Nerd in the City

Day 2 – Penny Pingleton from Hairspray

Let me first give a little explanation about this series of blogs. I am by no means a hair dresser or expert in hair art by any stretch of the imagination. But I love playing around with my hair and experimenting with new styles.
So, for the next 29 days I’ll attempt to copy styles from movies, tv shows, video game characters and even from music videos. If you have a style you’d like to see me attempt to copy… tweet me @nerdinthecity or comment in the section below.

Today’s inspiration is from the 2007 remake of the movie Hairspray. Amanda Bynes’ Penny Pingleton.

This style is a medium on a scale of easy to holy-moley.

Start by sectioning your hair into 3 sections. 2 pigtails and a piece at the top that will create the bump. Take the side sections and turn them into curly pigtails. I use Goody’s hair elastics.

And a Chi straightener that I use to curl the pigtails.

Then take a paddle brush and tease up the under side of the center section.

Use a few bobby pins to secure your 60’s bump. Then take the extra length of hair and twirl into a bun at the back center of your head.

Take a small section from the back of each pigtail and wrap it around the elastic to hide it and add a finishing touch.

Finally, Hairspray it up. I used Pureology’s finishing hair spray.

And then you have the perfect Penny Pingleton.

Mine varies in that I have bangs and blue and pink hair. But making a style uniquely your own is kind of the point, unless you’re going for authenticity… cosplay style.

Now I work with children. So I can pull this off on a Thursday and not seem out of place. If you can’t get away with this at work (lawyers, doctors, executives) then wait for the weekend, a holiday or a sock hop to try this out.

It’s pretty fun!