Starting in the 1920s, short hair was considered youthful. The previous standard — one practiced by my grandmother — was to keep the hair long and wear it in updo after a certain age. I can’t seem to post a photo, but if you google “old lady hair 1900” you’ll see examples.
A young girl would wear her hair down, or in a modified updo, but once she entered her teens she usually was socially required to rein it in. Braids and complex buns were popular back then, but the hair itself was long.
In the 1920s, women started to cut it off. “Bobbing” your hair was edgy — and really only seen on younger, fashion-conscious women. Most Western women of the era still kept their long.
The shorter hair caught on, and by the 1950s you saw a lot of the soft, waved looks elderly women are still trying to replicate today.
I think it was Vidal Sassoon that introduced mainstream America to the concept of the “haircut.” Before then, a cut really wasn’t the important thing. Women would visit the salon for their weekly wash and set, or do it themselves. Ever heard the old excuse for refusing a date, “I can’t tonight, I’m washing my hair?” This is where it comes from.
It’s a known fact that women will often stick to the hairstyle from the era they looked best. For women who came of age in the 50s or early 60s, this often means soft, short waves.
My mom has a hairstyle like this, has had it for quite awhile. She’s lucky, she has naturally thick and wavy hair. But not all of us do, especially after menopause when the hair tends to thin out.
The only way a woman can pull of this hairstyle is with natural waves, or a perm.
A perm adds body and the appearance of thickness to thinning hair. Plus, it’s easier to care for, like Quora User suggests.
I have my mom’s hair, and if I count the compliments it’s gotten throughout the years, at least 60% were from old ladies. In fact, if I get to know an old lady who likes to talk about such things, I can usually count on her to mention my hair and how lucky I am to have it.
Yes, I am lucky. The 80s — the last hurrah of the permanent wave — was a good hair decade for me. But ever since, I’ve spent money and time trying to wrangle it straight, or at least straighter. Because curly hair doesn’t always look so great when it’s long, and it can be hard to brush.