Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques

This book is way more than a bunch of pretty pictures! Though it definitely DOES have a bunch of pretty pictures...it also has extremely detailed instructions on absolutely everything. Not only does it detail every single hairstyle with exhaustive written instructions and photos, it also has sections at the front of the book explaining what each kind of hair product, curling device, and other tool does along with how to best use it. For example, did you know that it's better to use hairpins to make pin curls, rather than bobby pins, because bobby pins are too tight and leave a kink in the curl? Okay, maybe you did know that but I sure didn't. It also has a big section just on combing out, so that you can fully understand the correct method to get the look you're going for, whether it's a curl, loose wave, tight wave, pompadour, etc. It also has small sections in the back on vintage makeup and nail trends, to complete your look.For each hairstyle (there are 38 including the different comb-out methods), it tells you up front what tools & products you'll need. It has a "before" photo of the model, which is not only impressive when you see the final look, but is also handy to see who has hair similar to yours before you get started. It offers tips, though, for styling alternate lengths, which is nice for me because my hair is much shorter than most of the models.I'm seriously the biggest idiot ever when it comes to doing hair, I never really learned what to do when I was growing up so today I rarely even bother to blow it dry. So you can imagine this was book was incredibly intimidating! I've been buying up lots of pin-up style clothing lately and my signature hair un-style just wasn't cutting it, so I just had to try. Even though the styles looked like so many steps and tools and seemed so hard to do, the extreme level of detail was REALLY helpful for someone like me. It was pretty scary getting started, but in the end my hair looked exactly like the photo in the book! For someone with my absolute lack of hairstyling skill, that's pretty impressive! Now I can't wait to try a few other styles!BE AWARE that the styles in this book are not "vintage with a modern twist." These are really really vintage looks! So it's really perfect for anyone who is doing a pinup photo shoot, doing hairstyles for a play or movie, or a costume. I don't know if I can pull off these very precise styles in my everyday life! But, it's a great place to start and learn, and I'll work on adding a modern twist on my own.

I'm a licensed cosmetologist in the State of Washington, and I can honestly say that this book covers all aspects of wet hairsetting better than alot of cosmetology textbooks I've seen. I was so glad to see these techniques revived so beautifully in the pages of this book. Because it would be such a shame to see this type of hairstyling become a "Lost Art". It is definately worthy of being called a text book - and If I were a cosmetology instructor, I'd be using it as a supplimental text to the assigned book.The author covers all the basics and gives thorough lessons and tips on how to set the hair, each step beautifully photographed. She also covers products and tools to use, consideration for achieving the correct silhouette, and even includes a section on accessories and makeup. Most of her techniques are tried and true as they would have originally been done. But she also has a few techniques that are great for achieving some of these styles a little bit more easily than they might have been originally. For example, her beehive technique is clever and, while it does involve some backcombing, appears to require far less than the original version from the 60's (which was basically almost solid backcombing!). And then the bang technique for the 40's look pictured on the front cover is also pretty clever I thought - because you actually don't have to have cut bangs at all to achieve that look!Over all, this book is an excellent investment for anyone interested in vintage hairstyling.

In my review for this authors other book, Retro Makeup: Techniques for Applying the Vintage Look, I went into some detail as to why I went this direction as a 46 year old woman. Unlike many faithful retro-lovers, I wasn't looking to duplicate styles. Instead I wanted to try to find a new look for myself that didn't just include trying to look unobtrusive in order to disguise flegling lines or other effects of aging.One's hair helps define their face. Bottom line. You can put on a perfectly neat Mad Men face, but if your hair doesn't reflect that intention, you'll just look strange. So, for me, this book was a necessity.I read it cover to cover and discovered a great many things about hair that I simply didn't know before. Things that make you say, Huh. I also discovered that my astonishing array of expensive hair goos were entirely wrong. And finally, I discovered that these styles are surprisingly easy to pull off, even for a total amateur, if you have patience.Since I wasn't looking for a completely authentic retro style but rather an impression or accent to a specific clean look, I needed to combine some styles and enhance or dampen some elements to fit in and look good without being obvious. Again, just one practice session and I had a winner.The results of this hair and makeup were surprising and involved many enounters while shopping that were pleasant or embarrassing or both. I loved it.The book is organized so that it isn't just a linear progression of a style and then how to do it, it gives opening chapters that show the tools and how to use them in the context of the book. It also gives a good illustration of things like a basic set and what it means to be on or off angle, etc. Super informative while entertaining. Again, just from a brief reading I was able to pull off one of the more complicated styles with minimal tools (though you will need the right ones) and a bit of patience.Highly recommended for any age. Very customizable for those trying to define or redefine their own personal style. Also nice for anyone who wants to really go authentically retro and look perfectly done.