Happy birthday, Finn!

Today, January 9th, would have been Finn's 89th birthday. This is how I like to remember him, with his white hair and positive attitude.

(And yes, that weird looking baby is me).

Vintage Hair

Being a girl with an above average interest in hair I thought I'd share some of my "secrets" with you. Here are some basic tips on what kind of equipment you need to make a vintage hairdo and tips on where to buy some of the essentials (the latter will only apply to readers in Oslo).

 My dear friend Randi Solhjell gave me this wonderful book about how to style many of the hairstyle classics from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Every "do" is shown step by step and is pretty easy to follow. You can get this book and other even more detailed and time specific books on amazone.co.uk etc.


If you have read this far I assume you at least own a hairdryer and a hairbrush. As for a hair styles from the 1940s to 60s it pretty much always starts off with curly or wavy hair, so you will need a curler. They normally sell them at drug stores. In Oslo they have inexpensive ones at Claes Ohlson.


Tip: to make the curls stronger and stay longer- wash your hair only using shampoo, then blow dry. Make sure your hair is completely dry before you use the curler. For every passage you curl- carefully drag the curler out sideways, keep the roll of hair and use bobby pins or "grandma" pins (picture) to let the curls cool off. Your hair should be cold before you begin the styling. 

"Grandma" pins are also very useful to style curls (see picture) while you fixate your do with hairspray. If they don't stick- use bobby pins close to your hair color.

Tip: In Oslo you can buy these at classy Bogstadveien Parfymeri in Bogstadveien.

The bun is still popular either you are a classic vintage babe or a trendy fashionista- or both. In order to make the perfect, big and fluffy bun though, you might need some help. 

This is mommy's little helper: a sponge-like doughnut. It comes in different colors and you should choose one close to your own hair color for best result. I recently found this in a dance equipment store in Oslo: Doda - dansebutikken by Tinghuset. (www.dodadans.no)

You can also make your own: cut off one leg of an old nylon stocking and stuff it with other old nylon stockings until you have a doughnut/ bagel-sized circle (tie up the loose ends of the stocking). This way you can make it as thick as you want to. 

Here the hairstylist used a brown doughnut to get the right support for the big bun. The cute pin-up fringe can easily be made by curling it inwards in a smooth movement with a hair straightener. You can also use a round brush and blowdry into shape.


Styling: Julips
Hair: Ingun Vatne Paulsen
Model: Hilde Sverdrup Askeland




You can also use the doughnut as a "sausage" (pølse) to easier make a do like this: 

 Good luck :)