisting it away from your face, adding the rest of your hair to it as you go.

Secure just behind your ear with with bobby pins.

Next, grab the front section of hair from the other side of your head.

Twist away from your face, around the back of your head, adding the rest of the hair to the twist, until it meets the section you just pinned.

At this point you have a great little side ponytail, and you can leave it this way, braid it, or continue on…

I gave the ponytail end a twist and looped it up in a messy fashion.

I secured this with more bobby pins.

And viola! I added a little Yellow Elm clip, for some extra fun!

Happy styling!!