When I was young my mother washed my hair in our kitchen sink. We cleared off the counter and I would lay down on towels with my head hanging over the sink. Sometimes she used rainwater that we had collected in a big tin tub, to make my hair extra soft. Mother liked to use lemon juice as a rinse because she said it kept my hair pale blonde. Most of the time she had my hair cut as short as possible so that there wasn't much hair care involved. My annual school pictures prove that the Pixie cut, made famous at the time by Audrey Hepburn from her movie debut in "Roman Holiday", was popular even in suburban Florida.
One year when I was about nine my mother decided to have my hair permed at the downtown salon she visited. My hair was short already, so the final outcome was almost like pin curls. Just in case we might forget this special hairstyle, she took me to a professional photographer right afterwards for portraits. Looking at those pictures now I just think, poor me. It was a cross between a little old lady and a poodle! My baby doll and I almost had matching hair.
As I got older and cared for my hair myself, I was allowed to let it grow longer. I tried bangs for awhile, but they were a constant annoyance. In the late '50s and early '60s the flip was the rage. Everyone wanted to have the perfect flip similar to Mary Tyler Moore or Marlo Thomas or Jackie Kennedy. This required lots of preparation for most of us. I chose various curlers to use, usually opting for the ones with clinging brushes inside. They were held in with plastic picks that left dents in your scalp. To get the flip to stay, there was green Dippity-Do styling goop which was applied on the wet hair ends before rolling. My hair was thin and limp so the curl didn't last long. I wasn't successful with teasing and didn't like the feel hairspray gave. This meant that if I wanted the flip every day, I had to roll it every night. My hair dryer was the bonnet type which I often fell asleep wearing. Later I had the portable hood dryer. When my hair got really long in high school, I often used empty frozen orange juice cans for curling.
| | I probably went out in public with my hair in rollers more than once. Can't imagine doing that now. Some vintage things - girls ironed their hair with clothes irons, - Breck and Prell shampoo, (this was all our family used for years) - Pssssst! dry shampoo spray which was supposed to soak up the oil and make your hair look clean, (I used a few cans of this) - VO5, a rub in conditioner in a tube like toothpaste, - Toni home perms, (the tv ads had twins with lovely hair styles and the jingle was 'which twin has the Toni?') - Miss Clairol home hair coloring (I admit I lightened my darkening blonde roots a time or two). |
| | As hats became less popular, especially for young girls, hair accessories were in. The stretch hair band came in a multitude of colors to match your wardrobe. Patty Duke helped make these stylish on her show where she played the parts of identical cousins. Clip hair bows were colorful, too, and came in ribbon and velvet. During the '60s I recall it was the fashion at our school to wear 1/8" or 1/4" satin ribbon hair bands that matched your outfit. |
  | I would be remiss to exclude some of the male hairstyles of the times. I recall my brother's Butch hair wax that was an absolute necessity to keep his crew cut standing up correctly. For shine and styling my dad used Brylcreem...a little dab'll do ya...as the ad campaign went. Before the Beatles it seemed most of the men and boys (that we knew at least) had GI type haircuts. Then came mop tops, Afros, the dry look, and the long hippie. |
Do you have a hairstyle story from the past?
"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Luke 12:7
"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Luke 12:7
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