Early Victorian Hairstyles. With Helen

Second attempt. I didn't manage to finish the curls in time.

Today in Helen's class we learned about classic Victorian hair. We learned about the shape and texture and also how many different styles there were and how they changed as the Victorian period. We were looking at the early period from 1830's to the 1860's. The Victorian hairstyles were very precise. They usually had a middle parting, with a bun at the back and side detail. They seemed to focus a lot on the sides as this part of the hair framed the face and was really the only part of the hair you could see with a hat or bonnet on. Bonnets were particularity popular in this early period. 

The women of this time would either curl, twist, or plait the side sections. In the earlier days the hair was higher and as the era went on the side section plaits or curls got lower and lower. 

First style attempt.


Step by Step.

1. Firstly I split the hair into 3 sections. 2 at the sides and 1 at the back. 
2. I clipped the two side sections at the front so they were out of the way and then brushed the back section so that it was neatly put into a pony tail. 
3. Once it was in a pony tail, I split the pony tail into 2 sections and plaited them. I then wrapped them around the pony one after the other and then clipped them in place. 
4. I made sure there were no loose hairs and then moved on to the side sections. 
5. For my first style I brushed the sections out and starting with one side started to plait one section from below the ear letting it hang under the ear and connect to the bun. 
6. I then clipped these in place. I continued this on the other side. 
7. I then put some wax over them to sleek them down. 
8. Once I had completed this I then took out the plaits and began to curl the hair to give a different style. 
9. I sectioned each side section into 4 little sections. I then began to curl each section. making sure they made a sausage shape. I pulled out and rolled the hair in the curlers. Making sure they are sitting where the curls will fall.
10. I then let the curls go from the tongs. I then positioned them in the right place.

Outcome. 

I really enjoyed this lesson. I love the sleekness of Victorian styles and how symmetrical they were. I also saw some images that seemed really modern in the slides shown by Helen. One woman had her hair moulded into a bow shape which I thought was really forward thinking for the time. It really opened my eyes to how much, with regards to hair styling, we recycle. 

I think I have the basic technique down, but I definitely need to practise my curling. I wasn't positioning the curls in the right place. Helen then gave me a little help and showed me the correct way. I will practise this at home and document it so that you can see my progress.