Hair-Dos from 1949 - Short and Sweet, Casual or Glamorous!

Straight from 1949 and Woman's Day magazine is an article that shows two different ways to set your hair with pin curls and instructions for brushing each into 4 charming hair-dos (for a total of 8!).

Set No. 1

Instructions for setting your hair:

1. Working with wet, freshly-shampooed hair, part in the center.
2. Set the hair in front with standing curls, making about five curls on each side, rolling the curls toward the face:
   Roll each pin curl tightly at ends, looser toward the roots, making each curl about the size of a quarter. Holding the curl firmly, stand it on its side and pin in place.
3. Set 4 or 5 rows of flat pin curls on each side, rolling the curls toward the face.
4. Keep the crown smooth and work around to the back (there should be 4 or 5 rows). 
5. Scramble the direction of the curls near the center back so that hair will not pull apart at that point. 
6. Be sure your hair is thoroughly dry before removing the hairpins.

Combing directions:

1. Angel-wing hair-do: hair is simply brushed up into soft curls. The front hair is combed into high coils.
2. Smooth and close to the head: hair is brushed down until flat, then swirled toward the face. Brush the bangs straight to the front and let the part fall in. Then comb the coils toward the center of the forehead.
3. A smart coif: Hair is parted on the right side. Brush the left side back and up. The brush the back hair high, and the right side back to meet it.
4. A feminine evening hair-do: Part hair on the right and brush the right side back until it is sleek. At center back, start combing the back hair left and forward in feather edges. Comb the left side back over these feather curls. At top right, comb back one large curl. Brush the rest of the bangs to the left side. Comb the bottom section into a flat half-bang.

Set No. 2

Instructions for setting your hair:

1.  Working with wet, freshly-shampooed hair, make two diagonal parts in the front (as shown), then roll back these sections (which are shorter than sides), using 3-inch rollers. Hold the rollers in place with a hairpin or two.
2.  Side hair and rest of front are set in flat pincurls about the size of a quarter. Roll hair from ends to roots, with ends tight and looser toward the roots. 
3. Make 3 rows on each side and starting at the ears, 2 rows across the back.
4. Roll all curls toward the face.
5. Near the center back, scramble the direction of the curls so the hair won't pull apart at that point.
6. Be sure your hair is thoroughly dry before removing the pins and rollers. 

Combing directions:

1. Formal hair-do: Hair on th eleft side is combed around the ear toward the face, then curved over the ear in one large puff. Back hair is combed to the right anbd held with comb behind the right ear. Front hair on the right side is combed back to meet it and also anchored. The combined ends are then swept over the right ear and arranged in 3 flat puffs, curved toward the face. Shorter hair at top front is combed into a deep, smooth wave.
2. Sporty, all-around casual hair-do: First pin the front section up out of the way, as it is combed last. Start to comb the sides and back under, like a pageboy, but pull apart and soften the roll. To soften the left side, comb high and swing back. To comb front hair, fluff high, and then brush into a deep wave.
3. Graceful chignon: Pin the front section up, then comb hair back in waves from sides. Anchor with combs. Fluff out the ends in a cluster of large soft curls. Comb the band forward, and swirl slightly toward the right side.
4. A pretty version of the Psyche Knot and ideal for summer: Front hair is combed last as usual. Hair is swept up from the sides and back and hold with combs. Comb the center back curls (keep the rolls large and soft) and pin. Comb the side curls, arranging the rolls to surround the center. Front hair is swept up high, then combed back in a cluster of deep ringlets.

1950s Hair Dos - Pin Curls: The Back

Well dippity-do! Are you ready to ready to finish your 1950s hair-do? In the first post of this 3-part series on 1950s pin curls, you learned how to create pin curls on the sides. In the second post, pin curls in the front. Today's post provides five different diagrams that illustrate how to set your pin curls in the back for 5 different results.

I bet you didn't know that there are five different neck types! Each diagram illustrates the perfect hair style for one of the following neck types:

• Short and thin
• Long and thin
• Short and fat
• Masculine
• "Perfect"

(Really - those are the neck descriptions in the Home Ec book.  It was a different era!)

Short, thin neck: Pin curls in figure 536 will brush the hair up off the neck into a flare effect, giving the appearance of length and width.

Long, thin neck: Pin curls in figure 537 produce an appearance of shortness and width.

Short, fat neck: Pin curls in figure 538 produce short, swirled hair and vertical waves to achieve the appearance of length.

The "masculine" neck: Pin curls in figure 539 help create a soft back with an oval effect.

The "perfect" neck: One way to set pin curls in figure 540 for the perfect neck. The perfect neck can accommodate any type of back hair style - suit your self!

What type of neck do YOU have? :D I'd love to know what constitutes a "masculine" neck. I'm not seeing a whole lot of difference in these illustrations.

1950s Hair Dos - Pin Curls: The Front

In my first post on 1950s pin curls, pinning the sides was covered. Now it's time to look at pinning the front hair. According to the experts, the height of the hair in front will flatter different-shaped faces. The illustrations start with an image of pin curls set for no added height (figure 531). Each successive image illustrates more height than the preceding image, with figure 535 illustrating extreme height and side wave. So how high do you want to go? ;) Note the direction of the pin curls is not always the same from image to image.

 

 

1950s Hair Dos - Pin Curls: The Side

Would you like a 1950s hair style to go with your fabulous 50s dresses? Perhaps you would like something like this:

The following diagrams from a 1950s high school home economics textbook illustrate how you should pin the curls to achieve the desired side effects, from close to the head to fluffy fullness!

Note the direction of each row of curls. Also note the reference to the stem of the curl. There are three parts to a pin curl: base, stem, and circle. The base is the stationary part, attached to the scalp. The stem is the section of hair between the base and the first arc of the circle, giving the hair its direction and movement. The circle is, of course, the part that forms a full circle. The size of the circle determines the width of the resulting wave and its strength. Here are some guidelines:

• Start with clean, wet hair.
• Divide the sections of hair for each curl as equally as possible.
• Each circle should be flat and smooth on its base.
• The direction in which a curl and stem is placed determines the finished style.

So arm yourself with a box of bobby pins or clippies, a comb or brush, gel (to help your hair hold the curl longer), end papers if you have them, and experiment with these variations. Have fun! Definitely research pin curls on YouTube, or just on the internet generally, for further guidelines and tips.

And just fyi, I don't claim to be an expert on pin curls. I simply lived through 1950s and 1960s when their use was the mode of the day. As a small girl, my mother would curl my hair with rags (whole different topic!), then as I got older, with bobby pins to create pin curls. And by the time I was in high school, curlers were all the rage! ;)