Hot ’70s styles: Start with healthy hair, your shining asset
Fair tresses man’s imperial race ensnare/And Beauty draws us with a single hair
So wrote Alexander Pope in 1712. Today, two and a half centuries later, beautiful hair is still every woman’s goal.
What should you do to keep your hair as shining and healthy as the luxuriant mane shown above? Heed the advice of New York experts!
We consulted Leonardo de Vega, top stylist at Charles of the Ritz; Pierre Henri, director of Sak’s Fifth Avenue’s salon; and stylist Marc de Costa.
Three New York master stylists — Leonardo de Vega, Pierre Henri and Marc de Costa — have each created a hairdo that can be combed out in a variety of ways from one basic cut and set.
Leonardo’s “Oriental Sling” style: How-to diagrams
“I like to liberate my clients so they can feel comfortable and keep their hair looking good between visits,” says Leonardo. The Oriental Sling (far right) is his easy maintenance choice for straight or curly hair. It starts with a chin-length blunt cut.
After shampooing, set two large rollers at crown (left). Wrap rest of hair around head left to right; cover like a turban with a crepelike stretch tissue. Secure; let dry halfway.
Rewind right to left and rewrap with tissue. Let dry completely. Brush, turning ends under. For a 40s variation, pin side bangs with a barrette.
MORE: How to re-create 25 hot retro ’70s hairstyles from 1977
Pierre Henri’s modified shag ’70s hairstyles: How-to diagrams
Follow the direction arrows shown in the sketch at left for this modified shag hairdo. Set hair on top and in back on large rollers; use medium and small rollers for the very short hair.
The same cut and set can be brushed out into the two completely different hairdos shown below, left and right.
“Long hair that lies flat on top and just droops on the sides gives you a tired look,” says Pierre Henri.
And so, for people who want to keep their hair long and still have softness, he has designed the modified shag. It takes a blunt cut that is layered on the sides from the temples down. The top is one length and smoothed back with ends turned slightly under (right).
For an even softer version (right), comb hair sideways over the ear and let waves fall, framing face and hugging ears and neck. This style fills out a small face and makes a full one appear thinner.
ALSO SEE: In the ’70s, here’s how men got their dry, soft hairstyles
Monsieur Marc’s “Lion” ’70s hairstyles: How-to diagrams
“I believe a cut should have style, but be free to follow the line of the hair; it should be flattering from every angle,” says Marc de Costa.
His lion cut is easily adapted to different head shapes and types of hair. Short in front and on sides, it’s layered to center and crown for sculptured effect, nipped at neck, then long for soft line. Top is longer and fuller.
Set with medium and small rollers, in direction of arrows (above). Use larger ones on crown where hair is longer. Use pin curls for short strands.
How you comb out creates the two hairdos seen here. First, brush out the set from back, forward. Then comb through and begin styling. Using brush, flip hair in the direction of the arrows for a full lion’s mane (left). To achieve the sculptured artichoke effect (right), brush top hair back and up; brush sides forward.
MORE: See 7 big pictures of the hottest short hairstyles from the ’60s
This will curl your hair! Hair styling tips from the 1970s (1975)
How to get and take care of a perm
Today’s salon permanents condition the hair as well as curl it. New methods give body and manageability to hair and eliminate the frizzies. More exact methods of timing make overprocessing almost impossible.
Warning: Do not have a color treatment just before you have a permanent; wait a few weeks. If your hair is overbleached and dried out, a permanent will not take well. It’s best to have professional conditioning treatments first.
A good permanent will last from three to four months, and is well worth the time and money. However. if you prefer to do it yourself, there are home-permanent kits.
Fine and limp hair is the most resistant to waving lotions, and requires a stronger lotion. Fine and wiry or coarse hair takes a wave very quickly, and responds best to a mild lotion.
Gillette’s Toni has a series of home permanents to choose from, including special formulas for fine, limp and hard-to-wave hair. There’s a gentle formula for color-treated hair.
Silver Curl is designed especially for gray or silver hair, and has a special conditioner to prevent dryness and dullness. Scatter Perm is for women who just want a few, easily kept tendril curls or curls only in front or back.
L’Oréal’s Extra’ Body Perm contains enriched proteins to condition and protect the hair and has a sweet, fresh fragrance—very different from the stinging ammonia smell of old-fashioned home permanents. And there’s a choice of either extra-large rollers for a full look or smaller ones for small, springy curls.
Procter & Gamble’s various Lilt Style home-permanent kits include Push-Button Lilt, which dispenses its waving action in a push- button foam for easier application. And Ogilvie offers a home permanent kit with a pre-permanent conditioner rich in protein.
Every home-permanent kit includes specific directions. Read them carefully and follow them exactly.
MORE: See some old-school handheld blow dryers/stylers from the ’70s & ’80s
8 tips for a successful home perm, seventies-style
Otherwise, the general rules for successful home permanents are:
1. Decide the style you want: then have your hair cut to shape.
2. Precondition dry, damaged or brittle hair for two or three weeks before permanenting. to get it back into shape, and condition again immediately after. If your hair is bleached or tinted, always do a test curl before going ahead with the full permanent.
3. If ends are dry, wet hair, then apply conditioner to ends before beginning.
4. If your hair is color treated, the permanent will lighten the color slightly. Give your- self the permanent about a week before your regular touch-up.
5. Keep a clock near at hand. Timing is very important.
6. Block hair off in even sections and wind smoothly and firmly, but not tightly. Make sure that all hair tips are tucked neatly around curlers so you don’t end up with frizz.
7. Use all the neutralizing lotion provided. Neutralizing is the process that locks in the wave. The main cause of home-permanent failure is faulty neutralizing.
8. Avoid metal curlers or clips; metals can affect the action of chemicals involved.
NOW SEE THIS: See how vintage hot rollers like these helped make retro hairstyles happen
How to use a blow dryer to create ’70s hairstyles
Once you have waved your hair, it’s easy to blow-dry the curls into place. The heat and air of a dryer give volume to the hair. According to Remington’s hairstylist, Richard Stein, you can actually sculpt your hair with your hands as you blow it dry.
Hand-styling helps to lift hair and give it body, height and width without making it seem stiff and set.
After shampooing hair, dry at highest setting of dryer, running fingers through your hair constantly, to allow hot air to circulate.
Then switch it down to “style” setting. Catch small sections of the hair fringing your face between the first two fingers of one hand, palm down.
Twist the ends around the forefinger, turning the palm up so your fingers act like a tiny roller, to flip hair back off the face. Finish drying one section at a time.
Use this same technique for framing curls and dips, but this time keeping palms down.
If you have a stubborn cowlick, dry against the natural wave and use fingers to coax hair gently in the right direction.
For crown height, pull sections of hair straight up and train the dryer on the root from the back.
Too-limp bangs can be revitalized by pulling hair back from face and aiming dryer at root of hair from the front. Curve bangs and side pieces by winding on fingers and drying.
DON’T MISS: 1970s home perms: How women got those retro permed hairstyles
How to use a curling iron to create ’70s hairstyles
Another gadget that helps in the placing of curls is the curling iron. Always use on clean, dry hair.
First, use a blow-dryer to get body and hot air circulating through your hair. Then use the hot rod to get the look you want.
The tightness of the curl you get with the hot rod is determined by how much hair you roll each time and how long you hold it in the rod. As a rule, about 30 seconds will give you a firm, bouncy, long-lasting curl.
First, isolate a section of hair and comb it through to smooth it. Then, holding hair section by ends, clamp your curling iron around it at the root, slide rod to ends and rotate it to wrap hair around it. Then twirl it back to within an inch of scalp; hold 30 seconds, gently unclamp rod and slide it out — without uncurling curl. Let it cool before brushing out.
ALSO SEE: How to make the perfect ’80s hairstyles: Tips for her from 1986
How to create 25 hot retro ’70s hairstyles from 1977
From Woman’s Day – June 28, 1977
Curl it. Cut it. Blow it dry. Brush it. Tuck it. Let it fly. There’s no one way with summer ’77 hair.
Kenneth has done twenty-four marvelous styles for us (and he could have done twenty-four more). Now is the time for a pretty change. So pick a new ‘do, get ready to enjoy a great summer.
1) Hair swept to each side from a center part reveals a cool forehead. Ends are gently directed under, but aren’t curled. Set on large rollers.
2) Sleek, slick wet hairdo is simple. First, you jump into the pool. Second, you climb out dripping wet. Third, you comb hair straight back and stick in some decorative side-combs.
3) A headband holds curly hair back, then lets the curls burst forth. Set straight hair on medium rollers.
4) A mass of feathery curls kept under control with a little red comb on each side if you start with a tight roller set.
5) Loose curls tumble casually from the crown. Start with a medium roller set but don’t expect the style to hold for long unless you have wavy hair already.
6) Here, a softened version of the pompadour with back hair held out of the way with combs.
7) ’77 hairstyles: A tousled look achieved with a roller set.
8) Hair still curly but a little fuller and looser than style 7, and not allowed to come over the face.
9 and 10) Two lovely evening looks — one utterly simple, the other, a Grecian fantasy. For hairdo 9, hair is first blown dry, then combed back from face and held with a rhinestone headband. For hairdo 10, hair is set on tiny perm rods to produce corkscrew curls. Crowning the whole affair, a false chignon.
11) Long hair combed in a low chignon, caught in an invisible hairnet, and accented with a fresh flower.
12) Simple ’77 hairstyles: First, you shampoo, then let hair air-dry. That’s all.
13) Long hair is required for this style, which combines a French twist and a false braid.
14) Hair is sectioned from ear to ear an inch back from the face; then each side is twisted away from face and caught in back with a barrette. Flowers may be tucked into the twist, as shown.
15) Side hair is caught in a curve by an artificial braid decorated with flowers; back hair hangs straight.
16) Lean over and brush pool-drenched or freshly-shampooed hair forward; then grab it, rubber-band it, make a topknot and pin in place.
17) Wet hair is sleeked back and embellished with a braided chignon. You can achieve this look even when you have short hair.
18) Long may the ponytail wave . . . or be caught up like this when you want to be dressy for evening. The long tail gets turned underpinned in place; then you add an evening decoration — this one’s made of tulle.
19) A crisp cascade of waves spills from the crown in a high ponytail that includes front and side hair only. The back is combed under in this ’77 hairstyle.
20) Pin a real flower over one ear, or use a fake one. This softly waved style starts with a set on medium rollers.
21) Another great wet hair-do. We’ve used a tiny fake braid of hair as a headband; the back hair is pony-tailed, turned under, then pinned.
22) A luxuriant style that bounces a wave over the forehead, fluffs out the sides and back. Start with a roller set, then brush in the waves and tighten ends into curls.
23) Dramatic slicked-back hairdo with a fake braid arching across the crown. The back is done in a tight chignon.
24) Not-so-pure pageboy with a certain blowy feeling and one side tucked behind your ear. It’s done from a roller set to give it body, and then brushed out and under.
Step-by-step directions: How to make these ’77 hairstyles
Kenneth suggests that to make a summer set last longer you dry hair completely before setting it, and if your hair is baby fine, then you apply setting lotion too.
When hair is competely dry, remove rollers, then comb through curls carefully one at a time to remove stiffness. Brush hair completely back, then comb into the desired hairdo.
DON’T MISS: 1970s home perms: How women got those retro permed hairstyles
