This postcard advertising Cold Wave by Helene Curtis was sent out by a hair stylist in 1951. Cold waves are a type of permanent wave invented in 1938 that does not use machines or heat (source: Wikipedia).
I have never had any personal experience with permanents, and I never liked the look of most permanents that I was aware of. Of course, if the permanents looked as nice as the ones in ads, I probably wouldn't even be aware that it was a permanent.
Visit Sepia Saturday
for More Vintage Images
I've had plenty of perms in my time but never heard of the Cold Wave -- I wonder what kind of chemicals didn't require heat.
ReplyDeleteAll the home permanents that I had as a child didn't require heat...A Tony Permanent was stinky, but it sure did give me kinky hair. That was in the 40s through the 60s. I did have several perms in a "Beauty Parlor" which I just remembered too. Same ammonia smell. But they did stick my head under the hot hood for them.
ReplyDeleteLove the videos too. Washing your hair in the hand basin very two weeks still squeaky clean - those were the days!
ReplyDeleteI am torn between the Cherubic Ringlets or the Svelte look. Every two weeks? Those videos and the card were great.
ReplyDeleteI love the 2-in-1 shampoos (shampoo & conditioner in one) Makes washing hair quick & easy. But you have to use the right kind for your hair-type. My husband laughs. He just uses soap, but then he doesn't have very much hair - gray or no! :))
ReplyDeleteI am sure that I would not have welcomed one of those hairdryer things being stuck over my head - but a "cold wave" does not seem particularly attractive either. Great card, thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteA good post! Interesting top to bottom. That's a very unusual post card!
ReplyDeleteInteresting! My mother used to give us perms at home, not really sure why, as my hair is naturally curly, especially once it gets wet!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post. I loved the videos. The only hair "stylist" for me was Warren Beauty in Shampoo.
ReplyDeleteNancy
Ladies of the Grove
Loved the hair stylist in the suit. Can you imagine that today? Maybe it still happens. The postcard is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories .Perms have been part of my life since I was a teenager and a well meaning aunt did a home perm for me. What she did not realize was that my hair was very fine and would curl a lot more quickly than her own, and so the end result was a frizzy mop. Marcel cold wave is a term that springs to mind
ReplyDeleteThose with straight hair want curls and those with curls want straight hair! I loved my perms in the 1980s but when I look back at the photos, they were messy!
ReplyDelete