Hair Help!

[Miss Dottie]

Glamorous ladies of the lounge, how do you do it?

How do you get your hair to be so nice all the time?

I'm all thumbs when it comes to doing my own hair. My mother must have passed her hair ineptitude along to me because she has her hair set once a week. If only I could do that.

I wear two plain pony tails almost every day. I tried hot sticks yesterday and instead of getting nice luscious curls I unwrapped frizzy evil on a stick!

So ladies--how did you get so good at hair? Did you take baby steps and do it every day until you perfected it? Did you take a class? Every book I bought on vintage hair the diagrams just looks like greek to me. But I will persevere until I manage something that looks remotely vintage. Any advice?

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Just practice, and experiment with different styling products (it helps to experiment on days/nights when you have no where to be--that way any mishaps are only seen by you ) I never styled my hair until I was about 20--I just wore it in the same straight, side-parted style pretty much everyone wore in the mid-90s.

If the Hot Sticks made your hair frizzy, you most likely curled too small of sections. Try taking larger sections and/or using a different setting lotion and see what results.

 

[mysterygal]

I agree, practice! I'm still in the process of learning how to get my hair just 'so'. You do learn a lot as you go. A great hairstyle for an updo, is pull your hair into a bun but let some strands around your face be curled, this has that 'romantic' look, and can go with just about any era.

 

[RaasAlHayya]

Trial and error. Don't be afraid to experiment. Read every hairstyling tip you can get your mitts on. Ask every woman you know what products and techniques she uses on her hair. For fresh ideas, ask girlfriends to style it for you. Try different hair salons. Try different *types* of hair salons (Supercuts, old barber shops, department store salons, etc.)

Good luck!

--Leslie

 

[RetroMom]

Make sure you have the right kind of haircut for your hair texture.

I love the look of long perfectly waved hair ala Rita Hayworth, but for my texture of hair, it would never work.

If you have the right haircut it will be a breeze to style, always look good and you won't get frustrated trying to get a look that is impossible for your hair type. As everyone has said before, practice, practice, practice!! It took me years to be able to set my hair quickly and without looking in a mirror!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Like everyone else says, practice practice practice -- but also, *don't overwash.* If your hair is dried out from overwashing, it's not going to hold vintage styles that well. Don't be afraid to go a couple days without shampooing and then experiment a bit and see if it helps...

 

[RetroModelSari]

Everyone has his favourite when it comes to styling. Some do pin curls, some do sponge-rollers, some hairsticks and some curlers. Just find out what works best for you (and try everything several times cause you won´t get the perfect do at the first try). I dare to say everyone of us had problems at the beginning till she found out what really works with the hairtype and found out tricks to manage the best result. Head up and give it the next try

 

[Girl Friday]

I agree with everyone else, my hair is curl and thick so when it is humid, and often is here in Dallas, I put it in a pony tail or it'll be a big frizz ball by the end of the day.

If you have straight hair that won't hold a style, sometimes coloring it (yes, actually damaging it a little) will help give it some body. And while it seems counterproductive it actually does help sometimes.

 

[Naama]

If you have straight hair that won't hold a style, sometimes coloring it (yes, actually damaging it a little) will help give it some body. And while it seems counterproductive it actually does help sometimes.

Yes, that's really true, even if I'd never believed you..... But when my hair wasn't bleached, and I did put it in rag curls, it ended up horrible. Now that my hair is heavily bleached and all damaged rag curls give me perfect waterwaves [huh]

Naama

 

[Honey Doll]

Glamorous ladies of the lounge, how do you do it?

How do you get your hair to be so nice all the time?

I'm all thumbs when it comes to doing my own hair. My mother must have passed her hair ineptitude along to me because she has her hair set once a week. If only I could do that.

I wear two plain pony tails almost every day. I tried hot sticks yesterday and instead of getting nice luscious curls I unwrapped frizzy evil on a stick!

So ladies--how did you get so good at hair? Did you take baby steps and do it every day until you perfected it? Did you take a class? Every book I bought on vintage hair the diagrams just looks like greek to me. But I will persevere until I manage something that looks remotely vintage. Any advice?

What kind of hair do you have-- straight, curly, thick, fine.. what is the length... what kind of style are you trying to achieve? I agree that alot of getting the look is trial and error, but tell what you're working with and maybe we can offer more helpful hints.

Honey Doll

 

[Nashoba]

I'm glad I'm not the only one throughly frustrated with her hair!!!! I keep failing, miserabley. I managed one fabulous 1940's style complete with rolls and a beautiful comb in the back that I'd made, and my husband hated it...I've tried the plastic rollers, the velcro rollers, the self-gripping rollers that you can sleep on (I DO NOT reccommend these, they tore my hair out!)...I ususally end up with poofed frizziness. I've tried different quantities of hair on the rollers...sigh. I used lottabody and the frizziness was better, but parts of my hair didn't bother to curl at all, just rolled right off the roller straight as can be, which is crazy because my hair has a fair amount of natural curl to it, thanks to the Italian in me. I have a formal ball coming up and I'm at a loss as to what to do!!!! Everytime I manage something it takes me 2 hours to do, and I just don't have that kind of time every day. Sigh, i can do anyone's hair but my own. it's aggrivating...
sorry to rant, just frustrated!
Nash

 

[Paisley]

Try putting some gel or mousse in your hair. It helps your hair hold a style and stay in curlers. If your hair ends up frizzy, try a stronger conditioner and some anti-frizz (like John Frieda).

For instructions, read the stickies at the top of the Powder Room page.

 

[Miss Dottie]

You ladies are the best.

My hair is something of a conundrum. Part afro (seriously--my Dad is black) and part straight. So I have brown curly hair that has a tendency to frizz if I do anything particularly snarky.

I do color it, so it's a nice chocolate brown and it holds curls well when it isn't frizzing.

Perhaps I'll set my hair tomorrow night and see what comes up and send pics to you lovely ladies

 

[Elaina]

I learned one hairstyle (semi-vintage) that I can do in a minute that always looks nice. The rest of it...trial and error. I used to be able to do perfect rolls, but they're not working now

I generally just toss my hair up in a french twist. I also live in Dallas and humidity kills my hair, and I don't like my hair in my face. I either do rag curlers or pin curls, and while they come out fine, the styling is killing me. So practice away and then find something that if you do have to go out, it doesn't affect the look, and you can still look nice.

My great grandmother taught me to do my hair back in the 90's. Unfortunately that meant I generally looked like a flapper. Not quite the look I want now.

Elaina

 

[Rebecca D]

Miss Dottie,
Back in the day, there was a whole lot of pomade going on. Have you tried going that route yet? I've tried it on my limp hair and it was just plain sad looking, but it might work better for you. If you can stand the feeling of grease in your hair, you can achieve some pretty cool styles. Plus with the upcoming San Francisco monsoon season fast approaching, you could smooth it down into a bun and add some DivaPinup flowers for a beautiful finishing touch. I do that with my hair (minus the pomade) and no wind, fog or sideways rain can mess it up.

Also, until you've got more experience in setting your hair, ignore the 1940s hairstyling guides. They'll only frustrate you!

My best girlfriend is a hairstylist, and it's her belief that clean hair is nothing but evil. So, as has already been mentioned here, don't wash your hair everyday.

Also, for those days when you have frizz, you could use a hair rat or snood to cover it up. You can find the hair rats on the Vermont Country Store website.

Another great way around frizz is a do-rag, do you know how to do those? I wear them all the time when I wear trousers or jeans and I love them.


So many options...