Hairstyling 101: Spring’s Voluminous Vintage Curls

Spring’s preppy neon getups and floral prints could have looked a little too goody-two-shoes in this year’s runway shows, if not for the tumbling, voluminous curled hairdos. These delightfully retro hairstyles topped off looks for Anna Sui, Salvatore Ferragamo and Sonia Rykiel, giving models a scorchingly hot vibe that channeled movie stars like Veronica Lake and Lauren Bacall. You can get your own vintage curls to sport this spring with an old-fashioned, tried-and-true technique.

• Dampen your hair by washing it thoroughly or just running it under the water. When creating your vintage curls, you’ll want to keep your hair wet with a spray bottle.

• Part your hair far on the side, at least over the arch of your brow. Comb it all out.

• Take a 3-inch wide section of hair from the thick side of your part, at the front, and gel it. Push your comb down the section, a few inches away from the part, and draw the hair back toward your hairline. Reverse the direction of the comb without removing it from your hair, then push it slightly toward your part to create a raised bump. Clip the bump with a wave clip.

• Reverse and draw the comb downward again, this time sweeping the hair over your forehead and brow. At your brow, pull the hair toward the hairline again. Create another bump and clip it.

• Make a third bump, then finish off your vintage curls with a pincurl at the bottom of the section. You can do this by wrapping the hair around your finger and securing it with criss-crossed bobby pins.

• Mimic your vintage curls pattern on the other side of your head. Remember to keep your hair damp and gelled while you work.

• Section off the rest of your hair into 2-inch wide pieces and make pincurls all over your head. When you’re finished setting these vintage curls, cover your head with a scarf or bandana and get ready to wait. Pincurls can take several hours to dry, more if your hair is long. The longer you leave them in, the better your hair will hold the curl.

• Once dried, take down your hair. It may feel crunchy and unmanageable at first, but you can comb it out gently with your fingers to soften it up, or brush it out for super volume. Style as desired.

Photo credit: theskinimin at Flickr