How to Create Gorgeous 1950s Curls

Tools and materials:

• ¾ inch rollers
• Pomade
• Hair spray
• Brush
• Hair clip

1. Curlers and overnight wet set

I began with a side part starting at the corner of my forehead.

I took a corner section, or a triangle section and rolled it back. I took the next section on an angle and rolled that back.

Then I switched things up and began rolling everything down. In the back I just rolled the bottom sections of the hair.

I did this all as an overnight wet seat using ¾ inch foam rollers. Use a setting lotion to help strengthen the effect of the curlers.

For the front section of rollers, I rolled them on the base of the hair. That means I rolled it straight down on top of the hair shaft.

That will give me lift and volume at the base of the hair. Use this trick to maximize your lift.

2. Unroll and begin styling

Unroll your rollers and see what it is you have to work with. The first thing you’re going to want to do is break up your curls.

This is going to make them look pretty frizzy but don’t worry about that.

We can comb all of that down. Use a styling brush to start working through the curls. We want to tame the curls and make them look fluffy but not frizzy.

For the top section, work with the direction in which you rolled the curlers.

Since we rolled the front curlers to the base of the hair, we should have pretty good lift at the front of the hair. Leave it where it is and we’re simply going to mold it into something that doesn’t look frizzy.

To do this, use a pomade or a wax.

Put some pomade on your hands and warm it up by rubbing the hands together. Then just press that into the hair. Right away you’ll be able to see how it is taming down some of that curl.

We want to help the hair come out so it’s not flat against the head so just spray a bit of hairspray at the base of the front section around your face.

Then, take your brush, work it out a little bit and hold it.

Do the same thing with the pomade on the larger section of your hair.

If you ended up with one giant curl like me, simply break that up into a couple of pieces. Get rid of flyaways by using the pomade and taking the nearest section of hair and working that hair around your finger into the curl.

Section off the bangs and brush it against your hand. Just like you did on the other side, spray some hairspray at the base and brush it into your hair, holding it out to create extra volume.

This is a great way to get a little bit of lift without any backcombing.

3. Manipulate and shape your curls

Play with the placement of the curls until you get it how you like it and spray it with hairspray.

Don’t be afraid to put your brush down and get in there with your fingers to really manipulate the wave and the curl. It’s all there.

You just have to put it where you want it. Your hair is going to tell you where it wants to go.

4. Final touches

We want it to be a little fluffier at the bottom to add to that 1950s look, so just pull apart the curls at the bottom.

Now give your hair a final spray and decide where you want to put any accessories. I’m using a clip with a nice big flower that goes great with this style.

1950s curls

I hope you guys enjoyed this 1950s curls hair tutorial.

As always, I would love to hear your feedback, so leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this look.

Also, tell me about your own hair experiments. I love to hear about the successes and the failures. It is through failure that we learn what does not work so failure is never truly failure. 

Check out my Glam 1940s Hairstyle Tutorial next.