amandainvermont
VFG Member
Last week I posted about the fashion to have curly hair in the 30’s. Here is a”first prize” won at the Hairdressing Fashion Show London in 1935, using an Icall permanent-waving machine. The hair is shorter even than in the 20's and curls/waves are restricted to the back and sides, revealing the ears and neck. The colors came from adding pigments to the setting lotion.
I am fascinated by the early permanent machines which look like implements of torture. A little research turned up some interesting tid bits. Charles Nessler invented the first such machine in 1906. He experimented on his wife- burning off all her hair twice. He combined the heat with cow urine!
His machine was only good for long hair, which of course is what most women had at that time. This is a photo of his contraption from a German newspaper. The process took six hours.
Competitors quickly worked on streamlining Nessler’s invention. I now realize the reason these things were suspended from the ceiling was to hold the heating curlers off the scalp.
In the 1930s, permanents became more of a science and chemists began working agents to make the curls set longer. There were even experimentation on the style of winding. There was 'root' winding on the top of the head and 'point' winding on the sides.
I am in the “which twin has the Toni” home permanent generation, although I have never had a permanent. I was always trying to get rid of my curls.
I am fascinated by the early permanent machines which look like implements of torture. A little research turned up some interesting tid bits. Charles Nessler invented the first such machine in 1906. He experimented on his wife- burning off all her hair twice. He combined the heat with cow urine!
His machine was only good for long hair, which of course is what most women had at that time. This is a photo of his contraption from a German newspaper. The process took six hours.
Competitors quickly worked on streamlining Nessler’s invention. I now realize the reason these things were suspended from the ceiling was to hold the heating curlers off the scalp.
In the 1930s, permanents became more of a science and chemists began working agents to make the curls set longer. There were even experimentation on the style of winding. There was 'root' winding on the top of the head and 'point' winding on the sides.
I am in the “which twin has the Toni” home permanent generation, although I have never had a permanent. I was always trying to get rid of my curls.
