Hair help - what am I doing wrong???

[Miss C]

Hello Ladies,
I am new here and I adore the vintage look. Unfortunately, I currently don't have the funds to reconstruct my wardrobe so feel that hair and make up is the way to proceed.

BUT, no matter what I do or try I can't achieve any of the looks that you lovely ladies do so well :-(

Before someone redirects me to threads of tutorials/setting patterns or other queries I have tried them!!! I have had nearly 2 weeks off work(holiday before year ends) and have tried and tried. I have hot sticks - tried with mousse, setting lotion and nothing, I have tried pin curls, but can't get those pesky ends to tuck in, wet or dry. I have tried victory rolls with my badly "hot sticked" hair and still not had any joy!

I had my hair cut last month by a hairdresser who followed the diagrams I printed and took in, but as an amateur I don't know if she followed them to the letter.

I am just fed up with not achieving a satisfactory set and am so tempted to give up and go back to the norm.

If anyone has any helpful hints I would be extremely grateful, and I have been through the hundreds of posts on hair styling etc, and believe me some of the threads on this subject are hundreds of pages long!!

Sorry for the desperate plea......but I don't know how/what else to try or am I just one of those butter fingers who have to go see a professional to get the required look

Cx

 

[Grant Fan]

Miss C. I meet with the best success with a curling iron, not a teeny narrow one but one that is 3/4 to 1 inch, ceramic. Also Victory rolls take tons of practice. Also I never brush my hair out with a brush or comb I use silicone based shine serum coating my hands and just run my hands through it until the curls look how I want. Then I use tons of hair spray let it dry then fluff it from underneath. I don't know if that helps but I hope it does and good luck. Oh is your hair naturally straight or curly?

 

[rue]

Oh sweetie.... don't give up! We were all beginners once and we all have had failures. It takes more practice than just a a few weeks and in fact for me, it took the better part of a year to get it right.


I know you don't want to be directed to tutorials, but have you used Lisa Freemont's YT videos? Go here and see if these help ..... http://www.youtube.com/user/LisaFreemontStreet/videos

 

[I Adore Film Noir]

Here's a little tip for pincurls; start at the end and wind toward the scalp.

 

[MissLaurieMarie]

Miss C, sorry to hear of your woes, but like Rue said we've all been there. Do you mind posting photos of your cut, set method and results? Maybe if we see it we can help!

PS - my personal hair savior is sponge rollers.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Here is a super fantastic youtube page that teaches how to really style your own hair. Honestly, I thought I could never style my own hair. Oh, I had a few vintage looks. But I was
so tired of the same every day look. Now I can style my own hair with ease. Even if it does not come out exactly the same at least I gave it a shot and tried my best and styled it to suit me. Besides not many people are familiar with vintage hair styles that I learned close enough is good enough. I just adore trying out the next 1940's hair do I come across. Plus the more you get to know your hair's language you'll be able to teach it a thing or two. Its Lisa Freemont Street http://m.youtube.com/profile?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&user=LisaFreemontStree
Have fun.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

By the way I do believe Lisa Freemont Street is also a lounge member.

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

I went to a hair tutorial she did here in Nashville. It was great! While I'm no where near achieving the look I want, I am seeing improvement. In fact my mother saw one of my do's and practically squealed "You finally learned how to do your hair!" (I'm 37 and holding, so that's quite the compliment).

By any chance do you have fine/thin hair? That's mine, and it has given me decades of grief. I wash it, put in about a quarter sized blob of Kenra Thickening Glaze, and comb it dry. Then I put in hot sticks. The hot sticks don't create the hair do- they give me enough curl to create the 'do. My hair is just to fine to easily do a Victory Roll, but there are modifications that will work.

Don't give up!

 

[fortworthgal]

Don't give up!

I have *still* not mastered pincurls OR hot sticks! :lol: When I wear my hair vintage, I set it on pink foam sponge rollers and end papers. It is the only way I can do it. When I started off styling my hair vintage, I found that a curling iron was the easiest because I could easily control how I wanted each curl to go as I was styling, if that makes sense. I could see my dry hair and think "okay well, I need a curl that turns down here" and just slap the iron on it to get the result I needed. I've never had good luck with hot rollers. Maybe try some different rolling/setting techniques. See if you can visit a beauty school, or find an older hairdresser who can perhaps help you out with finding which set method works best for you. Try something easier like pillow or rag rollers. One thing I've discovered with vintage hairstyles is that every single lady has something different that works well for them.

It does take practice. I had never set my hair on rollers up until about 3 years ago. One weekend I just went & bought sponge rollers and tried it, and it actually turned out pretty decent! I think sponge rollers are very easy to work with for a beginner, especially with end papers. They're very forgiving and easy to handle.

Also, victory rolls are notoriously difficult to master. Honestly, even though my hair is quite thick & coarse, I fake them by using combs on the sides. I just pull my hair up on the sides, tease it a bit, and slide the comb in. Instant faux roll.

Also keep in mind that there are LOTS of vintage appropriate styles out there. It doesn't all have to be victory rolls and curled ends. Think about a Veronica Lake wave with one side pulled back, or Betty Grable updo with curled bangs. There are a lot of options, depending on your hair length and type.

 

[kamikat]

It takes a lot of practice! I'm a hairstylist and learned many of these styles in school but it took months to get them right on my own head. It's not just figuring out the set, it's figuring out the best setting lotion for your hair, the best curler for your hair, drying time, ect. For example, my hair is the opposite of Grant Fan's. I can't get any curl with a curling iron because my hair is very coarse and stick straight. For me, setting lotion is key! I can use the same set and wake up with awful hair with one brand of setting lotion/mousse/gel and the next time, use a different brand and have great hair. Drying time is important. Your hair must be completely dry before removing your curlers or it will straighten as it dries. The last important thing is the cut. I hate to say it but the middy may not have been done properly. I go back and forth between a middy and a chin length bob because I get tired of sleeping in curlers every night. When my hair is not cut in a middy, I can't get a single set to come out. Just keep working!

 

[C-dot]

I'll tell you right now what you're doing wrong: You're giving up on one method too quickly before jumping to another! Most methods (hot sticks, sponge rollers, pin curls among them) I have never been able to master, or haven't even tried. I picked one and kept at it through horrible set after awful set until I figured it out. Like everyone else has said, it takes months of practice. Don't give up!

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

Don't give up! I struggled at first too (and still do with some techniques that are "new" to me); it really does take practice. Tutorials are a great thing, but in the end, it's the process that works best for you to get you to the end result in any tutorial you may find, not necessarily following it letter by letter. For victory rolls, I do recommend finding a fat marker or highlighter. I roll my hair up with it, slide the marker out and voila! A neatly rolled victory roll. I do this too when I need to do pin-curls, if you want smaller curls, just find a smaller tube, like a tiny highlighter or a mascara tube.

 

[Miss C]

Thank you all very much for your hints and words of encouragement

My hair is naturally wavy and thick, when I get a moment I will try to take some photos.

I feel C-dot may be right, I must persevere with one technique before jumping on to the next.

I have watched most of the Lisa Freemont-Street's tutorials, which I love, and also found another girls tutorials, but forgot to bookmark :eeek:

Again, thank you!
Cx

 

[lolly_loisides]

Miss C, my hair is like yours (thick & wavy). I've had the best results using velcro rollers for wet sets & heated rollers on dry hair.
Candice Deville has some good youtube tutorials (she also has thick wavy hair).

 

[Miss sofia]

Some invaluable advice from the ladies.

Please don't be disheartenend!! While the tutorials on Youtube have been invaluable to me, it has taken me practising and fiddling with my hair to work out what works best method wise for me. Everyones hair and how it performs is individual to them.

It took me a year to master a decent victory roll and i still have the most awful pincurl set disasters, in fact i have scrapped the pincurls and like Fortworthgal, use sponge rollers with endpaper. (Endpapers are a must for pesky ends. Use loo roll or cigarette papers if you can't find any). Always start rolling from the ends of your hair for pincurls, rolling a pincurl around my finger means sticky-outy ends for me. For victory rolls i actually roll the hair round a mascara tube and actually pin my hair into place while the tube is still rolled around my hair, then i remove the tube gently and tidy them up and pin some more. I have never seen that on a tutorial but i just did it randomly one day and it worked. As i said it's about working out how your hair responds to sets and methods.

Perhaps you could just try a simple style for everyday, while you practise your sets at home, there are some lovely,simple updo tutorials on Youtube you could get some inspiration from, perfect for if your set is a disaster. Perhaps try just simply pinning your hair back with some combs or flowers, or even try a headscarf, all will give a vintage flavour to your look, until you get it down pat.

 

[fortworthgal]

My hair is extremely coarse and thick and wavy, too. It definitely takes practice!

On a side note, I've never had a middy, and I've always had good luck with my sets. But then again my hair is usually chin or neck length, and not really long.

 

[Grant Fan]

Miss C I have naturally curly, fine, and very very thick hair. The curling iron is my best friend but like C dot said pick a method and stick to it. I can use a curling iron or pin curls but that's because when I was little I used to love when my mom put my hair in pin curls so I already knew how to do it when I started my vintage thing. I think you will fine the best way for your hair and then the whole thing will seem so much easier.

 

[Antje]

Practice practice practice we all did and even now I still learn, and like c-dot sais just keep practicing one method if it stil isn't your thing try something else

 

[Amy Jeanne]

It takes a lot of practice! I'm a hairstylist and learned many of these styles in school but it took months to get them right on my own head. It's not just figuring out the set, it's figuring out the best setting lotion for your hair, the best curler for your hair, drying time, ect. For example, my hair is the opposite of Grant Fan's. I can't get any curl with a curling iron because my hair is very coarse and stick straight. For me, setting lotion is key! I can use the same set and wake up with awful hair with one brand of setting lotion/mousse/gel and the next time, use a different brand and have great hair. Drying time is important. Your hair must be completely dry before removing your curlers or it will straighten as it dries. The last important thing is the cut. I hate to say it but the middy may not have been done properly. I go back and forth between a middy and a chin length bob because I get tired of sleeping in curlers every night. When my hair is not cut in a middy, I can't get a single set to come out. Just keep working!

This.

In all honesty, 90% of the people who begin vintage styles will have it look like crap. lol You have to play with it, test certain products, and test certain curling devices. There is no one way to do it and it may take up to a YEAR to finally get it down. Doing it a few times and giving up will only result in frustration. I used to think my hair was "too thin" to do anything with, but I practiced and tried all different products and curling sets and now I'm a pro. It took about a year for me. When I look at pics of my first sets I lol

 

[C-dot]

It took about a year for me. When I look at pics of my first sets I lol

Oh, me too. I was convinced my hair was too straight to curl on its own, so I had "hair by Chrysler" for a while lol

Kamikat is also right that the Middy may not have been done properly. A good Middy changed my vintage-hair life. It encourages curls and just lends itself so well to the look of the era, that even a crap set will come out looking authentic.