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How To Create a Bow-Tie Updo

MODERN Facebook fan Becky Marinich shares the steps to create her shoelace-inspired bowtie updo.

Alison Alhamed
Alison AlhamedEditor in Chief, MODERN SALON
Read Alison's Posts
June 23, 2012
2 min to read


MODERN Facebook fan Becky Marinich posted this shoelace-inspired bowtie updo onto our wall and it not only caught our editors' eyes, it also caught our fans' eyes! We KNEW we had to track down the steps on how to recreate the look.

Marinich, a stylist at Olde South Hair Designs in Springboro, Ohio, was inspired by her first ever styling book she received 10 years ago. Though she can't recall the name of the book, she never forgot the inspiration. The book demonstrated how to create little bowties out of ponytails and pin them around the head. "The technique stuck in my head all these years, and so I created a simpler version of it!" Marinich says. "I have used this look for bridesmaids, but I can see it also for a homecoming or prom/formal style."

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Step 1. Lightly tease the mohawk section of pre-flatironed hair and comb straight back.

Step 2. Next, create four ponytails, horizontally at the nape.

Step 3. Beginning on the far left, divide the hair in the ponytail into two subsections.

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Step 4. Isolate half of the ponytail, along with the other three full ponytails.

Step 5. Divide the current section into two additional subsections.

Step 6. Spray with working spray and re-flatiron both pieces.

Step 7. Create a loop with the left piece, and continue to tie as if you were tying a bow in your shoes.

Step 8. Slide a bobby pin through the center section of your bow and secure to head.

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Step 9. Continue with the second half of your section, and repeat with the remaining three ponytails. Stagger the placement of the bows, pinning some vertically, and some horizontally.

Step 10. For a modern look, tease the ends, and spray them so they remain sticking out over the head, or...    

Step 11. ...curl and finish ends for a more polished look!


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