~Recreating Hair styles of the 1940s~

[ShooShooBaby]

i originally posted this in the 21" long hair thread, but realized it would be better fit here!

i've been toying with the idea of getting layers cut into my hair for curling. i have stick-straight hair that doesn't like to curl, and it seems like it would make things a lot easier. has anyone gotten any of the cuts in that 40s hairstyles book? like the shingle, baby haircut, etc... i'd like to get a better visual of what they look uncurled, before i take the plunge. i don't do 40s hairstyles everyday, or even close, so that's a little important to me!

also, i've found that great source for hairstyles are old yearbooks. i'm sure peolpe did their hair a LITTLE nicer than they did everyday, but you still see a lot of hairstyles that don't involve tricky rolls and such. i can post some pics from a 1940 high school yearbook i just got, if anyone's game, and i can also look for my 1943 college (much more skilled stylists there!) yearbook as well. let me know if you're interested!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Anyway, my question is what is a snood? I've heard people refer to them a lot and have seen them on vintage clothes websites but I'm not sure exactly what they're for. Is it just for girls with longer hair or can short-haired girls get in on them too?

Thanks!

A snood is a crocheted net used to contain the back of your hair, like this:

i've been toying with the idea of getting layers cut into my hair for curling. i have stick-straight hair that doesn't like to curl, and it seems like it would make things a lot easier. has anyone gotten any of the cuts in that 40s hairstyles book? like the shingle, baby haircut, etc... i'd like to get a better visual of what they look uncurled, before i take the plunge. i don't do 40s hairstyles everyday, or even close, so that's a little important to me!

A good basic layered cut is all you need (you can have the corners rounded as well); my original stylist, who trained in the 1960s, said it was not necessary to get one of the cuts listed in the hairstyles book. What matters most is your setting technique; as that will give you a wide variety of looks with one basic cut.

also, i've found that great source for hairstyles are old yearbooks. i'm sure peolpe did their hair a LITTLE nicer than they did everyday, but you still see a lot of hairstyles that don't involve tricky rolls and such. i can post some pics from a 1940 high school yearbook i just got, if anyone's game, and i can also look for my 1943 college (much more skilled stylists there!) yearbook as well. let me know if you're interested!

I have a few yearbooks as well; it's kind of funny to see some of the very "grownup" hairstyles on teenagers. But, they do show what the various styles look like on real people, who had varying degrees of talent when it came to styling their hair.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

A good basic layered cut is all you need (you can have the corners rounded as well); my original stylist, who trained in the 1960s, said it was not necessary to get one of the cuts listed in the hairstyles book. What matters most is your setting technique; as that will give you a wide variety of looks with one basic cut.

good to know - thanks for this info!

I have a few yearbooks as well; it's kind of funny to see some of the very "grownup" hairstyles on teenagers. But, they do show what the various styles look like on real people, who had varying degrees of talent when it came to styling their hair.

you should see the middle school one i have. some of the hairstyles are REALLY bad. but it's obvious that they were trying really hard!

 

[GoldLeaf]

Here is another site that shows the haircut and other instructions.

http://www.rockabillyhairstyle.com/haircut.html

This is the one I was thinking about when I made a post on a different thread earlier.

JBD -

I know you love your Hot Sticks. I saw some the other day in Wal-Mart and they confused me a little It appears that the way to use them is to wrap your hair in a spiral around the rod. Is that so? And if it is, how do you secure the ends of your hair so they don't unwind?

This is what I get for being a tom-boy when I was younger! My mom offered to teach me to curl my hair with rollers, but I didn't take her up on it

Also, I am getting the hang of my sponge rollers. I know that JBD mentioned she uses 6 curlers on each side and 4 in the back. I don't know if I am using hair sections that are too small, but I seem to need more than that.

Does anyone have a diagram of a head with the placement of rollers so I can get an idea if I am in the ballpark? Also, what size sponge rollers? Mine by Goody come in pink (large) blue (medium-large) yellow (medium-small) and purple (small). At least I think those are the colors, I am a bit color blind

I always get about half way done with my rollers and my arms are tired, I am frustrated and its been about 45 minutes. I am getting better .... I think .... so I haven't gotten to practice with the actual curled hair yet lol If I ever get all my hair rolled ..... one day!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

JBD -

I know you love your Hot Sticks. I saw some the other day in Wal-Mart and they confused me a little It appears that the way to use them is to wrap your hair in a spiral around the rod. Is that so? And if it is, how do you secure the ends of your hair so they don't unwind?

Also, I am getting the hang of my sponge rollers. I know that JBD mentioned she uses 6 curlers on each side and 4 in the back. I don't know if I am using hair sections that are too small, but I seem to need more than that.

Does anyone have a diagram of a head with the placement of rollers so I can get an idea if I am in the ballpark? Also, what size sponge rollers? Mine by Goody come in pink (large) blue (medium-large) yellow (medium-small) and purple (small). At least I think those are the colors, I am a bit color blind

I always get about half way done with my rollers and my arms are tired, I am frustrated and its been about 45 minutes. I am getting better .... I think .... so I haven't gotten to practice with the actual curled hair yet lol If I ever get all my hair rolled ..... one day!

You just wrap the hair around the stick evenly--not in a spiral, just around and around in tight, even layers. The ends of the hair are then held in place by the rest of the hair; they don't pop out or anything. Also, if you hair is layered or slippery, you can quickly roll the hair, let the heat soften its wayward tendencies, and then re-roll it neatly.

You more or less place the rollers in the same pattern as you would pin curl the hair, so any pin curl diagram will give you a basic idea as to how to set the hair with rollers to achieve the desired finished product. I roll the hair down and towards my face; I usually only follow a very general pattern, as I want the hair to be soft and fluffy, and not necessarily with a well-defined, specific wave pattern. I don't use any roller larger then the medium-small size, as I prefer to work with a tighter initial curl, which can be brushed out to soften it. My hair is fairly long, and I roll 1-1.5 inch wide sections around each roller. Shorter hair requires taking somewhat smaller sections, as it is more difficult to tightly wind it around the roller. The thickness and texture of your hair will determine how large a section you need to take; you just have to experiment to get the hang of it.

 

[humblestumble]

I just put up another video on how to do reverse rolls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOHSCye4xk

 

[Kim_B]

You are a doll! That was very easy to follow...I'll have to give this a try over the weekend and let you know how it goes! Thanks so much!

 

[goldwyn girl]

That was great!! I can't wait for my fringe to grow out again so I can get a thicker roll. You make it look so simple, well done, Thank you

 

[kerry]

Great tutorial, very helpful for a newbie like me,thanks. Ditto the growing out fringe

 

[RetroMom]

Great instructions!

My daughter is going to a formal on Friday night and we were just talking about what we should do with her long hair.

We can't wait to try it out!!

 

[Grnidwitch]

Great job Humble.


Ahhhh, Aqua Net, the Queen of hairsprays.

 

[Sunny]

That is one of the best how-to videos I've ever seen! The lighting and your hair show detail extremely well, your instructions are clear and you explain why and how you part and how you use the hairspray, and your editing is great. Thank you so much for doing this!

 

[Helen Troy]

That video is wonderful! Does anybody know any other video tutorials with other vintage hairstyles?

 

[Vettie Lamour]

Thanks humblestumble! I can't wait to try reverse rolls this weekend. You made it look simple. I haven't had good luck when I've tried them before.

xoxo

 

[goldwyn girl]

humblestumble, I used your technique today and did my best rolls yet. Thanks a bunch xxx

 

[Kaela]

Controlled curls!

I also have naturally curly hair, and sometimes if I'm at home and lazy, crimping my natural curls and letting them dry can end up in decent 1940's waves when I brush it out (after *completely* dry!)
But my natural waves help me to set my hair in long lasting curls. I encourage girls with natural curls to try to take advantage of these! After you wash your hair, let it dry enough to see where your natural curls are coming in, and start the curl there. If you take advantage of this your hair will stay in a set longer!
Setting lotion is still necessary, though!

Sometimes after I set my hair, I just get a little atomizer filled with water and spray the dry spots to make sure they curl, because sometimes I like to avoid setting lotion so I can brush my hair out without breaking it!
I have some photos of my pin curl sets that I liked (when my hair was shorter, and peroxide blonde, too) http://lipstickvogue.com/pincurls.html
The last photo I used a lot of setting lotion because I went to the beach and it was very windy!

 

[NoirDame]

Curling Help

Hi Ladies!

I just started doing 1940s styles on a daily basis over a week ago. I am concerned about daily stresses of curling irons on my hair and am interested in alternate methods. I'm a bit intimidated by pincurls, also my hair might not turn out.

I have hair to the nape of my neck in length, but I am growing out a razored cut, so the ends have a lot of texture which makes the ends likely to pop out of a pin curl. As my hair grows out, I will trim the ends to an even length. I bought some foam rollers to try, but I don't look forward to sleeping on them. I'd like to get a bonnet dryer. Still, I am more interested in wet or cold sets since I did some fingerwave sets over night and they are much smoother and longer lasting and not as damaging to my hair. Plus, the waves are SO much nicer than the Marcel iron I have.

I have contemplated taking the plastic bit out of the foam and just rolling that up and pinning, but I wonder if they would flatten as I slept...

Help?

 

[Joie DeVive]

I haven't tried using the rollers sans plastic, but I hate sleeping on foam rollers. I'm a bit of a baby about it. My mom still sleeps on the all plastic ones with teeth from the 50s/60s.

I swear by rag curlers. I find them more comfortable to sleep in, and I sure do get curls. I have to be careful though, if I wind them too tight I end up looking like a poodle!! lol They can also take forever to dry, so I wait until my hair is partway dry before putting them in.

I'm sure the other gals have more experience than I, so they may well have better suggestions. Gals?

 

[ohairas]

Dame you might want to try pillow curlers. They are more square and the curl comes out more naturally shaped, but comfy to sleep in. I like them, it's what I used in my avatar, or check out the 'show us your hairdos" thread.

Also, if you want to take the plastic out of the foam curlers, try weaving a rag thru the hole to tie them into your hair. Or some type of ribbon that will be easy to tie but not slip out. HTP!

Oh, also get some end papers for your razored layers. They'll roll up nice and smooth then!

Nikki

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I've had a lot of trouble sleeping in foam rollers too. I started using Sassy Curlers about 2 months ago, thanks to the suggestion of Jitterbugdoll, and I love them. They are easy to use, lightweight, and comfortable to sleep in. Goody makes a version that seem a little nicer than the sassy curlers, but I can't seem to find them anywhere and they are not online. I've been told you can get them at Kroeger market but we don't have them in the northeast.
I've been getting nice, long lasting curls using them. I dampen my hair with setting lotion, curl, and sleep in them. I can curl pretty big sections into one of them to get a bigger curl. I highly recommend these for their ease of use and comfort.

I'll also second Nikki's suggestion of end papers. I've got razored ends that I'm trying to grow out, so when I curl them they tend to get kinked. The end papers make my ends nice and smooth and they no longer pop out or kink like they do if I don't wrap them before curling.

If you're interested in a Bonnet dryer, I got one made by Hot Tools. I did a lot of research on them before I bought one, and this brand seemed to have the better reviews. I've only used it once, and I loved what it did to my hair. I set my hair as I would have if I were going to sleep in a set and sat with the bonnet on for a little over an hour. My hair was so smooth and silky, and my curls didn't frizz at all, which tends to happen when I sleep in curlers. I got a soft bonnet so I can sit anywhere with it on, verses the hard bonnet which limits the places you can use it. The entire dryer is quite small and compact, everything folds up into a nice sized box so it doesn't take up a lot of room like the hard bonnet dryers do.