Looking for inspiration for Halloween, but don’t want to invest a lot of money or time? It’s all in the hair. We asked Seattle stylist Joshua Browne of Fix Salon in Ravenna to show us three quick and easy hairdos for Halloween that anyone can re-create with a minimum of special skills or tools.
1. Among the most popular characters for Halloween this year is Harley Quinn, the Batman supervillain from “Suicide Squad.”
To fashion the multicolored ponytails that Browne did on our features producer Shirley Qiu, 23, you’ll need two strips of attachable hair — called wefts — that are available in any beauty supply store. They can be any color that contrasts with your own hair and, for this look, should be heat resistant or “safe to curl,” Browne said.
For Shirley, who has black hair, Browne chose a pink weft and a purple one. You will also need strong hair elastics, some French pins, which are more flexible than bobby pins, and six scrunchies.
Browne started by parting Qiu’s hair carefully down the center front and back as if to make two side ponytails. He then took a small section from the center of each side and put an elastic around it tightly.
“You want this to be a strong rubber band because you’ll use it to anchor the French pins,” he said.
He then carefully wrapped one of the colored wefts around that section of hair, weaving the French pins through the weft and anchoring them under the elastic.
After that he gathered the rest of the hair on each side around the inner pony tail, put another strong rubber band around it and then put on three scrunchies on each side.
Before taking a curling iron to the ponytails, he sprayed each section of hair thoroughly with a Redken heat-protection product.
“We’re really emphasizing that now,” he said. “Just as you’d never put your bare hands in a hot oven, you should never take a hot tool to your hair without protection.”
Browne separated each of Qiu’s ponytails into three sections, carefully rolled them around a curling iron and let them fall into ringlets, which he sprayed with a strong- hold hair spray.
“Women are also embracing superheroes. They’re totally trending this year,” Browne said.
2. For his next style, which could complement a superhero-inspired look or a period costume such as one from the set of “Game of Thrones” or “Downton Abbey,” all you need is a handful of tiny elastics. They can be any color you want.
If your hair is on the thin side, you can do what salon owner Mandy McCullough did to help prep 24-year-old Paige Zielinski, another stylist at the salon. She used a tiny crimping iron throughout Zielinski’s hair.
“It adds so much volume,” said McCullough at the styling session on Tuesday evening.
What you will be doing, basically, is making a series of ponytails down the center of your head from front to back.
Once you get the first ponytail finished, you will gather up the next section of hair below it. Divide the ponytail that’s in front into two pieces, bring the lower section of hair up through the divided portion, then bring the two pieces of the first ponytail back together below, gather it into a ponytail with a small section of new hair, add a tight elastic and repeat, working your way down the back of the head.
Keep going until the hairdo, which he calls a Faux French Braid, is as long as desired.
3. For a quick and easy look for men, Browne demonstrated the “emoji guy” look on himself.
Wet the hair, make an extreme side part, comb it down flat and wear a blue shirt.
“The great thing about the emoji guy or girl is that it can be any race and every hair color,” he said. “And it’s so, so easy.”
