This Way To My Blog

This Way To My Blog

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Hair in the 50's

A friend on Facebook posted pictures of the way women set their hair and of getting a home permanent, sooo you might know at my age I've had experience with this and love to tell it. My mama took me to downtown San Antonio to get a permanent wave at a beauty school. She left to go shopping. The wave wouldn't take so the higher ups at the school was called in and they were trying to figure why the wave wouldn't take. They questioned me over and over about what my mama used on my hair. My hair was almost albino when I was a little girl so maybe they were curious. Finally this little country girl had enough. I burst out crying and yelled "soap, just plain soap". They realized they had pushed me too far so they sent someone to get me an ice cream cone and they stopped with their questions. It was a long time before I tried to get a perm in my hair. when I was older it did take but I always felt apprehensive because they hooked you up to a machine, each strand of hair in a curler. I always wondered what would happen it the building caught fire and my hair was all hooked up to this machine. Maybe the operators would run out and not remember to unhook my hair. As a teenager we rolled (set) our hair in pin curls after shampooing.
 I did it most every night having straight hair and I got so I could sit up in bed in the dark, roll it and sleep with all those bobby pins on my head. Neighbor ladies on each side used to call me to set their hair at times. I hated doing it but back then you did not tell an older person no and they sure didn't pay.

8 comments:

Sharon said...

I had those hard metal rollers, they did the best job with my stick straight hair. I don't know why I just didn't leave it straight.

jack69 said...

WE loved this story. I remember my sisters haveing problems with their hair. One said she had too much hair the other not enough. Sherry just got a 'BAD CUT' lately. You ladies are serious ab your hair from 10 yrs old to 115!
Good story, plus Pauline got an ice cream! LOL

Hootin Anni said...

I remember bobby pins & pin curls. And sleeping 'in' rollers!! Once I convinced my mom to let me put a rinse in her hair...it turned her hair a nice shade of lavender! 6 washings later that day...finally the color was gone. Thank goodness it was just a rinse.

Jon said...

All the girls and ladies seemed to have permanents when I was a small child. I remember my Mom putting rollers in her hair and complaining about having to sleep while wearing them.
Amusing post and a lovely photo.

Chatty Crone said...

I think I was a little after that. I didn't get too many perms at all in my life. Plus now my hair is curly and I try to blow dry it straight. What an interesting story tho. Loved it.

TARYTERRE said...

i appreciated this story. i still have trouble getting permanents. glad you eventually could.

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I would get a perm...but alas, not enough hair lol

salemslot9 said...

Hope we will always be friends Paula!
Is that you in in photo?