Vintage Hair Tutorial - 1940s Headband Hairstyle

This vintage hair tutorial was first done for a magazine way back in 2014!

This is a stunning 1940s hairstyle, featuring a Gibson Roll at the back and tends to work best on day old hair, You can also pre-curl your hair if you find that helps with styling it but it’s not a necessity.
 
You will need: A rat-tail comb, a soft bristle hair brush, hair grips, an elastic hairband, a vintage style headband. I feel this look would best suit my landgirl headscarves but you can find all my different headband styles

Step 1: Start by sectioning off an area of hair at the front to create a fringe, if you already have a fringe just add in more hair to create a bigger section. This needs to be a decent size as you will be creating a rolled fringe later.

Step 2: Backcomb a little into this fringe section and then leave it clipped up and out the way.

Step 3: Now create a low ponytail at the back with the rest of your hair, making sure to put the elastic hairband at the bottom

Step 4: Now take your headband and wrap your hair around it in an upwards direction. Alternatively you can put your headband on and tuck the hair around it, this method would work well with my wider stretchy vintage headbands.

Step 5: Roll your hair tightly around the headband and up to the back of your head. Make sure you are keeping the hair tightly rolled, this is key. Once it’s all rolled up quickly pin the middle of the section with hairgrips so it’s firmly secured to the back of your head.

Step 6: Carefully start fanning the rest of the hair out along the headband using it as a guide. It’s best to pin the hair in place as you go to help it stop from slipping, take your time with this step.

Step 7: When you were happy with the final shape (don’t worry if it takes a few goes) add more pins to neatly secure it all in place and give it a spritz of hairspray.

Step 8: Now go back to the front section that you created earlier. The best way to backcomb this section is with a small comb or a little brush, taking small sections of the hair at a time, combing into the roots. When the hair starts to hold a little bit of shape and stands up the section is ready to be rolled.

Step 9: Roll the section forward around your hand and slightly off to one side, hold the roll in place with your hand.

Step 10: When you are happy with how your roll looks you can pin it in place. If the roll doesn’t hold as well as you like try a little bit more backcombing and give it a couple more goes to see if you can give it more structure. You can even add a hairnet over it once it’s pinned in place for more hold and a neater finish.

Step 11: Give the finished the look a spritzing with hairspray and you might want to add an extra pin or two on either side of the headband knot to stop it slipping out off.

Below is the completed look. Don’t worry if this style takes a few goes to master, have fun with it and remember nothing needs to be perfectly neat! If you are looking for 1940s style headbands you can check out my 1940s style headscarves here and my full range of stretchy headbands here.

Model: Ria Fend

Photographer: Jez Brown

Styling: Sarah’s Doo-Wop Dos