Hair padding, also known as a 'RAT', was historically made by women using their own hair. They would collect this from their hair brushes and put it into a hairnet or an old stocking and then use the resulting pad to create extra volume, height and support for their gravity-defying styles. Padding is particularly useful for beehive hairstyles. Nowadays you can easily make padding using hair wefts. Or you may find a ready-made pad, in the shape you want, made out of nylon or another synthetic product at a beauty supply store
To create your own padding, you need:
HAIR WEFTS
Either made from human hair or synthetic (synthetic is usually cheaper). You can find hair wefts at any hairdressing suppliers, on the internet, or perhaps your local drug store. Try to find a hair weft the same shade as your natural hair color. That way, if you don't manage to cover your padding completely, your hairstyle will still look fabulous.
A HAIR NET
You can usually find these in the beauty section of your local drug store.
Step 1
Double over your hair net
Step 2
Backcomb your hair weft to give it plenty of volume and place it imside your hair net
Step 3
Adjust it to the shape you prefer (an oval shape usually works best) and use some thin cotton to sew the edges of the hair net together. There you have it!