(no subject)

[extrapenguin]

Nominations just closed on space_swap. I expect to wake up to 10 billion messages all commenting on the same misspelled tag.

In the meanwhile, I've been looking at Janet Stephens's YouTube channel. She's the hairdresser-archaeologist who first figured out that Ancient Romans used needle and thread to secure their hairstyles. (Bobby pins weren't invented yet, for one.) I found the rope braiding video cool, since I had known additive (French) rope braids existed, but not how they worked, and promptly followed along with the video and made myself two symmetrical adding-from-below braids, which I then pinned up behind my head and over my forehead. (I do not own any needles blunt enough to go near my scalp, for one, and lack the extra pair of hands a woman of antiquity would've had from a slave, servant, or family member.) She has a whole bunch of recreations of ancient Roman hairstyles done with period-appropriate tools that I've been watching. They videos are really cool, even if some of them are things I wouldn't want to do for myself.

Comments

[china_shop]

Oh cool! I only skimmed the video, but I thought it was interesting there are different methods for each side. :-)

[extrapenguin]

Rope braids are inherently asymmetric, so it makes sense that doing one thing on one side vs the other would produce different results! I had fun testing it/redoing the double rope braids updo for work; makes for a nice some-effort hairstyle. (Not as low-effort as a regular braid tossed around the head would be, since I need to look at myself in the mirror to make it the least bit symmetric, but possible to do on oneself.)

[nnozomi]

and made myself two symmetrical adding-from-below braids, which I then pinned up behind my head and over my forehead. (I do not own any needles blunt enough to go near my scalp, for one,
Ooh neat! I miss having hair long enough to braid. Also I really like that there is such a thing as a hairdresser-archaeologist. I wonder if the needles are related in form/function to East Asian whatsit, hairsticks, you know, 簪子.

[extrapenguin]

Apparently this one started out as a hairdresser who was hobbyist-level into Ancient Rome and then figured out how to recreate "this is totally a wig" hairstyles from ancient portraiture with period-appropriate tools!

Hair sticks (and their shorter cousin, hair bodkins) are a thing occasionally mentioned, but the needle is a regular (blunt) needle with an eye in it, and the hairstyles are sewn in place with needle and thread! Hair sticks I own.