I`ve been googling and found a few but they don`t go into how any of them were actually done.Does anyone have any memories on products,curlers,pins,etc..I have a style in mind for my big day you see.The thing is i saw it on a film,The Land Girls,but i just can`t find it. I know this is probably a strange request but if someone could give me a few tips-pointers i think that between myself and my hairdresser we could get somewhere near. I think pins were used to create waves but how long did they stay in place and was it sugar and water that was used as hairspray?.I realise i don`t have to go to that extent but it would be great to hear a few stories-how long it took people to get ready for a dance,any traumatic experiences with hair dyes and the like... Thanks Elaine.
Oh dear, that's a bit before my time. I think you need to ask a few grannies about it. If you pop into your local charity shop, there are usually a few older ladies there who might be able to put you on the right track.
Had a look through my old family photos and found this, which was fairly typical of the styles young women wore in the early 40s from my family photos. I remember in my teens trying to get the same effect with my mother's help - and as I recallthey used a band, and then rolled the hair over the band at the back and sides, then rolled the top into tube like rolls, pinning it in place to the band with elongated U shaped pins. As I recall from my mother hair lacquer was what was used to keep things in place.
Thanks for that Tiarella.I may just have a stroll along to our memorial hall.They have tea dances on wed. afternoons. Fran,I love the pic.Those taped up windows behind your family says alot.A safety precaution from the bombs perhaps? They had different styles for different occasions.I think the style your Mother helped you with was maybe rag rolling.The disired effect was riglets. After posting i found a site!Amazing the trouble the ladies went to.Pin curls or finger curls to create waves(which is what i`m looking for)aparrantly bobby pins were no good as it just flattened the curl.Pompador,which i think is what the ladies have in your pic was high fashion.It must have taken them hours. When working in the ammunition factories they used a kind of bandana to hide the pin curls and for saftey and then brushed or teased out for evening wear. I just find the whole war era fascinating. Thanks for sharing your pic Fran,much appreciated.
I was born 1953 certainly before my time but also have photos of my late Dear Mum and her sisters. Can rember her saying though it was good growing up then aapert from the war. And she was not allowed out to see my Dad on a Friday night they stayed in a tenament house and her and her sisters has to say in and it was called a Mammie night they had to help do the indoor cleaning and the stairs and landing as on a Sunday they all went church and no housework was done then. Think my Mum and her 3 sisters did have a hard life with my Grandma myself and my cousins were a lot luckier.
Life must have been hard Scotkat.What with the rationing of everything.Imagine drawing a pencil line on your legs for stockings?Powdered eggs!Alot of kids never saw a banana till well after the war.Of course alot of folk did end up with inside toilets in the 50`s pre-fabs for all their troubles.Amazing the things we take for granted.If i want curls i plug in my curling tongs,but kinks and rolls need a bit more effort.
elainefiz to get waves from pin curls start at the crown, take piece of hair one inch square,roll around your index finger not to tight,turn it toward the right lay it down with a kirby grip,work in a horse shoe shape,next row lay toward left,thats how easy it is make sure it is really dry before you brush it out,you will see your waves appear. when doing right,bring your hair from between your middle and index finger, when doing left bring hair between thumb over index finger your hairdresser should understand what i mean.good luck
elainefiz Kathy3 has told you correctly but it is not easy to picture unless you already know how to do it. The best thing is to see if your local college has a hairdressing department. They are almost certain to have books showing the styles and how to do them and, if you're really lucky, the teacher may even be able to show you how. The problem with using kirby grips is that they can grip the hair too tight and leave marks on the hair. The original way of doing the waves was by forming the curls but then using two fine pins crossed over. The other way of doing it is finger waving which gets a better result but takes a lot of practice. There was a third way, which was to use Marcel irons but don't even bother looking for that. Unfortunately I live too far away to help you. Good luck
Hey Elaine, I found this site & if you click on the links it has good instructions on how to do each one..!!! Hope it helps a bit... :D Good Luck in your search... http://www.nocturne.com/swing/hair/hair.html
Hi MF Excellent site. Although it was a little bit before my time I was trained to do all those methods and used them for theatre work (they use wigs now) and was always being asked by my younger staff to do those sort of styles when they went to clubs like Stringfellows etc. Apparently retro always seems to be in fashion. Elaine, if your hairdresser isn't sure about anything you can always PM me. The important points with making pincurls are: Make your one inch sections neat and in line horizontally. Wind the curl in one direction (e,g clockwise) in one row and anticlockwise in the next. This forms the waves. Always bring the hair straight up from the head (90 degrees to it) before winding and then sit the curl in the middle of the section. When going around curves (e.g. the ear) you can make your sections triangular if square doesn't fit. It is explained very well on the site that MF found. Good luck
Sounds like you had an interesting job in the theatre shiney.. It is a pretty good site I think, my daughter in law gave it to me for Elaine, as she has used it several times when doing fancy dress... I reckon with shiney's help you should manage it Elaine... Good Luck..
My mother-in-law Doris who's a lovely little lady in her late 70's always likes to "do" her own hair even now! She washes her hair in the evening and before it is dry she rolls it up with little old rollers kinda like the ones they use to perm your hair. She's had the rollers for a great many years before I even married Bob and that's nearly 25 years and I have never known her to buy new ones so they must be good they could even be from before the war knowing her! :D Anyway in the mornings she takes the rollers and pins out and has cute little ringlets, she looks just like a pixie because she's so little just under 5ft and so cute too! Helen.xxx.
That site is excellent Marley.Please thank your daughter-in-law for me.One of the models (on the home page,`50s)-was that Princess Gracey Fields?What a stunner! Shiney, Kathy,i thank you.And of course everyone for your input. I will be practicing like crazy and will probably end up with a few holes in my head. :D You lot are the best!
Hi Elaine,this is a photo taken on the day my Mum got engaged to my Dad,but I am not quiet sure of the year late thirties or early forties,although I don't think you can see much of the style because of the hat she was wearing
