the 40s hair

War had a big influenced on how working women wore their hair. Being in the fields, the factories and the armed services, women needed styles that would not get caught in machinery and get in the way. in the arms force there were rules put in place to be followed about women's hair.  in the 40s hair was mastery in updo due to the fact that women worked and therefore needed to have there hair out of the way. 

Everyday 1940s styles including: Smooth swept-back rolls c.1944; Waved pompadour straight off the face; Short page boy style with a bow, 1945; a classic 1940s look.


RollsRolls were a typical 1940s look and an essential part of defining the decade’s look.
Rolls were a flexible element of a hairstyle – women could shape and position rolls as they wanted. The hair could be brushed smooth or it could have waves.Rolls could be situated on the top of the head, at the sides, coming back from the forehead or along the back.



Side rolls could be positioned wherever. They could be symmetrical on each side of the face, or not symmetrical at all, or there could be just one roll!






 the shape and stability of a roll was helped and moulded by backcombing and by using rats (the spongy hair thing that we know use to create a perfect burn) and everything would be held in places with hair pins.

1940 hair 

pageboy hair do 

1940S PAGEBOY HAIRSTYLESPosted on September 23, 2012

A smooth roll going all round the sides and back of the hair that was curled under was a pageboy. This style suited medium or longer hair to be able to achieve the roll.  Veronica Lake had a long pageboy.



referencing Corson, R. 2000.  Fashions in Hair: The First Five Thousand Years. Peter Owen. 720pp.[1] © Rhoda Woodward [2] © Joyce Hilton. WW2 People’s War – an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar

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