How To Rock A Beehive
[ 5 March 2007 ]
Audrey Hepburn’s stylish beehive.
“Hello, lovely! First off, thanks for being awesome! Love love love the site! Secondly, I have a question. Do you know of a tutorial or something on how to do your hair like a 60’s beehive? I don’t know if mine is long enough yet but I have decided to let it grow for the moment & I am DYING to do it in a beehive! I know you have short hair, but you are the only person I could think to ask something like this. Thanks!”
Well… since you asked so nicely!
I have never had a beehive but they certainly do look AMAZING. My mother used to tell me stories about her friend Valerie’s beehive. My mother never had one, I think she always kept her hair pretty short, but apparently they made quite a sight when they went to the Ilford Palais together, Valerie with her huge hair & my mother with her “flat head covered in a white silk scarf” (her words, not mine).
Apparently a beehive was a lot of work. Women would fight for beauty salon appointments on a Friday afternoon so that their hair would be done for the entire weekend — & they would sleep with their hair wrapped in a scarf so it didn’t get ruined (or use silk pillowcases). I understand that pool parties were also very unpopular around this time!
A role model for young beehivers everywhere.
A beehive will work best on hair that hasn’t been washed for a few days, & optimally your hair will be about shoulder length. The secret is all in the backcombing. If you don’t know how to backcomb your hair, it’s very easy — take a section of hair, brush it upwards in a vertical motion, then move your comb to the back of the section & brush it back down again. Keep going all over your head so that you end up looking seriously demented with huge tufts sticking up everywhere.
Before you start this, you really need to decide whether you’re going to sweep the whole lot upwards & together or whether you want to conceal the backcombing. If you want to conceal it, exempt a large front section of your hair from the backcombing trauma, & then sweep this back over your fluffy bits. You can then use a clip or headband of some description to hold it in place.
Styling the beehive is a very delicate task & is best done with the hands rather than a comb. Pat it into an acceptable shape & then grab a can of hairspray. Go crazy with the stuff. Your hair should be solid as a rock but look light & fluffy. Spray & style, spray & style. You might also find it helpful to whip up some kind of elaborate mirror set-up, since you’ll need to see the back of your hair before you leave the house.
When you go out, you will need a good tail comb in your handbag to keep it looking pristine & to tuck away anything that strays from your perfect coiffure!
Beware, this is definitely a high-maintenance hairstyle — I wouldn’t advise running, jumping or exceptionally vigorous shopping if you want it to hold its shape.
As you can imagine from my instructions, constructing a beehive is not easy & I suspect this is why so many women preferred to place their tresses in the capable hands of a hairdresser… However, I’m sure that with a bit of practice (& a lot of hairspray) you’ll end up with a very stylish do! Good luck miss!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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and this was incredibly rude, bree.
nice kiddies.
I only graduated from high school a little while ago. My senior prom, I had the most fabulous beehive done, and wore a short mint green dress. Was wonderful. I looked completely original and really set myself apart from the whole shoulder-length-curls look that every other girl had.
Did anyone hear about the Karl Lagerfeld Paris-Londres Maison d’Art show in London for Chanel a few weeks ago? it was splashed all over vogue website..they were going crazy for Amy Winehouse beehive hair do’s and i managed to perfect the ‘half beehive’ myself, very sucessful, very fabulous- however, i experienced what can only be described as some kind of sinkage- beehive height loss.. i saw them using some kinda puffy hair insert things backstage in the video of the show(they looked alot like something you’d clean your dishes with) but you add them underneath the beehive to give height and oomph but i CANT find these things anywhere- probably because i have no idea what they are called – any ideas?
gemgem, it’s called a “rat”!
wow, it was this article that brought me to the wonder that is iCiNG! :D So glad you wrote it Gala!
_
hey gala
after reading this, i decided to try a beehive yesterday. i have waist-length, blonde hair and it went down (or UP!) a treat!
i combined this with your “Marie Antoinette style” to create a really unique look. i wore a corset under a really fitted cropped jacket and a flowing peasant skirt. i topped it off with chandelier earrings and a jewelled butterfly in my beehive.
Stained lips and a beauty spot finished off the look.
i might have looked mental, but i loved this outfit
thanks for the advice.
i want one like amy winehouse…how do you do that????
Many, many thanks. I’m in a production of West Side Story, and my director told me, “I want it UP, baby!” My hair is saved! Though you “wouldn’t advise running, jumping or exceptionally vigorous shopping”, I hope it holds up to dancing onstage.
=)
they are called a rat. You can also use them to fake a bob even if you have really long hair :] I saw a person with the perfect beehive yesterday. She had blonde hair. sigh.
oh and also Ford Models has a podcast on how to create the Amy Winehouse beehive. You can get it on itunes and utube!!
I am going to a 1960’s BBQ in a few days so i will use your advise on how to make a beehive. I might even have my mom try to make one on me today, just to have practice.
Thanks!