How do you blend hair?

[rybett]

'Cause I try and end up with a mess.  It can't be that hard, right?

[sd_dreamcrystal]

you could rehair with one color then go back and add the other colors

[blackestbird]

I did a small amount of blending on my Halloween swap pony a couple of years ago - it was the first time I'd done blending at all, I've only done even streaks before that, but the way I did it was just grabbing thinner plugs of hair and doing them together. Like, I was using white hair, and wanted to blend some orange into it, so instead I'd do like 3/4 the amount of my white, and then 1/4 orange. I even went through after and just added random tiny amounts into plugs after I'd done the rehairing. That probably isn't very clear, there are some blending pros that I'm sure will add their own tips :3

[Maniah]

I take hair from a full hank.. I take about half of it, maybe a little less depending on how many colors I am using.. I pick a base color.. Then I add in bits of other colors, taking care to keep the ends as even as possible.

Then I hold the hank in the middle, loop it once around my finger to keep it from slipping, and spray it with my spray bottle. I brush it out so there are no tangles. Then I unwind it from my finger, flatten it out a bit so it isn't a lump, and fold it a few times in the center. I hope that makes sense.. Im basically just mixing the colors in the center very roughly. Then I hold tight to that center, and brush it again.

Then I mix it again in the center, and brush it out. After this second time, I loop it around my finger again, and just comb it repeatedly. Occasionally folding it if I see huge chunks of color. I unwind it from my finger, and then wrap it again in the portion that was just brushed, and brush the other side.

I just keep doing this till it is as blended as I like.

I never cut into a full length hank for the hair that I need. I separate a plug from the full length, then cut that plug to the size I want. It saves on hair. Plus, then if I don't use some of what I blended, I can always use it as part of a new blend in the future.

Some examples of this method can be provided if you like

[PonySeeker128]

I love hand blending hair! I can get the blend so much better when I do it myself. I always cut my hanks of hair in half. Depending on how much of the hair blend I need I just divide the amount of hair by how many colors I am blending. So if I am using enough hair to do 20 plugs I will evenly seperate enough from how many colors I need, unless of course I want certain colors to be bolder then others. I usually blend the colors that are the closest to eachother first (so purples with purples or other close color) then in the end I will blend everything together.
When blending I take one color and loop it over my finger, then evenly spray the hair (I like doing it over the whole piece of hair because it seems to tangle less for me), I only lightly mist the hair so its barely wet. Then I take the next part of hair and lay it over the first color on my finger, after making sure they are even with eachother I then seperate the hair and put it together over and over making sure to break apart any bigger chunks that haven't been blended. I basically just do this until I get it as far blended as I want. I usually blend the hair off my finger too, it seems easier that way.
Its pretty much the same as Maniah said, she always has great methods I can provide pictures for you as an example as well if you would like

[blackestbird]

I'm not the original poster, but personally, I would love to see pictures of these methods. I think I understand what y'all are saying, but I'm a very visual person

Y'all are always so helpful

[PonySeeker128]

Here are some pictures, I was going to make a collage but I don't have the energy right now hah. One of these days I will take some better pictures and make a neat collage.. I will put the pics in spoilers though so I don't clog up the thread! I know they're not the best pictures but hopefully they make sense (my husband took the pictures.. and yes, I am in my pajamas haha)
First color is Fairys Breath

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Second is Raspberry Sorbet

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I then put Raspberry Sorbet over the Fairys Breath

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Then blend like CRAZY

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And how it turned out

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Hope that helps!

[blackestbird]

Oh what a pretty blend too! Thank you SO much for sharing those! (sorry, I kinda hijacked the thread a little )

You explained it well too, but having the visual representation is very helpful. They're perfect, they show exactly what you're doing :3

And I basically live in my pajamas, no worries hehe.

Thanks again!

[LeighAnnApanites]

Thanks for the question, and the answers, and the pics. I am more learned now!

[Maniah]

Happy to help any time about any subject, if I can. And yes, I basically do the same, just with longer hair, and less pulling it completely apart. Because it's longer it tangles too easy like that. That's why I pull it apart in the middle and then brush it through. I like to keep my length.

I don't have any in progress pictures. I do have end results.. I'll just have to add that to my tutorial list. lol.

[Griffin]

I usually blend plug by plug since I don't use the rehair tool but knot and glue my plugs beforehand. It's time consuming but can result in some very subtle blends, and allows me to alter the amount of each colour. Of course that method would work with rehairing tools as well, you just have to have a clear vision of what colours to use for which plug. I sometimes do like Maniah and blend bigger amounts, especially if I'm going for an even blend, but often just plug by plug in order to avoid ending up with leftover blends. (And also because no matter how hard I try to grab the hair, even by twisting it around my finger in the middle, a lot of brushing always makes the ends uneven... I wish I was better at this!)

So, I do what I always do: take some of the hair, cut it in half to make it more easily manageable, lay it on my lap and separate the hair I need for one plug, or half or 1/3 depending on how many colours I will use. Same for each colour I'm using. Even for blended hair I often knot some plugs using only one colour. Some have half and half, some might have only a few hairs of one colour, especially if it's a dark one.

For example, here I have used two whites, black, pale pink and pale blue. The black is only added here and there, and even then there are no more than a couple of black hairs per plug.

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Sometimes I just grab all the partial plugs and put them together, the hair will get blended in the rehairing process. This works better if you have colours that are close in hue or lightness. For a more subtle effect, i.e if I don't want to have any visible stripes in the roots either, I actually blend each plug by separating it with my fingers. This is how you can spend hours on one rehair job. 

[pop-girl]

If you use a rehairing tool it's super easy. I just rehair the entire pony with one or two colors and then go back and add random bits of other colors.

[bagheera86]

Here are some pictures, I was going to make a collage but I don't have the energy right now hah. One of these days I will take some better pictures and make a neat collage.. I will put the pics in spoilers though so I don't clog up the thread! I know they're not the best pictures but hopefully they make sense (my husband took the pictures.. and yes, I am in my pajamas haha)
First color is Fairys Breath

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Second is Raspberry Sorbet

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I then put Raspberry Sorbet over the Fairys Breath

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Then blend like CRAZY

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And how it turned out

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Hope that helps!

Creepy but, You have the perfect arms for tatt's xD!

[AnnaPommes]

well, the simplest for a really nice smooth blend is to lay all your wanted colors together, hold one end (strong). brush it. hold the other side, brush it again. yes, you´ll loose some hair, but its not that much.
repeat the brushing until it is blended as you like it.
thats alaso how wig maker do it. ^^

[rybett]

Thanks all!!!!!!