Gabrielle union doesn’t take too many risks with her hair. She doesn’t really seem the type to try the Rihanna bright red extensions but her understated elegance and beauty always shines through.
She has a round face shape so while a smooth sleek chin length bob would probably not suit her, a curly bob might work. Her signature look however is undeniably mid to long lengths of mainly dark hair. She occasionally adds some light auburn tones but generally she sticks with dark brown or black for her main color.
Gabrielle usually favors a side part and as a general rule side parts work better for round faces but here, the centre part really looks good on her. The gorgeous soft waves help to balance the effect so that her face is framed beautifully.
Here’s how to achieve the look by installing hair extensions, sew in method. As always start with freshly washed and deep conditioned hair. If your hair is natural then you may want to blow out your hair to make braiding easier.
Hair needed: 14 & 12 inch virgin straight or the same length of body wave Indian hair extensions. Highlight the shorter length with strands of auburn.
1. Leave out a horseshoe section of hair (1 and 1/2 inch at the top for the center part and 1/2 inch around the hairline).
2. Start with an ultra flat base of cornrows going straight back. If you have thick hair, make the cornrows smaller to control the bulk. Since this is a straight weave, bulkiness with make it look unnatural and ‘wiggy’. If you have thinner hair make sure to use a hair net to help with track placement.
3. Sew in natural black 14 inch virgin hair at the back. Don’t be too generous with adding the extensions at the nape. While virgin hair is less likely to tangle you want to save the volume for the top of your head for this look.
4. Sew in the 12 inch extensions at the top for a natural layering effect. You can cut in more layers to compliment your own hair length once you have finished installing the weave. For the color, you will need a highlighted effect like Gabrille has in the picture, use this method to highlight your extensions before installing. Alternatively, get a stylist to do the coloring for you before installation.
5. While sewing, make sure to get plenty of volume at the top and near your part without being too bulky. Go for hand tied wefts if possible, they allow you to to double up on your tracks without any unsightly bulk.
6. Apply heat protectant on your leave out hair and flat iron smooth to match the hair extensions.
7. To style use a 1 inch barrel iron or a curved flat iron. Curl large sections of the extensions to achieve medium waves. Make sure to change the direction of your curls periodically for a more natural effect. The sections around the part should be curled away from your face for a fethered effect.
8. Finish the style with a spritz of oil sheen and light holding hairspray. You want the curls to fall slightly to waves as the day goes on.
Note: If you are using body wave hair you don’t have to curl all the extensions. Just curl your leave out and the extensions closest to your hairline to allow them to frame your face better. Now you are ready to rock that style!
