Recreating the Classic 1960s or 70s Home Hairdressing Experience

 

Imagine waking up every morning with your hair  in curlers and being so happy that they are still in neatly and tightly enough for that perfect morning hairdo. Or going shopping on Saturdays with a scarf over your curlers. Those are some of the most  iconic 1950s, 60s  and 70s ladies home hairdressing experiences but there really was a lot more to it than simply that. 

I thought it would be fun to cover some of the typical routines used by so many women and girls in the 50s, 60s and 70s to achieve those wonderful hairdos.  Last post captured a lot of actual recollections of those experiences but this one really outlines those common routines both for almost a historic record  as well as for reenactment purposes or if you just want to add them to you vintage hair experience. And if you have the time it can be quite fun and you will end up with the best hair for doing any style - modern or vintage - so you may become a convert to doing hair the old ways.

The Basics

 You (obviously) need to be able to set your hair with regular rollers (not electric or velcro) as it was done back then.  A long time ago I wrote a couple of articles for Karen @ Bobbins and Bombshells (a really great blogger now with a store and complete vintage site). So rather than repeat things, I am going to be a bit lazy and point you to two sections on her blog for a concise "how to get started". Here are the links: A Basic Wet-set for Vintage Hairdos and Basic Setting Patterns for Vintage Hairdos. She also bundled these two post together with details on individual hairdos here Wet-Sets with Pete. If you need to learn how to do vintage wetsets that's a good place to set started. 

Since doing it authentically is the theme of this post, use old style wire brush rollers for 1950s to mid 60s and you can add to that colorful plastic brush rollers for more 60s to 70s authenticity. Foam rollers were much less common, and while magnetic rollers (smooth plastic) were often used in beauty salons, they are harder to set and keep secure overnight so they were less common at home. 

 

Classic wire brush rollers.

 

Typical brush rollers in the 60s or 70s.

 

Wire brush rollers are easily available new today but be careful: some have brushes that are too long and are both uncomfortable and tend to get the rollers entangled in your hair. You may have to try a few to find good ones. They are also often rightly colored may look nice but that is not authentic! My choice is always vintage rollers from places like Ebay but be careful with these as well - used ones may be worn out, and even some in unopened packages may have deteriorated over time. Look at photos carefully!

 

Plastic Wil-hold brush rollers are some of the best.

Air drying in the 60s or 70s.

 

For plastic brush rollers the most authentic are Wil-Hold Plastic Brush Rollers. A close second is Solo Sleepeasy  Brush Rollers. Wil-hold rollers are often available on ebay so they must have been most common. Most stand the test of time, but one bundle of used ones I purchased were missing many bristles so inspect the photos carefully. Unopened packages are usually perfect. If you come across newer ones ones with more 70s style artwork as opposed to 60s, get them: the plastic is a bit more flexible and more comfortable. The Solo Sleepeasy rollers  show up less often on Ebay but they are there at times. Keep your eyes open at thrift stores - I was thrilled to pick up a large bag of these in excellent condition at a Goodwill store. These rollers also got better in the 70s with softer plastic - look for brightly colored ones. The pale pink and white ones seem more brittle and can break. 

Of course there a lots of other vintage rollers to choose from. I wrote a buying guide here  A Vintage Hair Rollers Buying Guide .

You will also need piks (aka picks) - the pins that hold the roller. The best are vintage Wil-hold ones:

The best roller piks (Wil-hold).

Perfect roller set using piks and wire brush rollers.

These Wil-hold brand piks work the best and are the most comfortable for most rollers. Details here Roller Piks (Picks or Pins).

Once you have have some vintage rollers and learned how to set your hair with them, its time to make your sets true to  form for the 1950s, 60s  or 70s .   

To be really authentic as opposed to a modern rollerset, hair needs to be neatly wound with some little tension on each roller and secured with one or two piks. Rollers should be close together in neat rows as well and should look like a work of art as in the photo.  How tight depends on what works for you but the rollers should not be able to move. Don't be tempted to use piks from roller-to-roller until your really good at setting comfortably: you wont be able to adjust each roller individually if they get too tight as the hair drys.There is nothing more unpleasant as single tight curler you cant get at!  A set should never be so tight that it hurts but a well done set can be anywhere from a  little to quite prickly from the brushes and piks. With practice you get to know how a well done set should feel. Note: one deviation from true authenticity: back then, rollers were set as tight as possible often being quite uncomfortable. Don't go too tight! Tight has great results and is authentic, but painfully tight wont make your hair any better and isn't a good part of the authentic experience to re-create and can lead to hair loss! Even tightness is they key as one Facebook commenter remembered "If the tension is right it doesn't hurt - just like the girl in the circus  who swings by her hair. Even tension" and that is so true. Done that way, its so satisfying to be in a perfectly done set.

Once you have gotten the hang of putting in  rollers properly (as opposed to today's messy poor excuses for roller sets!) you can really start having fun experiencing the vintage routines. 

Here are some of the most typical everyday house hair routines:

 

The Homemaker's  Daytime Set

The best routine to start with is a routine many housewives used in the 60s: Set you hair in the morning, cover it with a scarf, and let it dry naturally all day. Remove rollers early evening and comb or brush your perfect hairdo.

Here are some vintage examples of how to cover your curlers with a scarf or curler cap:

 

 

Classic scarf over rollers.

Thinner scarf keeping rollers in place.

 

 

 

 

       Perfect set under a scarf from the 1970 movie "Wanda"

Pretty curler caps were often used to cover rollersets.

A square  scarf is usually folded into a triangle with the corners of the long diagonal side  going from ear, around the face and down to the next ear. The center corner goes over the heard and back to you neck.   Carefully draping the scarf over you head as described - it can get snagged and stuck on the rollers or piks. Once it is in place pull the corners of the diagonal down and around the back and over the other corner, and tie them together.  Adjust the scarf and tighten as needed - it should be nice and snug so the rollers are all secure. Carefully not to tighten too much or it will be uncomfortable, but tight enough and you will feel nicely set. 

One authentic variation on wearing a scarf over rollers is to tie it under you chin like this:

This is perfect for  rollers set in a halo pattern keeping them nicely in place.  And its also wonderful as part of the authentic expedience: whenever you talk or eat, you feel a slight tug on your rollers as a nice reminder that your in a vintage rollerset.

You can see in photos it seemed usually seemed customary to leave the rollers visible in the front, maybe to show off your set.  Trying to cover the front you wouldn't be fooling anyone anyway but that wasn't the intent - even from the back the "roller bumps" are always visible. 

 It was common not only to dry that way at home but go shopping in curlers. Probably not recommended today :) .But it can be fun to do at home and if you can keep it up daily for a couple of weeks you'll be amazed how you can get used to being in curlers and how satisfying it is feeling so vintage all the time. You'll also notice how much more manageable you hair becomes.

 

The Homemakers  Overnight Set 

 

 

Sleeping in curlers.

 

This is the overnight version of "The Homemaker's  Daytime Set" above.  Set your hair after dinner making sure your curlers are secure so they wont come out overnight but being careful not to make them uncomfortably tight. Cover with a pretty vintage curler cap.

 

A pretty vintage curler cap.

Spend the night dreaming about tomorrows hairdo. And there is nothing more satisfying then waking up with you hair prefectly set. For true authenticity, get up early and do you hair before everyone else at home gets up. Or, if your hair  is hard to set or slow to dry, cover with a scarf and spend the day in curlers until late afternoon (see above).  This was the most iconic  housewife routine, with classic black wire brush rollers being typical of the 50s and 60s.

 

The Younger Set

Hairdos for younger women were often longer and required much more time in curlers to dry. This often meant putting in rollers as soon as they got home from work or school and leaving them in till the last moment before leaving in the morning. Those lucky enough to have a dryer would partially dry while doing homework or watching TV.  Saturdays could mean setting in the morning and drying all day instead of sleeping in rollers on Friday night. Or setting Friday night as usual and staying set till Monday morning because it was easier than doing your hair every morning. And if something came up, you hair was already set and dried for a quick combout.

Classic photo of watching TV in curlers probably from the 1960s or 70s.

This is a fun routine to try: Your not setting your hair late night when your tired, and you have plenty to time after setting to adjust your rollers for comfort as they partially dry before bed. And you really get to "live in curlers" which was so common back then.

 

The Home for the Holidays Set

This is just the "I don't have to go anywhere" version of above and takes the least effort of all. Just set you hair as neatly and perfectly as possible and cover with a scarf during the day or a curler cap overnight and stay set for 2 or 3 days. Its no work after setting, and your  ready all the time if you need a special hairdo. In some areas the set actually became the hairstyle.

 

Curlers as a hairdo from the 1974 movie "Lords of Flatbush"

Try being mostly in curlers for a week or so to really experience this, taking out your curlers every few days to wash and re-set your hair. While today you cant really be seen in public in curlers it can be a fun thing to do at home during the pandemic.

 

Daily Setting with  Dryer

Perhaps the most enjoyable experiencing is drying with a vintage home bonnet dryer.  My favorite home dryer which must have been so common that there are literally dozens of Ebay listings at any time is this one

The GE dryer with the "reach-in"bonnet.

This dryer was marketed by GE under numerous names. but the key feature of all of them is the  "reach-in bonnet" - you can literally reach to adjust your curlers while drying without risking messing up your set buy taking off the bonnet. Being under the dryer for an hour or so is great way to get used to being in curlers. Its also a wonderfully authentic experience that is an absolute joy - the warmth are over you rollers and the gentle hum of the dryer is so relaxing its no wonder many women of that period loved their daily dryer time and used it to reduce their time in curlers or do a quick hairdo for an unexpected event. It was also great way to study undisturbed and partially dry longer hair to ensure it would be completely dry in the morning after an overnight set. 

 

Look at this amazing dryer hood.

 The dryers also came with a variety of fashionable bonnets so you can look pretty while drying,

 

For $5.00 you got get a designer hood (lower left).

 

Try a daily morning, afternoon or evening set under the dryer for this authentic experience. There is nothing more relaxing than an hour under a warm dryer!

Its The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: The Frequent Sets of  the Christmas Season

Redbook magazine (Christmas  1962)  referred to "The Frequent Sets of  the Christmas Season". Impeccable hair was required at all times with people dropping by, parties and other functions. This inevitably meant at least nightly sets for some of those wonderful more delicate "set looking" hairdos and also a second set under the dryer in the afternoon to be ready for the evening  if you hair didn't hold a set well.  Or just to have fancier hairdo that evening. If you enjoyed doing your hair, this must really have been the most wonderful time of the year. 

 

Mary Tyler Moor wearing a perfect "not a hair out of place" set looking hairdo.

Redbook also showed showed something I had never heard of before  - wearing curlers beneath an elegant hat or turban as part of a fancy outfit to have your hair ready for a later event. Hard to imagine what it must have been like to be at a formal event with you hair set knowing no-one else even realizes your in curlers.

You wouldn't guess she is wearing curlers!

Try this for a few days during the holidays! It can be great fun doing a hairdo or two every day for Christmas.

 

Other things that have been mentioned ...

For interests sake and autenticity, here they are:

I have seen a few mentions of some women wearing curlers all summer because it was cooler! Probably makes sense if you have long hair and don't want to cut it. Those were also the days before air conditioning.

Apparently in some industrial areas in the the UK, the women who worked in the factories would set their hair on Sunday night and stay in curlers till Friday evening. You can imagine how brutally tiring some of those factory jobs must have been so it probably was a huge time saver for them rather than doing their hair every day. 

Finding that you are so used to sleeping in curlers, you can't sleep without them. I've seen this mentioned numerous times - its all what you get used to. 

Use as many rollers as possible for quicker drying. More rollers are also more comfortable for sleeping in because the weight of you head is distributed over more of them rather than a few pressure points.

Housewives doing a second set during the day just for the quite time under the dryer. Probably the only way to justify with relaxing for a while in a world where houses had to look perfect and were cleaned top to bottom every day. 

Taking your own curlers to the salon so that you could take them out later at home or come back later to have it done - probably for fancier hairdos that just wouldn't last for any length of time. Or wearing the salons curlers home for the same reason - apparently that became a problem in the 60s with some salons running low on curlers presumably on days like Fridays or Saturdays. 

Making the curlers the actual hairdo - often a grunge or tough girl look. Watch the move "Lords of Flatbush" to see this. Or just feeling you looked better in curlers that in the resulting hairdo. I have heard this multiple time - probably because it can be easier to do a perfectly neat set than the teasing and combing to make the perfect hairdo. 

 

 Wanda in the 1970 movie of the same name.

Looking pretty while setting you hair. Look at these curler piks with flowers. Or the pretty scarfs or curler caps, sometimes coordinated to match the rest of your outfit. Or brightly colored curlers, Or designer (yes designer!) dryer bonnets to look pretty while drying. 

 

Curler Piks with decorative flowers.

Putting cotton balls, wads of kleenex, or little sponges under you brush rollers to make them more comfortable to sleep in. Sadly many women back then who didn't think of this and were uncomfortable if they need really tight sets. 

So what to consider if you want to an authentic routine?

 All of these routines have one thing in common: spending a large portion of your time in curlers and it takes a while to get used to. If you set your hair carefully with some of the more comfortable  vintage rollers it can be quite fun. 

Make an effort when setting your hair - in those days, sets were neat and tight:  a curler was never out of a place and a well done set  was almost a work of art. And it had to be since being seen in curlers was not uncommon and it was important to show off how well your set is done  - even if partially covered with a scarf or curler cap. If you want an authentic 1950s and early 60s look, black brush rollers with pink or white plastic picks are the look. For mid 60s onward, pink or brightly colored plastic rollers were common  and look so period. Make sure there us no space between rollers for authenticity!

Be careful how tight you wind your rollers. Sets in the 50s, 60s and 70s had hair stretched as it was wound and rollers fastened as tightly as possible, not always the most comfortable experience. So. try this instead: secure your rollers so none are loose and experiment with how tight to wind them going for just tight enough to occasionally noticing your curlers. That usually gives good results and is good start. As you get used to sets try a bit tighter for crisper results.  Even tension all over can even make the tightest sets comfortable once your used to them and you can have that most authentic of all experience of feeling set all the time.

And once your used to it the authenticness is really fun: its a nice sense of accomplishment when you can set your hair perfectly without even thinking and wonderfully relaxing if you can spend a hour drying afterwards. If your in curlers during the day, the look is so vintage and that in-curlers feeling can be a wonderful reminder of both the anticipation of and the beautiful hairdo later on. And waking up in a perfect set is so satisfying both from having achieved that to just having that vintage experience. So experiment and have fun enjoying as an authentic experience and vintage hair as possible!

  

Photo attributions: Most photo here that aren't mine are from Pinterest. There doesn't seem to be a good way of determining  the original source or owner. If you are the owner or appear in any of these photos and would like them removed, please send a note (with some sort of proof of your connection to the photo) and I will remove them.

 

 

 

 

Living in Curlers: The Days before Home Hairdryers

I was surprised at the number of reminisces about "living in curlers" I came across when doing a few of the previous posts. These commenters typically remembered setting their hair the moment they got home from work or school, and leaving their curlers in till the next day.

So what's  "living in curlers" like?

A typical home  set in the `60s  was done with brush rollers, with the most typical being classic black wire brush rollers. They are often itchy as well as prickly to wear, but are more flexible than the more "modern" plastic ones. This makes them more forgiving in terms of how well the piks are pushed though them to hold them in place. 

A classic with wire brush rollers as would have been so common for everyday use. Whats missing in this picture are the plastic piks, Thin wire piks might have been used for this set.  Link

The "modern" plastic brush rollers appeared from the late 60s or early 70s  which I prefer to the classic wire rollers: Solo-Sleepeasy   rollers and Wil-hold are the most iconic types.  Solo-Sleepeasy curlers are made with softer plastic and when set with the just the right tightness are rollers you can almost forget your in curlers during the day. The only reminder that your set is when move your head suddenly and feel the  tug of the curlers. Wil-hold rollers have neat rows of bristles (rather than all over like the Sleepeasy ones) and are made of slightly stiffer plastic which are perfect if, like me,  your hair responds best to a tighter set.

The curlers right above her forehead are Solo-Sleepeasy rollers secured with plastic piks.  This is such a classic image of air drying rollers as would have been so typical in the 60s or 70s. And the mix of curlers on the sides would also have been typical . Link.

This classic image is from a vintage Wilhold package. Its what everyone in the 60s and 70s would have striven for, perfectly wound in neat rows an secured tightly with piks. These roller set so perfectly are ideal for air drying all day or all night without the risk of them loosening or falling out.

Which type of rollers was used was really just a matter of preference, but wire did come first so many women continued to use them well into the `70s even after the "new and improved" plastic rollers appeared. (Soft foam rollers also appeared in the 70s, but that was really after the daily set era).

Although there were other hair gels, Dipity-Do was the most iconic one. It was a unique sweet smell that you occasionally notice while wear curlers all day or night. Link.

Roller sets of the 60s and 70s were usually done with sweet-smelling Dippity-Do and wound tightly with plastic piks.  If you were lucky, you had someone to do it for you.

The beginnings of a typical home set. The rollers are neatly wound and secured tightly with plastic pics.   Link.

Depending on your how your set is done, the experience of waiting for you hair to dry can range anywhere from quickly forgetting you are in curlers, to the more typical set with curlers and piks being so tight and prickly you can't forget for a second that your wearing curlers. The good thing is  you do become accustomed to whatever your favorite rollers and piks are  and with experience can even tell how well a set is done by how it feels. Its actually quite helpful to repeatedly adjust rollers and piks when one or another gets too tight as the hair drys, something women  60s and 70s often did.  Even with the tightest sets this can greatly increase comfort and once everything is properly adjusted its actually quite satisfying knowing your curlers are in perfectly. 

This is such typical picture of well done home set. The setting pattern is probably the one that was most commonly used,  and one pik per roller was the everyday way of securing rollers.   Link.

One thing that many fond reminiscences include is the smell of vintage Dippity-Do, and a really nice part of air drying is occasionally getting a whiff of that wonderful aroma. It only happens occasionally though, perhaps when some air blows though your hair or when when something brushes against your rollers. 


Sleeping in curlers is another matter. It takes quite a bit more getting used to, but with time it  gets easier. Laying on your side is typical, with one cheek on the pillow to keep pressure off your rollers. Even doing that, with your head  bristling with curlers and piks, it may be hard to fall asleep. The best thing to do is think about how perfect your set is and you hopefully drift into dreamland. Unless of course (and this happens to everyone) your rollers are simply too tight and start getting painful. Its a bit like a dripping faucet in the bathroom: how long do you wait till you do something while hoping you just fall asleep. If you don't fall asleep, you eventually give in and take them out, leaving the question of what to do with you hair till morning.

A big fluffy pillow makes napping in curlers much easier.  Link.

The only thing that's worse than too tight rollers overnight is loose ones flopping all over. There were some styles in the 70s with side-face curls that required vertical rollers at the ends of longer strands. According to one of my friends that worked in beauty salon at the time, those settings often left marks on the cheeks. I can't see how they could have slept with curlers dangling down like that. A similar problem was huge rollers. I cant see how the rollers below did not come out overnight.

Sleeping in rollers was common, but sleeping in huge one like these can be a challenge, Link.

The good thing is resorting to pulling out your rollers in the middle of the night happens less as you become more expert in setting them and used to wearing them. Some women in the '60s and '70s got so  used to sleeping in curlers they couldn't sleep without them and when you reach that stage you know your a pro at it. I'm so used to curlers I'm lucky enough sleep better in curlers than without. And there is nothing so satisfying than waking up in the morning in perfectly set rollers.

  

A set with neatly spaced rollers is most comfortable for sleeping in. Usually though the rollers are covered with a scarf of curler cap to help keep them in overnight. Link.

Curler caps were also created to cover to overnight sets and became fashionable themselves. In many cases they became a beautiful overnight accessory, often matched to a nightgown or similar.

A great example of a beautiful curler cap matching her nightgown. Link.

Many women really did "live in rollers" in the '60s and '70s and one way of setting slow to dry hair was simply to stay set all weekend, and some did just that. Immediately set their hair when they arrived home from work or school on Friday afternoons, and then stay set till Monday morning. As surprising as that may seem today, it actually makes a lot of sense  for more reasons that you might think.

It's convenient. Wash and set Friday afternoon and no need to tend to or worry about your hair all weekend. And if something does come up, you hair can be done perfectly with little notice.

Nothing is more convenient that just staying in curlers. You can even wash your car. Link.

With really long hair that simply didn't dry overnight,  this was also the one opportunity to have a properly done set on Monday. And for that matter,  it can easily take 15 or even 20 hours to dry longer hair, so unless there was a real reason not too, it made sense to just stay set.


It was also fashionable in the 60s. To be seen in curlers on Saturday or any day of the week showed you were going to be doing something that evening or the next. The would have been a  good reason for setting hair neatly and covering with scarf. The almost classic example of this was going to the supermarket in curlers.



 

Shopping in curlers. Not an uncommon sight in the 1960s..Link.

 

Its easier.  If your already used to sleeping in curlers, leaving rollers in all day is a breeze and so much more effortless that putting them in at night and taking them out in the morning. Well accessorized the look can even be quite glamorous:

Boating in curlers. Does she look great! Link.

Its more comfortable. Making more of a point of adjusting your rollers as they dry and for that matter putting them in more carefully that you might otherwise would can make a huge difference and  be very worthwhile if your in rollers for the weekend.  See-though scarfs were not uncommon either to protect your set and show off your handiwork at the same time.

Covering curlers with a scarf was both practical and a way to show off your set. Link. 

Even with a more stylish outfit, a scarf over curlers was often worn to let some some rollers peek out:

Look at the combination of a smart outfit and scarf over rollers.  Link.

And then there was the  every-day housewife look was stereotypical of the 1960s and 70s. Its sad that it was often scoffed at, considering the time and effort they took to setting the hair into some of the wonderful hairdos of the day.

Add caption Link.

In the end living in curlers was (and still can be)  an everyday way of life once that once you are used to it is a practical way of doing virtually any type of hairdo with minimal heat and damage

With the advent of inexpensive home hair dryers things changed slightly in the late 60s and 70s. Women who had a hard time sleeping in curlers could do their hair in the morning. And those who preferred overnight sets but who's hair didn't dry by morning could partially dry before bed with a dryer. But that, and nothing since either, can fully replace the effectiveness and even practicality of living in curlers.  

 Note: most pictures here are from Pinterest. Unfortunately,  they seem to have removed the links to the original posters, so many of  the links will refer to my repins. If you are the original poster and would like a proper reference or if you would like the photo removed, please email me.


 

Setting Patterns

I thought I would try an almost never-ending post. This will be setting patters, but instead of doing it all at once I will add to it every day or so.

The first setting patterns are from 1968 "Over 200 New Setting Patterns".

 

More to come ....

The Good Old Days 2 of 2)

Continued from part 1.


Here are some more comments which give a wonderful window into 1950s, 60s and 70s hairdressing at home.

 (Note: photos here are unrelated to the comments and are from various places on the net. If they are yours and you would prefer them to be removed, please send an email. I have also removed commenters last names since they commented on other boards). 

So here is part 2. Enjoy!




Even better was sleeping with a dryer over your curlers ...

I cant believe the number of posts about sleeping with a soft bonnet dryer and curlers every night. Probably not a good idea from a safety point of view but I have to admit I have done it occasionally. Certainly did not seem to be a huge concern in the old days...

 

 

Sometimes even drying all night wasn't enough ...

Its better than counting sheep ...

And there were other reasons for sleeping under the dryer ...

Of course dryers were really meant for daytime use

A real luxury was a stand hair dryer ...

Nothing works as well brush rollers ...  

Some of the vintage ones from those days really are the best rollers!



And we all have our favorite rollers ...

Some were best for sleeping ...

Even hairdressers liked brush rollers.

Of course not all hairdressers had a positive experience with brush rollers ...

Actually it was fun if you were good at it!

Of course some weren't as good at setting as others ....

I still use them ...

So thats a bit of glimpse into wonderful world of doing hair at home in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Hope you enjoyed it!