7 days of LONG hair style how-to's with Sonia

At Fox in Flats, we’re all about sharing tips and ideas to make it easier to navigate motherhood in style. In this new series – 7 days of hairstyle how-to’s – we’ll be sharing hairstyle tips and ideas from some of our readers.

Each Sunday, we’ll have a different ‘Contributing-Fox’ take us through the 7 different things she did with her hair over 7 consecutive days. We’ll also include her step-by-step instructions so you can re-create the hairstyles you like at home over the upcoming week.

The idea came about after we ran a challenge to see if we could wear our hair in a different style each day for 7 days straight. We called it The Hair Dare. We were inundated with so many awesome hairstyles that we’d be doing a disservice to ‘The Sisterhood’ if we didn’t share these ‘dos around.

This week’s hairstyle how-to’s are brought to you by: Sonia

Sonia is an Executive Assistant and bride-to-be from Adelaide who loves fashion and playing stylist to her friends, is known for having her finger on the pulse of Hollywood gossip, and can be found out to dinner on a Friday night with a glass of white in hand.

Ahh, hair. It’s the feature I am best known for in my circle of friends. According to my hairdresser, Skye: “Sonia has great hair. It’s medium texture but she has lots of it!” This means I only wash my hair twice a week and try to let each hairstyle ‘evolve’ to the next. Read on and you’ll see what I mean…

Day 1: Straight and Sleek-ish

“Starting out with good intentions and straight hair.”

Hairstyle How-to:

Step 1: Wash your hair with your fave shampoo and conditioner.

Step 2: Blow dry your hair just a little, so that it’s not dripping wet.

Step 3: Take a 10 cent piece size of Moroccan Oil, rub together in your hands and then work through from the mid-lengths to the ends of your hair.

Step 4: Finish blow drying your hair however you like. I use a paddle brush and just brush’n’blow.

Step 5: Clip your hair into manageable sections and use The Best Hair Tool Ever Invented (the GHD) to straighten your hair, brushing as you go.

Step 6: Hire a wind machine and pretend you are in a Beyonce video. Just kidding. That’s what the cool setting on your hair dryer is for.

Day 2: Side Braid

“Technically it’s a side plait but whatever.”

Hairstyle How-to:

Step 1: Get a nice side part going.

Step 2: Grab a section of hair from the side that has the most hair and braid that section of hair.

Step 3: Tuck the end of the braid under the rest of your hair and slide in a few bobby pins to secure.

Step 4: Straighten any whack-a-doodle bits of hair you may have slept on weirdly.

Step 5: Stop thinking you look EXACTLY like Lauren Conrad. OK maybe just a little.

Day 3: Wannabe Victoria’s Secret Waves

“I don’t have the body of a Victoria’s Secret Angel, but I can have the hair.”

Hairstyle How-to:

Step 1: Put on ‘Moves Like Jagger’ by Maroon 5, ‘Amazing’ by Seal or any other song by an artist who’s ever dated, married or divorced a Victoria’s Secret Angel to get you in the mood.

Step 2: Clip your hair into manageable sections and give them a very light spray with hairspray.

Step 3: Place each section of hair in your hair straightener and twisty-twirl from the mid-lengths to the end. The key here is to keep the straightener moving. Don’t hesitate otherwise you will end up with kinks – and not in a fun way. For each side of your hair, twist and twirl your hair straightener away from your face. Go slow for tighter waves, go faster for looser waves.

Step 4: Once your hair has cooled, give it another light spray with hairspray.

Step 5: Using either a wide-tooth comb or a paddle brush, give your hair a very soft brush so the waves look more relaxed. Or, simply buy it a drink 😉

Day 4: Stay Another Day

“Baby if you’ve got to go away,

I don’t think I can take the pain,

Won’t you stay another day.”

Hairstyle How-to:

Step 1: Get that damn East 17 song out of your head. Or sing it to someone else so they get it stuck it in their head and can share your pain.

Step 2: Grab a small section of hair from the front.

Step 3: Pull back that section of hair and pin it underneath the rest of your hair.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other side of your hair.

Step 5: Watch out for the giant hand on your shoulder…

Day 5: Hollywood Hair

“My dream job would be to host E! News. Having the right hair is the first step.”

Hairstyle How-to:

Step 1: Start the night before. Wash your hair.

Step 2: Partly dry your hair and then work through some styling mousse from the mid-lengths to ends.

Step 3: Finish blow drying your hair.

Step 4: Divide your hair into 2 sections (top half and bottom half) and put them into ballerina buns. Note: do not use a hair tie. Instead, twirl the section of hair and twist into a bun, then use bobby pins to secure into place.

Step 5: Get a good night’s sleep, dreaming of [insert fave celebrity here].

Step 6: The next morning, don’t tell your significant other about your dream. Oops. I mean, undo the buns and run your fingers through your hair to loosen it all up.

Step 7: Rip the clamp off your curling tong. Seriously. Unless you are a super talented (in which case, why are you reading this?!)…it’s just not necessary.

Step 8: Curl any dodgy looking pieces of hair (always curling away from your face).

Step 9: Wait for the hair to cool, spray with hairspray and then lightly brush the curls out.

Step 10: Read over your script one last time and come up with new Ryan Seacrest jokes….oh wait.

Day 6: I’ve Got Spirit, Yes I Do…

“A look I like to call The Deranged Cheerleader.”

Hairstyle How-to:

Note: this hairstyle works well with both curly/wavy and straight hair.

Step 1: Brush your hair up and into a high ponytail. You know what they say – the higher the hair, the closer to…[finish your own cliché].

Step 2: Grab a small section of hair from underneath the ponytail and wrap it around your hair-tie.

Step 3: Pin the wrapped-around piece of hair underneath the ponytail.

Step 4: Curl any pieces of hair in the ponytail that look trashed.

Step 5: Give the pony tail a light spray of hairspray.

Step 6: Shake your pom-poms and shout cheers at your loved ones. Or jeers. Depending on whether they’ve done the dishes or not.

Day 7: The Instant Facelift

“Save your plastic surgery money for a trip to Bali. It’s even cheaper over there.”

Hairstyle How-to:

Step 1: I hope you haven’t taken out yesterday’s high ponytail. What? You did? Jeez, now you have to brush it up and into a high ponytail again.

Step 2: Twirl and twist your hair around the base of the ponytail. I find the messier it looks, the better.

Step 3: Shove as many bobby pins into the bun as you need. You can often find them in the couch, under the bed, or in my case – still in your hair from a previous hairstyle.

Step 4: Spray with hairspray.

Step 5: Order cocktails while on holiday in Bali. They are far more cost-effective than wine. And more effective…

Tools of my Trade

I’m not a big believer in expensive products or using too many products.