Hello, darlings!
Today I am going to show you a quick pictorial/tutorial on how I set my hair to get that beautiful 1940s/1950s vintage style.
Part Three of the A Lady's Charm Series will be posted tomorrow, as I have been doing quite a bit of research on it!
Anyway, on to the tutorial!
--
Introduction
If you're new to the vintage scene, and want to go the whole nine with makeup, hair, etc., you really should learn how to create pin curls. The way they fall and mold the hair is like no other set or style out there, and really makes one feel "finished" as far as getting ready is concerned.
It does take some time to master, and luckily, living in the age that we do, there are scores of YouTube tutorials and books available to use as teaching aids.
LisaFreemontStreet and CherryDollface are two gals on YouTube that I've found to be most helpful. And though I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, I've heard Lauren Rennells' book Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Hairstyles with Step-By-Step Techniques is a wealth of information as well.
--
To Use a Setting Pattern or To Not Use A Setting Pattern?
Setting patterns and their use are up to you! They are notoriously difficult to do on oneself, and if you're new to pin curling, they can be quite frustrating! It's best to not follow any specific pattern, especially for beginners, and just find what works for you.
Also, such precise setting patterns were mostly used by hairdressers of the period.
Setting your hair is not about being perfect, and as LisaFreemontStreet says, it's all about being happy with the style in the end. And if you're not, that's okay too, just each time you pin curl, try to get better at it.
However, if you want to recreate a specific style from an actress -- Hedy Lamarr or Rita Hayworth, for example, then you will need to use a setting pattern, as their styles have a specific set in order to get the hair to mold and lay as theirs did.
I myself do not use a setting pattern, and it took me six months to a year to find a set I could master and was pleased with the result.
--
Tools
To create a pin curl set, you will need the following:
- A rat tail comb for sectioning and parting
- Metal pin curl clips or bobby pins to secure curls
- Some sort of mousse or setting lotion
(Like Lay-Rite Grooming Spray or Motions Foaming Wrap Lotion, or you can make your own.)
- Your hands
- A nylon, chiffon or silk scarf to protect your set while sleeping
Optional: a small barreled curling iron (mine is 1/4")
Note
A pin curl set will be easiest to mold on day-old hair. It can be done on freshly washed hair, but your hair will thus be softer and may not be as willing to cooperate.
Setting one's hair is also ideally done at night and slept on, as the set needs to be left in at least 12 hours to really take hold.
--
When I do what's referred to as the "wash and set", I begin by washing and prepping my hair. I use Pureology shampoo for color treated hair, and rinse with warm water. After, I apply apple cider vinegar from roots to tip as a rinse to help minimize frizz. The smell isn't too pungent, I find, and does not strip out my color. I let that sit for 30 seconds, and rinse that out with warm water. Finally, I apply a style starting conditioner by John Freida, and leave that on for about 30 seconds as well, and rinse, this time with cold water to boost shine.
Post shower, I gently towel dry my hair by squeezing the water out of it, not rubbing. Once my hair is no longer dripping, I use a wide toothed comb to untangle it, then apply a L'Oreal mousse from roots to ends (bangs included), and run the wide toothed comb through again to distribute.
Then I let my hair air dry completely, and set my curling iron on to heat up, which takes about 20-25 minutes to get it really hot.
I realize that I probably should mist my hair with some sort of heat protectant, but I do not have the budget at present for that, and use things I already have, so I just heat style my hair without it for now.
Once the curling iron is ready, I take the rat tail comb and create a deep side part on the right side of my head. Once that's smoothed, I separate out 1/4" equal sections of hair and make sure each section is free of knots or tangles, and curl them, allowing them to cool slightly.
I then mist the ends with my own version of a setting lotion - a mixture of two parts water to one part curl shaping cream, and using two fingers on my right hand to wrap each curl, and rolling downward with my left hand, I roll the top lock on the heavy side of my part into four standing pin curls, or pin curls that stand up from the scalp. Standing pin curls create volume, and look something like this:
The sides and back of my hair are sectioned, curled and rolled in the same fashion: around two fingers on the right hand and rolled downwards toward the scalp with the left hand, and misted on the ends with setting lotion.
However, these pin curls are flat, meaning they do not stand up from the scalp, and look like so:
(Side view, the curls above the ones nearest to my ear are side views of the standing pin curls mentioned earlier.)
(The back view. I ran out of pin curl clips - oops! - so I secured the remaining curls with a single bobby pin.)
If sectioned properly, you should have room to curl your entire head without running out of space. As I said before, I take 1/4" equal sections to make my curls, and including the four stand up ones, that equates to approximately twenty-one curls for my entire head, in rows of three to four, excepting the top and sides, which are smaller rows of two.
The curls, when rolled, should be entirely smooth and not twisted or bent in any way, as it will result in a curl with a kinked appearance.
Once all the curls have been placed, I mist my entire head very lightly with a bit more of the setting lotion, and leave it to dry for 12 hours or so, and brush out.
When you are setting your pin curls the night before, it is wise to tie a nylon, chiffon or silk scarf around your curls loosely to protect them while you sleep. Cherry Dollface shows you how to tie a scarf around your curls in her wet set video. (The scarf tying portion begins at 12:37).
--
The brush out tutorial will come this weekend!
Until next time,
