This is a very simple, classic style that, with a little practice, is very easy to do. These instructions give general guidelines for forming this hairstyle, but you should alter them to suit your hair length and type. People with very straight or slippery hair may benefit from allowing damp hair to dry while braided, so that their hair has a little body for the hairpins to hold in.

You will need: A natural bristle brush and hairpins. I like to use traditional hairpins rather than bobby pins because they are less bulky and noticeable, but you should figure out what works for you. I have also found that using a natural bristle brush helps this hairstyle to have a firmer "base" and smoother results.

Miss April Hala
Click on thumbnails to view full-sized images!

1. Carefully brush all your hair so that there are no tangles.
2. Using your fingers, part your hair from ear to ear around the crown of your head. You can experiment a little to figure out where the part will work best for you. Those ladies with shorter hair may need to part across the top of their head. In general, the farther back the part is on the head, the smaller the pouf will be. Keep in mind also that the bun will be centered over the part, so wherever you part your hair will also be where the part is.

 Gibson Pompadour Parted
Gibson Pompadour, smoothing forward 3. Separate the front section of hair from the bottom section of hair cleanly, and begin smoothing the front section forward, over the face.
4. Continue smoothing the hair forward until no bumps or loops of hair stick out at the top of the hair.
5. Use your natural bristle brush to smooth the hair completely forward, brushing both the top of the hair and the underside.
6. Begin twisting the hair that is now smoothed forward, but don't twist it so tightly that there is no untwisted hair at the roots. The untwisted hair at the roots will form the pouf later.

7.Once the hair is twisted, gently pull the twisted end back over the top of your head.

Gibson Pompadour, twisting Gibson Pompadour, pulling back
Gibson Pompadour, bunning 8. Coil the twisted hair into a bun that is centered over your part, and secure with hairpins.
9. Taking your natural bristle brush again, gently begin smoothing the hair around your hairline. It should begin to stand up in a gentle pouf. Continue smoothing until there are no more bumps sticking out. (Don't worry if there are loops of hair hanging down at the sides in the back.) Gibson Pompadour, smoothing back Gibson Pompadour, smoothed back
10. Use a small mirror to look at the back of your hair and gently gather up any loops that may be hanging down on the sides in the back. Carefully pin these up to the sides of the bun. Continue pinning until the sides of the pouf look smooth. (Don't worry if the edges of the bun start looking messy because the loops are pinned to them; you will be covering the edges of the bun with the lower half of your hair.) The end result should be more of a gently rounded pouf than the hammerhead shark look.
Gibson Pompadour, back loops Gibson Pompadour, back loops 2 Gibson Pompadour, front done!
Gibson Pompadour, back section up 11. Once you are satisfied with how the top of your hairstyle looks, take the bottom part of your hair in one hand, and gently brush it up towards the bun.
12. Twist this end and coil it around the existing bun. Pin securely. Gibson Pompadour, twisting up back section Gibson Pompadour, pinning up back section
Gibson Pompadour, smoothing back section up 13. Using your natural bristle brush again, smooth this part of your hair. If there is a line between where your top hair goes back and your bottom hair comes up, try gently brushing the two sections together.
Gibson Pompodour, finished!! Gibson Pmpadour, finished back view Gibson Pompadour, finished side view
If you have wispy pieces of hair at the nape of your neck, try putting a little water on them to see if they will curl up on their own. If they don't, you can either leave them straight or curl them with a tiny curling iron.
Perfect for wear with your Edwardian and Anne of Green Gables outfits!

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