My mother went to cosmetology school. Do people even say ‘cosmetology’ anymore? I don’t think so. Anyway, my mom was a Beautician. Do people say ‘Beautician’ anymore? I don’t think so. Okay, so my mom went to Hair Stylist school back in the day of Aqua Net and pin curls. We had all the hair stuff in our house, the huge dryer you sit under, the curlers, the drapes, the bobby pins and sprays and hair rinses, we had all of it.
I have to tell you that some of my terminology for fixing hair is probably old school. So bear with me.
To fix Ellen’s hair I put the base in a French Roll. To do this I ‘teased’ or ‘ratted’ her hair that I wanted to pull to the side.
She’s not in pain…she IS a PAIN!
Teasing or ratting hair means you pull it out then comb it in short strokes back to the scalp, making it look like a matted mess. What this does is gives the hair more ‘stay’ power. Since the hair is all locked in a mess it’s less likely to slip out when pinned.
So I pinned one side over and gently smoothed the top layer of hair with a comb , the hair under the smooth part is all ratted, but you can’t tell.
Then I took the other side and rolled it back toward the pinned side and pinned it over top of the other side. Does that make sense? One layer of pinning goes over the other layer. I used lots and lots of pins.
I know the photographer did not do a very good job of documenting what the heck I was doing. I fired him. If you really want to learn how to do this…this post is useless. Please send letters of complaint to, Clay the former photographer.
So now the back and sides are pinned up and there is a huge mass of hair loose at the top.
This is when I decided my curling strategy. The client is questioning if this was the right thing to do.
All the hair should be going forward, into the client’s eyes, that way I didn’t have to look at her. Working from back to front I started making little curls with the curling iron I’ve owned since 1986.
Curl, curl, curl.
After each curl I sprayed it with maximum strength holding power hair spray.
Once the curling was done I started pinning up the curls.
This was the fun part because it’s like sculpting. I took the curls and draped/folded/bended eache into the place I wanted them and then pinned it in place. All the fine loose hair around her neck and ears I used a tiny bit of wax to bring together and then curled them.
I ignored the client as she began to get bored, I was working on a masterpiece! Her boredom means nothing to me!
But, then the client started singing…
awful lyrics to encourage me to get this hair thing done…
But, I wouldn’t be distracted, I was still sculpting and pinning.
So she stopped singing and asked if I wanted to have a staring contest. I told her sure if it would get her to stop singing.
Yeah, that didn’t work.
The client started to get impatient and feared she will be late to the party.
So, I jabbed her with a pin.
Which was all she needed to submit to my powerful hair authority. I finished the last pinning, used an ungodly amount of hairspray and twisted in little sparkly thingies. Hair done!!
That gave me about three minutes to throw on my dress, smear on some make-up and comb my hair. Yeah, no up-do for me, the client totally trumped my getting ready time.
Later, I learned this is the only photo that the former photographer took of her all dressed up with her hair done. It was drizzling rain.
Thankfully, I have a friend that does know how to document her children’s big events and she kindly took a few photos of my kid too.
Thank you for joining us today, there will be a test next week on this cosmetological post. Please practice your French rolls.
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Oh, boy, April! That took me back to college years when I had long, straight hair, slept on brush rollers, teased the crap out of my hair, spent hours pinning it in a french roll and covered it with 2″ of stiff hair spray!!!
Fortunately, all my daughter wanted me to do to her hair was french braid it!
Just rediscovered your site as I was pruning my blogroll.
Very inspirational post. In fact, you have inspired me to have my stylist cut my teenage daughter’s hair in a style that will “go forward” into her eyes ALL THE TIME because then I won’t have to see her constantly rolling them at me. Thanks for the idea!
I’m not pruning you off my blogroll, by the way.
Wow. The photography on that was so detailed, I’m fairly certain that I will be able to recreate at least 1/16th of this hairstyle for my own daughter.
I am so jealous! That was really good.
My 16yo dd has very thick straight hair. We have never been able to get a curl to stay in it. I worked on her hair for a couple hours before her formal, she wore rollers all day, and it still straightened once it was put up. She is convinced that her hair will never ever curl but I think it’s just my incompetency. I think you could make it happen.
Maybe we didn’t use enough spray though it was enough to choke a horse and coat the bathroom in a nice sticky fly-paper-like way.
P.S. I really, really need a haircut. Wanna come over?
So jealous. It’s lovely! Someday, I want my baby-fine, pin-straight hair to look like that… just for a while.
I went to cosmetology school. The only things I would have done different would be a) tell client to NOT wash her hair on day of updo and b) spray hair before curling it.
Love the pictures!
Oh my God that was such a fun post. And in the last picture she looks SO much like you … and Clay too. An amalgam of the both of you … we shall call her Claypril.
I love that you beg her to stop when she sings to you … and she begs you to stop when you sing to her!
As my mother always used to say on such occasions–”Beauty must suffer.”
In other words, sometimes it hurts the body to have beautiful hair, nails, eyebrows, etc.
Thanks for the play by play. You both look beautiful, btw.
I have no idea what a french roll is. But it all looked great you looked like you all had fun!
I swear your daughter’s “staring contest” face reminds me of a Norman Rockwell print. I’ll have to find it.
I can smell the Aqua Net!
Makes me sad I have a house full of boys…o.k. I am over it. I will live vicariously through you girl mamas.
The Park Wife
Cosmotology is alive and well in Houston and in our high school, students can take a two-year cosmotolgy class
(3 hr/day) and get their license by the time they graduate!!
Love your blog and the pictures were darling.
You did a fantabulous job. I can’t give Clay the same accolades. The singing pictures are mighty fine, though.
My mama was a beautician, too! I hate to call her a cosmetologist because all I ever heard was beautician. And she went to beauty school. I can’t fix hair like that. Nope. I live close to my mama so she can do all the hair fixin’ around here.
If you’re interested, read this: http://itwasbroughtonbylove.blogspot.com/2009/10/hair.html
So sweet! We, moms are always the last to get ready with just a few minutes
Beautiful and fun~!
Man, just think of the bucks you saved doing that up do!!!! I have shelled out between $50.00 and $75.00 for my teenager’s up dos. Bravo April!
I can do the spider web/basket weave gymnast do. I even wrote a post about it once and took all the photos myself. (Did you know I have an extra pair of arms?) But I really don’t think I can do that there up do. I never could figure out the whole ratting/teasing thing. I was a major failure at 80s hair.
Oh gosh, not that Ellen’s hair looks at all 80s. Ellen’s hair looks lovely. It’s just that ratting was essential for that 80s look and it is the first step you have listed here.
Are you booked a week from Tuesday?
Jenni in KS, I love your immediate disclaimer. It’s like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack: “Oh…looks good on YOU though.” Ha!
I want to know what Ellen was singing. I’m banking on “And then a hero comes along…with the strength to carry on…and you cast your fears aside…and you know you can SURvive…”
And this is why God made sure I had only a son. There is no way I could have done this.
What a lovely young lady she is becoming! You must be so proud of her.
I love those photos !! I love this post !
)
I’ve got one boy (10 years old) and one girl (7 years old). My boy leaves home, each morning for school, with hair in “battle” !! He didn’t even care of this. He forgot to look in the mirror : just brush teeth, clean the face, that’s all (the shower is made the evening).
My girl ……………. each little hair must be at the right place ! …
I think I will have some good moments, later
Have a good week end …
Beautiful! Wish you lived close to me so you could make my hair that pretty!
Susan
My daughter’s first formal event will be in spring 2011–can we book you now? Cuz I can do a ponytail but that is it.
As the mother of three boys, I lived vicariously through your post. As a little girl I loved to “style” my dolls’ hair. Who’d a thunk I’d not have a baby girl.
PS-Could you tell your sister I love her and refuse to delete her from my computer. I struggled with the same thoughts she expressed on her site. While my conclusions were very different from hers. I do understand the questions and this Christian gal plans to continue reading her blog and if she ever opens up her comments….tell her that I love her.
Is there anything you can’t do? She looked beautiful. Thank goodness for your friend and her camera! I hope she had a great time at the “formal.” Do they say “formal” anymore?
Linked to your site from PW. What a fun post! Brought back memories of LONG ago when my stick-straight hair was tortured into curls for major dances. I am going to enjoy following your blog.
She is both cute and beautiful!
WOW! What a lovely looking lady all dressed up. April, you should “do” hair more often, there is quite a bit of talent in those fingers of yours.
How cute. I have no memories of my mom ever doing any fun, foo-foo thing to my hair. Most of my childhood was spent in a pixie-cut that I hated. I now have long, straight hair that I can barely pull in to a pony tail with competence, I have no idea what I’m doing. hugs from HW
Oh the singing is funny! How could she even think that her singing would distract YOU – the singing master!!!
*snif* You’re such a wonderful mother!! Reminds me of my own sainted mother who used to comb out hair everyday before grade school and would slap my head with the back of the brush if I tried to escape. Such precious memories.
Super Mom! Looks great.
you are hilarious. i love your blog.
Thank God I had a boy…I have NO patience! Wait a minute…I have a boy AND no patience…surely that is an oxymoron!
I love her facial expressions. The two of you crack me up.