How to Create a 1940s Updo: Thursday

Vintage hair styling requires several things; patience, nimble fingers and a few select styling products. In my line of work as a freelance vintage hair stylist, make-up artist and owner of Sarah's Doo-Wop Dos, I regularly create many different looks from different eras for my customers, so the tips I'm sharing in this article are thoroughly tried and tested!

The Gibson Roll is a style that was very popular in the 1940s, partly because, with women going to work in the factories, long hair was considered unsafe as it could became easily tangled in machinery. However, the fashion of the time favoured a soft feminine look, so long hair remained fashionable and few wanted to cut their locks, instead preferring to wear them in fake short styles like this one.

1. Start this style by preparing the hair. Curling it first with curling tongs/small heated rollers or hot sticks will make the hair easier to work with. If the hair is freshly washed, try making it more manageable by spritzing it with dry shampoo so it isn't too slippery and fly-away. Now section off a middle area of hair at the front of your head and clip it out of the way while you work on the rest of the hair.


2. Take the rest of your hair and put it into a low ponytail, with a band right at the end of the hair.

3. Taking your headscarf (I recommend using a thin one,) wrap the end of your hair tightly around it and start winding the whole lot up to the back of your head. A great variation at the time was to use a piece of ribbon in place of the scarf for a delicate look.


4. Keep rolling the hair up with the headscarf until you reach the nape of your neck. It might take a few goes to get the hair as tight and neat as you want it.

5. Once you are happy with the hair placement, pin it in place with hair grips. The hair can now be fanned out along the scarf forming one big long 'horseshoe' shaped roll. Neaten up the roll by spraying it with hairspray and using your hand to mould the shape and slick any stray hairs down.


6. The ends of the roll can be secured with hair grips for a neat finish.

7. Finish off the style by taking the section of hair you clipped up at the front and backcombing into it with a rat-tailed comb so its full and has real structure. It will stand up on its own once you have achieved this. Then, with a soft bristled brush and a little pomade, smooth down the top side of the hair so it looks neat.


8. Now roll the hair forward into a tube shape and secure it in place, again fanning out the hair so it mirrors the back roll. Balance was a big part of 1940s hairstyles. Often what happened at the top of a style was mirrored at the bottom.


9. Hats were very popular in the 1940s and, although they became harder to acquire during this time, they were not rationed so could still be purchased if you had the money. This style works well for a hat as it has a flat space at the back of the style. I have chosen to use a felted hat as they would have been worn in the era.

Credits
Article, hair and make-up: Sarah Dunn, owner of Sarah's Doo-Wop Dos www.doowopdos.co.uk

Model: Ria Fend www.facebook.com/RiaFendOfficial

Photography: Jez Brown www.facebook.com/jezbrownphotography

Headscarf: The Seamstress of Bloomsbury http://theseamstressofbloomsbury.co.uk

Hat: Hayley Jane Creations www.etsy.com/uk/shop/hayleyjaynecreations