Every trending or modern hairstyle right now is an evolution of a classic one. The famous bob cut was derived from the beautiful flapper era the 1920’s. The soft waves are reminiscent to the legendary Veronica Lake. The Elizabethan and Victorian era hairstyles have been a great inspiration to some classic and modern hairstyles like the Gibson tuck, braids and the messy up-do’s. The main point, that everything modern hairstyle, clothes, cars, etcetera was inspired from something in history. Let’s go back through time and learn how to create some of the most famous Hollywood hairstyles.
The 1920’s Flapper Girl Era
Fingerwave and Bob Cut
This was the era that women cutting their hair short was a big deal. Women were supposed to have long hairs to look feminine. This was the era that women took it to themselves to take control of their bodies.
The Fingerwave
This hairstyle was created by applying strong hold gel on the top of the hair first, use a fine tooth comb to shape the hair into an “S” pattern. Hold this pattern with your fingers and pin it down. Repeat these steps for the rest of the hair. Let the gel dry or blow dry it.
The Bob
The earliest version of the famous bob cut is the short bob cut with straight bangs that Louise Brooks made famous. This hairstyle requires a short blunt cut and straight full bangs. You can style it with gel or hairspray to retain its sleek straight look.
The 1940’s Victory Rolls
This was the era that the beauty industry came into focus. This was a difficult time due to the war, but this was the decade that the glamorous housewife was established. Women that do simple and mundane jobs would still go wearing full makeup, perfect hair and beautiful outfits. One of the most famous hairstyles was the Victory Roll.
Comb through your hair and create two front sections. Take one of these sections and comb upward and twirl it around two of your fingers creating a roll. Pin this roll with a Bobby pin and apply Hairspray. You can make this easier by curling this section toward the direction you want it to face. Curl the rest of the hair, you can leave it down to create a half up-do or pin it as one big roll at the back.
The 1950’s Marilyn Monroe
The blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe signature hairstyle has been continuously famous even up to this day. Her famous hairdo remained as a mainstream fashion up to the 1960’s. Marilyn has remained a true icon for her style and influence in Hollywood.
Marilyn had short and layered haircut that help created her signature style. Add volume to damp hair by applying mousse before blow drying. Curl hair with big rollers and leave on for half an hour or more. Spray with hair spray while the hair is still in rollers, wait till the hair spray dries and remove the rollers. Style your hair with your fingers and set with hair spray.
The 1970’s Farrah Fawcett and The Afro
This was the decade that big voluminous hair was widely famous due to Farrah’s huge influence in television. This was also the time where embracing the natural hair was established. The Afro was a huge part of the black pride movement. These hairstyles remained up until the 80’s.
To Create the Farrah Fawcett you need to have big rollers or large barrel curling irons. Curl your hair away from your face and pin it. Leave the pins in and Hairspray the hair. Remove the pins and shake it out with your fingers to create larger curls and spray another spritz of hair spray.
For natural curls
You can create the Afro by using a diffuser after washing the hair or using big twists on dry hair to get the perfect shape. Using Bantu knots to create the Afro texture. Maintain this hairstyle with hair spray.
You can try these hairstyles out when you’re planning to go classic or if you’re going to a costume party. You can add your own modern take to each hairstyle by adding accessories, changing sections, combining two hairstyles and so on.
