5 Easy To Dress-Up or Down Hairdo’s For Medium to Long Hair- No Prior Skills Necessary!

This post has been in the making for a long (and I mean long!) time. So, with thanks to those who have requested -and patiently waited for- my top hairdo’s for medium to long hair, here they are!

*As in the meantime, we’ve hit 2020 and the wall of WFH, I’ve given a little twist to the original idea. Namely, I presented each hairstyle in 2 options:

a simple, at-home one, and a more glammed up version for going out.

You’ll see that, either way, these updo’s are quite simple from a technique pov. That’s because I’m no hairstylist, and I wanted to help out other women who want easy to do, but still quite high-impact, yet practical hairdo’s.

And remember:

The first step before any hairdo is haircare.

A pump or two of LÓreal’s Mythic Oil nourishes, provides shine and protects against heat later on. I usually massage it into my hair (omitting the roots), followed by a thorough combing-through.

And we’re ready to get started with the first hairdo!

The loop-the-loop chignon

To create this look, I separate the hair into three approximately equal parts.

I tie the middle part into a low ponytail, then separate its base with my fingers.

This creates a small loop above the elastic, which I flip the ponytail through. You can do this once or twice- I chose to loop it through twice here.

Then, taking the 2 lateral sections, I tie them again in, essentially, another low ponytail, right above the first one.

Joining the two ponytails, I again create a loop at the base of the top one, and loop the 2-in-1 ponytails through it.

Depending on your hair length, do this a few times, until only the ends of the ponytail remain.
These I secure with a bobby-pin, and TA-DAAH! A very easy and quick chignon.

If you are just preparing for a day of work or study from home, you might be happy stopping here.

But if you want something a little extra for going out (or hey, even for yourself!), you can always use some decorative pins to embellish your ‘do. I went for a few pearl ones here, which I feel work really well with this classic hairstyle.

Again, feel free to stop here for a slightly messier effect. But if you want to polish your chignon a bit more, you can always douse a toothbrush in hairspray, and run it against the stray hairs to flatten them.

This is completely up to you; and you’ll see, I never tame all my flyaways, because I like a more natural, disheveled look. But it’s a very effective tip to keep in mind.

The knotty bun

Another easy bun “recipe”, this knotty one is truly WFH inspired!

A few months into this crazy little thing called 2020, I caught myself often tieing my hair into a knot while working at my desk, just to quickly get it out of my face.

And from that, I wanted to see what would happen if I just continued knotting it all the way to the tips. It turns out, a pretty cool hairdo!

It really is as simple as that. And once I reach the end, I just tuck it in under itself slightly and pin the whole knotty construction vertically.

Again, you can very well stop right there- but if you want to get a bit fancy, I’d recommend one big statement accessory to compliment this easy ‘do. In my case, a textile flower.

Aaah, the sweet smell of getting nice hair without the effort…

Again, a couple swipes of the hairsprayed toothbrush, and you’re ready to go! Or you can also pull at a few sections here and there, like I did here, to make this otherwise classic look a bit more loose and relaxed.

The twisted (crown) half-updo

Another favorite of mine (although usually just on one side of my head) is the twisted crown half-updo.

For this one, I’ll give you the more intricate version first, and then quickly run you through the basic twist, which I rely on more often.

For either version we start with separating two thinner sections of face-framing hair. Not too thin though, because next step is braiding them.

My tip here is to keep the braids close to your scalp as you go, otherwise you will have a harder time pinning them to the back of your head without unwanted bulges on the sides.

Once I secure both braids, I also decorate them with 3 smaller textile flowers. Again, completely optional, but I wanted to go full-on romantic.

And for that same purpose, I will also curl the loose hair.

But first, coffee break!

Ok, back to the curling- I focused on just the bottom half of my hair, and then combed my fingers through the curls, to make them softer and looser (the curls, not the fingers 🙂 )

Once that’s done, I again smooth down some of the flyaway hairs, and pouf up the crown a bit- the braids help support that added volume.

I feel like this hairdo is giving me a bit of a Westworld/Old-time saloon waitress/ prairie girl vibe, which I kinda like. Do you agree?

Now the quicker, day-to-day option:

Again, starting from those two face-framing strands, I just twist and pin them to the back of my head.

No curls, no extra decorations, but still something a bit more special than just letting my hair loose. And more importantly, something to keep it out of my eyes at the computer!

The braided ponytail

Starting with a good combing through, I gather my hair in a simple ponytail for this next look.

This time, I also flip my deep part back, and give the crown a little extra-volume.

It’s not wrong to pull your hair back tight, or to keep your fringe in place either. But this is my favorite way for this particular look.

As a little tip for bouncy ponytails:

I usually don’t wrap the layers of the hair-tie in a perfectly overlapping way, but instead covering a slightly longer section of the ponytail (about an inch). In time, I noticed that this helps it look lively, not limp.

Here is where I also prop the bumped up crown with a couple of bobby pins, to help it stay volumized for longer.

After doing these steps, I have a ponytail I’d be happy to rock any day of the week!

But as an extra, this time I’ll also braid it. I always pull a bit at different sections of the braid, to make it look chunkier, and also less rigid.

Another tip here:

If a visible hair-tie annoys you, pull a small strand out of the ponytail, wrap it around for camouflage, and secure it again at the back of the tie.

Finally, as a very extra-step- I’m thinking for going out, but if you want to rock this indoors, I’m not gonna judge you!- I take a narrower scarf and tie it around my braided ponytail.

Again, there are multiple options here you could play with. And I’m so happy to see that hair scarves have been getting their much deserved moment in the spotlight in the past seasons.

I for one, find this exact combo gives me all the holiday vibes. Chilling at the beach in my mind, not in fact at home…

The sleek side + Curlicues

This last hairdo is the most glam in my humble opinion, but also the most fun, and the easiest in terms of technique.

It does take a bit of time though- depending on your hair density, of course- because it requires curling very thin strands of your hair.

I’ll spare you the whole process, but I will share a tip here:

It helps to pin larger sections out of the way together once curled. Otherwise the whole thing can get messy and annoying, fast!

Once you have a head full of ringlets, shake them out upside down, to give the roots even more volume.

Then, select which side of your hair you want to smooth over, as a sleek contrast. Make sure not to slide the comb all the way to the end, as it will ruin those curls.

Once smoothed over, secure the side with a few bobby pins- feel free to get creative with the model that you use!

I personally like the contrast of very simple, but shiny pins, placed in a severe or geometric way. I feel like it cuts through the sweetness of the curls for an interesting, glam look.

Care to Share?

I hope this video helped give you some ideas for medium to long hair styles that you can easily transition from your home desk to going out on the town.

Do you have your own go-to hairdo’s for at home, or out and about, that you’d like to share? Go for it in the comments!

Thanks for watching, and until we meet here next, have a fabulous time!