1940s pincurl question...

[Nenwing]

I am just wondering, but did most women back then really put their entire head of hair in pincurls every single night?? If so that had to take a lot of work!

I've been watching videos about it, and pincurls don't look necessarily easy to do, though I imagine with practice it gets better.

[zule]

No, they didn't do it every night. I was common to wash their hair only once a week or so, and that's when they did it.

You're right--you get a lot faster and more accurate as time goes on and you have more practice. It's a lot like braiding that way. When my hair was short, I used to pincurl it a lot, but I have wavy hair to begin with.

Isn't YouTube wonderful? There are lessons on everything. I love it!

[ScarlettAdelle]

They didn't wash their hair every day. They styled it a couple nights a week and pinned the dry curls up at night to maintain them.

And, yes, it does get much easier with practice. Muscle memory is an amazing thing :)

[Nenwing]

Lol, well once a week or so isn't as rough as every night would be!

Even once a week though, the work involved! Did they often have their hair cut shorter (say around chin length) to make doing the pin curls easier? I would be curious to see an old photo of a lady's hair before pincurling, to see what the "foundation cut" would look like, lol not that I am going to cut my hair like that!

[stefafra]

I am just wondering, but did most women back then really put their entire head of hair in pincurls every single night?? If so that had to take a lot of work!

I've been watching videos about it, and pincurls don't look necessarily easy to do, though I imagine with practice it gets better.
My mum did, and slept with all the hair in pinned ringlets + hairspray + a net.
I get itchy only thinking about it.
It was more '50s than '40s, but she really really wanted curls....she still wants :).
We have a saying in Italy "Chi vuole abbellire deve soffrire" (he/she who wants beauty has to suffer), I guess that this is one case.

[lacefrost]

I pincurl my hair both when it's wet and curly and when it's dry and straight. I have pictures in my album. My hair is extremely thick (like thread) and very dense and it doesn't take me that long. In really humid weather, I've been known to put my hair up like that every night. I just do my hair while watching a tv show.

[turquoisebud]

A lot of women had pin curl perms so it just dried that way. Others pin curled twice or once a week. I did it on my hair for a while twice a week and I got faster and faster. It just takes practice. :p A tip if you are planning on trying - I used something round to wrap my hair around and then slide the curl off then pin it. Like a marker or something the size of the curl you want. :thumbsup:

[Clytemnestra]

The Middy Haircut was a staple of the 1940's, the short and long version. It was basically a layered cut that creates a rounded shape for better wet setting. There are a lot of diagrams that you can google out there that tell exactly how to cut, and there's a thread on The Fedora Lounge just for the Middy. I never did it myself as I'm not into growing out layers.

[madeline_]

I wish I could sleep in pincurls. I've had them during the day when my hair was shorter, but for sleeping I violently dislike them. I'm a bad sleeper. I can only curl overnight with a sock bun.