Hollywood Hair

Rita Hayworth

One thing so noticeably pretty about the actresses of the time was their hair, which even today is admired and, sometimes, attempted to be copied. In the 1940s, Hollywood was a distinctive part of American culture, and women all over the United States sought to emulate the various hairstyles of the beautiful women on the silver screen.

The general look of the female star’s hair was smooth and glossy, and consisted of elaborate waves, soft curls, and pompadours. Though it appeared sleek to the millions of women seated in the theaters, in reality, movie lighting and numerous hair products concealed the horror of horrors known to all women—frizz. “It’s a strenuous job to have to live up to the way you look on the screen every day of your life,” confessed actress Jean Arthur.

Norma Shearer, on the set of Escape (1940), wears a hairpiece, which at the time reflected European coiffure.

Linda Darnell’s famous look: the Bumper Bangs.

Actresses of the forties parted their hair either in a deep side part or in the center. For social events, actresses were seen wearing fancy updos and reverse rolls. Most hair arrangements included fluffed curls, ripples of waves, and styles swept away from the face. Sometimes the hair above the forehead was combed up and over, leaving the hair to fall down in curls, or pulled back with hair combs. For costume films, clusters of ringlets (long or short) were popular for representations of all eras, whether or not it was historically accurate. Another period style, especially seen in the swashbucklers or added for a foreign touch, included braided hairpieces.

Each actress had her signature hairstyle. For the familiar curls of Ginger Rogers, pomade was used. Privately, Bette Davis preferred sporty, self-styled hair. But as an actress, both her hair and her acting style were artistic. Betty Grable often wore curls pulled tightly to the top of the head. Greer Garson chose a fluffed look: Her red hair was shampooed, then rinsed with champagne to enhance natural color and add softness and shine. Afterward Miss Garson would give her mane one-hundred brushstrokes and put it up in a hair net to dry.

Second only to Shirley Temple were the curls of Ginger Rogers.

Greer Garson claimed to use the finest champagne on her red hair.

Gene Tierney’s thick hair was curled neatly into a bobbed style with pronounced volume on top. Katherine Hepburn let her hair air dry for a more natural look that was becoming to her face and personality. Miss Hepburn’s large, tousled curls provide the rare example of a leading lady’s hairstyle which was never perfectly smooth. Linda Darnell’s hair was worn long, sometimes with the popular Bumper Bangs, which were smoothly and gracefully rolled forward.

Lauren Bacall and Veronica Lake had long, loosely waved hair. Miss Bacall proved especially particular about her grooming; she styled her own hair, which was always famously worn in glossy waves. There was a high rate of accidents stemming from the women working in factories who wore their hair long like Miss Lake’s. The government swiftly stepped in to solve the problem by directing Paramount Pictures to change the coiffure of the actress. This proved to be more than Veronica Lake’s dutiful part in the war effort: After the change, her popularity lessened. As someone lamented, “She was never so exciting once her hair had been reduced to normal proportions.”

The women of Hollywood typically set their hair in pin curls or used hot rollers. Various setting lotions, gels, and heat reinforced waves and curls. Pomade was essential to add shine, shape curls, and direct hair. Some actresses dyed their hair to change their image, eagerly hoping to gain greater star status. The dyes of the 1940s were a concoction of ammonia, peroxide, and soap flakes, made into a paste. Other women would use straight peroxide to bleach their hair.

Photograph credits: HAYWORTH: vintagehairstyling.com; SHEARER: normashearer.com; DARNELL: vintage.tn; ROGERS: vintage.tn; GARSON: listal.com.