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August 11, 2008

Old-fashioned hair care often made girls pay in tears for desired style

The Way We Were

By Wally Wachter

Girls were at a disadvantage in growing up because they had to worry about what to do with long hair tresses that followed them from childhood. I actually felt sorry for them for the agony they had to go through to be attractive.

The primitive way young ladies resorted to styling their hair has given way to today’s beauty salons and expert operators. Today they go regularly to their regular hairdressers who know just how they want to look and proceed accordingly.

Even straight hair styles and bobs can be attractive and enviable.

But, back in the days that were, being born with straight hair was a scourge for most young girls and they took ay measure, no matter how punishing, to put curl in their hair. Their silent motto seemed to be: “to be beautiful you have to suffer.” And suffer they did.

I recall that “date night,” usually Saturday night in our home, nerves tingled and tension reigned as an older sister or a neighbor tried to beautify the “victim” for the occasion.

The most popular style was the finger wave. With the hair ringing wet, the operator would comb up the hair, catching it between her index and second fingers, leaving a wave-like ridge. This procedure continued down the length of the hair. Large amounts of a thick white liquid called “joker” were applied to each wave. The product may have been spelled differently, but the description was fitting. The waves were held in place with bobby pins.

In several hours the hairdo was ready. The waves were dry and stiff. The only wet spots were the tears running down the cheeks of a satisfied subject who realized it was too late to do anything about it.

The braver girls were those who wanted curls instead of waves. This was done when the hair was dry.

A scissors-like metal curling iron was heated on the stove, the clamped onto a hank of hair and rolled upward into a horizontal curl. The heat kept the curl intact, but also frequently burned the neck, the ear or the lower cheek. The singed skin could easily be covered with thick applications of makeup or powder.

There were many means available to keep new permanents from blowing into obscurity by the wind.

Snoods were the most popular. Then there was the old-fashioned babushka.

Large hairpins made of bone material were another answer.

There were beauty shops back then, but they were few and far between.

Women today are fortunate. A quick appointment and an hour or two at a beauty shop prepares them for any night on the town. If it is a sudden date, they don a well-groomed wig and are ready on a moment’s notice.

I often reflect on how lucky we men are. A once-a-month trip to the barbers is all we have to worry about. And, sometimes, in our aging years, There is less and less to cut, and we accept it with dignity.



Wally Wachter is a retired managing editor of The Herald.

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