Getting a vintage haircut: what to ask for?

[Antje]

Those book scan's are great, My boss used to cut hair like that and whe are so terrified when she does it like this,
I should ask for a Layered bob, so if you don't want to pincurl or soever then it is a fine haircut, and otherwise take some pictures of styles you like.
I myself don't like cutting from a diagram

 

[Goldfish]

Another strange trick is that if your layers are cut at an odd number of inches your hair will lay more square, cut on an even number, (say your layer on top is cut at 6 inches), your hair will fall more round. Think of today's straight shags, how some look really boxy, or some come in more rounded around the face. Now imagine them curly! Hope that makes sense! Also kinda sheds light on why you have either better hair days or worse as your cut grows out. Depends on what stage it's in, even or odd.

So if I want a rounded cut all layers should measure an even number?
I can only imagine the puzzled look of the hairdressers here when I tell them to cut my layers in even numbers lol !

 

[Mary]

I got my hair cut today. It was necessary but I hate it all the same. Hairdressers are my dentists!

I'm wondering what cut you should have If you want to make waves a la early thirties. Is it always good to have layers?

And should your hair be longer in front if you want it to be even cause there's so much more hair in the back?

An how should your hair be cut if you always have it parted at the same side? How do you have the both sides fairly alike when there's only half as much hair?

M

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

I got my hair cut today. It was necessary but I hate it all the same. Hairdressers are my dentists!

Oh boy! I can *totally* relate to that statement. lol

An how should your hair be cut if you always have it parted at the same side? How do you have the both sides fairly alike when there's only half as much hair?

I often part my hair on one side, but I didn't have the hairdresser cut it that way - mainly because I don't *always* wear it like that. It doesn't matter that much to me; but then, my hair comes past my shoulders.

 

[MarieAnne]

I recently got a middy, femme fatale length. Here is a fabulous PDF I found for vintage hairdressing.

http://beguiling.us/eljay/1940sHairstyles.pdf

I brought in the diagram and we talked about it for a while. I even had my laptop with all my other hair pictures to show her how I wanted to style my hair.

I'm pretty happy with it except for the bang area. She cut the bang area a little different (that rectangular area at the very top and front.) The area she cut was narrower and longer, so it actually extended to my crown. I'm not sure if this is right. All it did was create a layer of hair that barely reaches my jaw which is hard to tame because my hair is naturally curly. Next time I will ask her to stay true to the illustrated sections/parts.

It feels like it isn't too much longer than the diagram. As far as styling goes, I feel like I am starting from scratch! My hair is SO different. It holds a curl better, but it's harder to put on a roller. Pin curls are easier, but they still aren't easy. My setting problems have kept me from experimenting with styles. It looks promising though.

I'll try to get some pictures soon.

 

[Leila de la May]

I recently got a middy, femme fatale length. Here is a fabulous PDF I found for vintage hairdressing.

http://beguiling.us/eljay/1940sHairstyles.pdf

I brought in the diagram and we talked about it for a while. I even had my laptop with all my other hair pictures to show her how I wanted to style my hair.

I'm pretty happy with it except for the bang area. She cut the bang area a little different (that rectangular area at the very top and front.) The area she cut was narrower and longer, so it actually extended to my crown. I'm not sure if this is right. All it did was create a layer of hair that barely reaches my jaw which is hard to tame because my hair is naturally curly. Next time I will ask her to stay true to the illustrated sections/parts.

It feels like it isn't too much longer than the diagram. As far as styling goes, I feel like I am starting from scratch! My hair is SO different. It holds a curl better, but it's harder to put on a roller. Pin curls are easier, but they still aren't easy. My setting problems have kept me from experimenting with styles. It looks promising though.

I'll try to get some pictures soon.

Thankyou sooo much!! that pdf is great!!, I've learnt loads :eusa_clap
although I still am not quit sure how to get mine cut but I have a while before I need to decide

 

[Mary]

Time to get a new haircut. I still don't know what to ask for. I want to look like this. If a special haircut would it make only 5 % simpler, I'd be very happy.

Do you think layers makes it easier to make fingerwaves or harder?

And should your hair be longer in front if you want it to be even cause there's so much more hair in the back? (The hair round my face always becomes very short (curly or wavy) but not in the back.)

 

[Antje]

I think layers could be more difficult, but you deffenitly have to ask for a style that's longer towards the face,because when you fingerwave it becomes shorter anyway.

I hope your haircut wil go ok fingers crossed

 

[cherry lips]

I Wanna Look Like Lana

I want to wear my hair like Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice. What should I ask the hairdresser to do? Layers or not? U-shape or other shape? How long should the bangs be and how far back should they go? How long should the rest of the hair be? Should both sides be symmetric, or cut in a side part? Ladies, please share your skills with me!
(You will note two different styles in the following pics.)

 

[Lillemor]

It's coming up with messenger live page[huh]

 

[cherry lips]

I want to wear my hair like Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice. What should I ask the hairdresser to do? Layers or not? U-shape or other shape? How long should the bangs be and how far back should they go? How long should the rest of the hair be? Should both sides be symmetric, or cut in a side part? Ladies, please share your skills with me!
(You will note two different styles in the following pics.)
Thanks Lillemor!

the other style:

 

[imoldfashioned]

I've taken the 40's diagrams into shops and been repeatedly told "Nobody cuts hair like that anymore". Very frustrating to find someone who would even try--which may be why I'm sticking to a 20's bob for now.

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

This subject always makes me want to suddenly change careers (even at my age) and become a Vintage ONLY hairdresser! Hah!

My own hair is straight and past my shoulders - I mostly have my daughter help me trim it in back in a long U shape and then cut some shorter layers around my face (approx chin length) and blend those into the sides. Then when I curl it or put it up in rolls it works reasonably well.

 

[MissQueenie]

I had my hair cut in a 40s tapered cut in December. It only looks good completely styled. The hairdresser was great and really knew her stuff, but if you don't wear your hair in a vintage style every day (and I don't), you might end up frustrated in the mornings. Personally, I've never had trouble styling my hair into a vintage 'do regardless of my haircut -- boyish pixie cut excepted, of course. The "vintage" cut hasn't impressed me, and in the end turned out to be more tiresome on a daily basis because it is a very flat, 1 dimensional cut that doesn't have "movement" the way today's cuts do.

I've found the finished 'do is really only as good as the styling. Just my 2 cents!

 

[cherry lips]

Any advice on the above (Lana do) would be much appreciated! I'll be off to the hairdresser's any day now!
(I'm going to try a place here in Malmö.)

 

[Laura Chase]

The Lana hairdo:

To me it looks like it's cut with long layers, long bangs, U-shaped neck. The most important thing is probably the neck, you want it to droop down while the rest is a bit shorter.

It's simply a middy, right ladies?




Other than that, I tend to agree with MissQueenie. The cut is only something that can help you, make it easier (or more difficult) for you to style your hair, but when it comes to pin curls (as Lana's do there), a lot of it is styling technique. Of course some cuts, like short bangs, will make it more difficult to pin curl and style like this, but from my experience, as long as the neck is U-shaped and the layers not too short, you would be able to create something like that hairdo. You just need the right pin curl setting pattern. Depending on your hair type, it probably won't look exactly like Lana's, but you can come close.

Just bring a picture to your stylist, so she/he knows how long to cut it, in order for it to get the Lana length when curled.

Nina the Hairdresser from London is an expert in vintage cutting and styling, and she styled my hair really nicely but I didn't really notice much difference in the cut. She really emphasized the U-shaped neck, which was a revelation to me, but other that that she cut pretty normally. Of course she had a lot of great styling tips and tricks, but the vintage cut doesn't seem to be the holy grail of the 40's hairdo - that honor goes to the pin curls.

 

[Mrs. Merl]

I agree that the cut may not be the "end all beat all" answer to hair woes. I think that a lot of the vintage cuts could be desperately limiting. So, I always have my mom cut my hair in a really simple way - but I find it very versatile.

I simply start by deciding how short I want the front to be at the time. She starts there (with a center part - though I almost always part my hair on the side.) I usually go pretty short almost a bob length (just a little longer - I would say that when straight it pulls to my cheek bone.) Then she figures out how long it should be in the back to create a u-shape. Then she "under cuts" (or layers - I guess) the back so that it naturally wants to curl under. To finish she blends in the sides to create the even u-shape from front to back. It is really similar to the seventies era page-boy - I hated it as a kid, but now I find it very versatile (probably because my mom doesn't get at it with her blow dryer anymore!) I really think the most important thing is to have the cut done with scissors and never, ever razored. You need the bluntness of scissoring.

Here's the part I like, as everyone has said, with different sets I can get it to look different ways. When I don't want to set (which sadly is a lot of the time - need to be less lazy) I can just leave it and it looks just regular (it blows under well too.) The next good thing is that as it grows out it still stays fun and I can do different things with it. I feel like it kind of starts out where I can do early thirties looks easy (my husband says it sets better than Kristy Swanson's hair in "The Phantom" movie!) Or I can soften it and look a little more like some of the pictures above (especially if I could figure out finger waves.) Then as it gets longer I can do more forties looks - basically a really decent pageboy. And when it is longer I can play with more up-dos. I find that I can go a long time between cuts with this cut and still have hair I can do something with.

 

[Goldfish]

It only looks good completely styled. The hairdresser was great and really knew her stuff, but if you don't wear your hair in a vintage style every day (and I don't), you might end up frustrated in the mornings.

So which hair cut is the best to be able to wear your hair vintage and non - vintage?

 

[filfoster]

vintage haircut

How about a brush cut, 'en brosse' for a mid 20th Century, immediately post war look? And, it's easy to maintain! Your barber would be glad to see you every two weeks. (Yes, I mentioned 'barber'. Has there been a thread on 'barber' vs 'stylist'?)

 

[Mrs. Merl]

Are we talking about a woman's hair cut?