Headscarves and Beehives

Another addition to the vintage hairstyling posts of late is another easier style to pull together. This is a very frequent look that I wear. It is really easy to do, hides a multitude of grease/freshly washed hair sins and maintains a great fifties look. 

 

 

 

The key to mastering this look is the right amount of beehive, with a small French twist at the back. I scoop my hair into a roll with my right hand, and use my left hand to pin it in place. I tend to do this style in freshly washed hair, as you can just shove as many pins in to hold everything in place and get a days wear ready for a good set. The fringe requires slightly more modern day styling; those faithful curling tongs and plenty of backcombing and hairspray! I then roll the longer fringe bits into a small kiss curl and off I go!

 

I seem to be collecting a lot of headscarves, and buy most from Boo Boo Kitty Couture. They are quite honestly the perfect size, colours and material to get a great look very easily!

 

I recently bought a 1940's hairstyle book and am trying a few of those looks out, keep your eyes peeled for another hair post coming soon!

 

Hannah xxx

Bumper Baby!

Since watching How to Marry a Millionaire, I have been obsessed with everything Betty Grable! From her hair and make up to incredible legs, I have been really inspired by her. I stumbled across this image of her and was struck with inspiration and decided to try a modern replica of this look.

I decided to try a loose set with a more modern bumper bang and headscarf. The standard bumper bang look is widely recreated in vintage circles, but it is a look I have struggled to replicate! I was using a hair doughnut, purchased from Boots and really struggled to catch all of my hair in the roll. A trip to Simon Webster Hair later, and I had it sorted! It seems the doughnut that I was using was far too big and so I wasn't getting as tight of a roll as I needed. They recommended that I buy one of those and cut it in half. The right sized doughnut that I now use is pictured below.

I find that this style works better on greasier hair (as do vintage styles) as the hair has lots more hold. To form the bang, separate the hair like in the picture below. I find it best to stop slightly before you reach the crown to ensure that there is still some volume at the back.

Please excuse my hair fresh out of the set!

Then comes the tricky part. Take the doughnut and roll the hair under, as you would with a long foam roller. It may take a few attempts but hold out to get a great outcome! I ran a slight bit of pomade over the fringe I rolled up to keep any stray hairs in place. There is then a little multi tasking were you need to hold the fringe in place but also secure each end of the roll with a long pin me down grip (click here to see). Once the ends are secure you are free to let go and pin away. To cover the ends of the doughnut, simply slide the hair along and you may need to pin some looser bits down. Once everything is secure, you can gently press on the bang to bring it slightly lower down the face.

 

Add a sweet headscarf or bow for a fun look perfect for the summer days!

 

Ta Da!

 

 

 Good luck, and I would love to see your attempts! Tweet me @ABrightonBelle_!

 

Hannah xxx

 

It's All About The Hair

The reddest lipstick, most flattering dress, or perfect brogues can all contribute towards creating a beautiful vintage look. However, the cherry on top is an authentic vintage hairstyle.

I am particularly inspired by the tumbling waves of Rita Hayworth, with her trademark sweeping fringe and gentle waves flattering her beautiful face!

As I have gradually encorporated vintage clothing into my everyday lifestyle, I have enjoyed styling my hair using an authentic 40's/50's method. Setting your hair is a more difficult technique to master, but the final result is much longer lasting and gives a great, glamourous look.

I begin with some cheap styling tools:
1. Superdrug Setting Lotion (around £1.60 for a bottle)
2. Bendy Rollers which can be found here. These are very cheap and also easily comfortable enough to sleep in. They come in three different sizes to create different size curls.
3. A Kent bristle brush. This is a more expensive option, but any natural bristle brush will give a great effect.
4. A medium sized square headscarf (available from any charity or vintage shops for a few pounds)
5. Kirkby grips

Before beginning to put the rollers in, I really think about how I want the style to end up afterwards. It really does take some thinking about, such as where to place the rollers, which direction to roll in and what angle to roll at. The setting lotion should be applied sparingly, but with particular attention to the ends to create a definite set curl. I apply it to each section before I roll it. I like to think of my hair as three separate parts.

Part 1: The Back

I want the style to be relaxed, with the hair will falling naturally from my crown, and the curls beginning in the nape of my neck. This means that I use the thinnest bendy rollers, to create the tightest curls. These are placed into the longest layers of the back of my hair. The medium sized rollers are then placed in the ends of my shorter layer of hair. I roll the hair clockwise up into the roots so that the curl flicks out rather than curls underneath. It is perhaps easier to understand from this picture!

The thinnest rollers are the pink ones

Part 2: The Fringe

In the picture of Rita Hayworth, you can see how her fringe sweeps up almost like a quiff, and then tumbles down. I love this style and think it is particularly glamourous to peep out from underneath! To understand how this is styled requires some experimenting. The hair needs to be rolled underneath, away from the forehead and is probably easier to understand from the picture below. You can see that the hair goes over the top and underneath the roller. The tightness of the curls forms the direction of the hair, but the weight of the hair and curl causes it to sweep into the fringe position. The section behind the fringe has to be curled tightly underneath towards the hairline to create a curl that falls straight down, for the main fringe section to rest on. Any misdemeanours can easily be corrected by some lovely curling tongs!

What a creepy photo!

Part 3: The Side Fringe and Behind the Ear

I use the medium (blue) and small (pink) rollers for this section to create defined but not too tight curls. I use the same principle as for the back where the underneath section of hair is rolled up onto the small rollers and the ends of my layers onto medium sized rollers. It is important that you roll these at an angle so that curl falls directly downwards.

This should all work, but unfortunately it does take quite a bit of practice! When all the rollers are in, add a headscarf to protect the set and then get some beauty sleep!

.......

The time taken to prepare the hair the night before makes for a very easy morning that doesn't take very long to style. Gently remove the rollers, I choose to do it in the three sections at a time.

When the rollers are out, use the natural bristle brush to carefully brush and loosen the curls. The most important bit here is not to panic! I have had many a moment where I can only see frizz, but keep brushing through for a few mintues and it will soon settle. It is now down to you to style as you like.

My favourite style is to pin the Section 3 (side fringe and behind the ear), just behind the ear so that the curls peep out from underneath a sparkly earring! It is also nice to add a lovely slide or hair brooch for an extra bit of glamour on a special occasion.

Here are some pictures of my favourite end results...

 

 

I hope this post makes sense and please, just ask if you have any questions! I am really excitedly planning some video tutorials to try and do this weekend so keep your eyes peeled! I would also love to hear if there is anything you would particularly like to see me do, whether it be hair, make up or anything else!

 

Lots of love,

 

Hannah xxx