Wednesday, July 9, 2014

1950s Hairstyles & Beauty



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.






for More Vintage Images

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2014/07/sepia-saturday-236-12-july-2014.html


12 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. All 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.

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  3. Love the videos too. Washing your hair in the hand basin very two weeks still squeaky clean - those were the days!

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  4. I am torn between the Cherubic Ringlets or the Svelte look. Every two weeks? Those videos and the card were great.

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  5. I 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! :))

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  6. I 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.

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  7. A good post! Interesting top to bottom. That's a very unusual post card!

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  8. Interesting! My mother used to give us perms at home, not really sure why, as my hair is naturally curly, especially once it gets wet!

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  9. What a fun post. I loved the videos. The only hair "stylist" for me was Warren Beauty in Shampoo.
    Nancy
    Ladies of the Grove

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  10. Loved the hair stylist in the suit. Can you imagine that today? Maybe it still happens. The postcard is a beauty!

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  11. Thanks 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

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  12. Those 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!

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