Late Victorian Hair

This week we are learning about the later hairstyles in the Victorian era. So unlike the earlier styles, the later ones were obviously slightly different. Rather than having their hair shorter and framed round the face, it was scraped back at the sides and big on top. Because of this the the styles of hat changed to fit around the hair. Although plaits and buns were still used, there were a lot more curls used and they were a lot longer and a lot looser. Along with hats, many other hair decorations were used such as flowers, pieces of fabric or Alice bands.  In the earlier styles we saw that the parting of the hair was down the middle. This stayed more or less the same but the start of fringes came about, and they aren't what you think they would be. The fringes were incredibly short and had tight ringlets. The hair styles changed mainly due to practicality. For instance between 1861-65 was the Americal Civil War. Girls changed their so that they could keep it out their face. Wig pieces were also used if a persons hair was slightly thin or they wanted to do an elaborate up do but wanted some hair down.

So for the practical side of the lesson we were using rollers and curlers. It was a pretty simple thing to do but it actually takes a lot longer than you think it does.

1. The first thing that you do is to create a middle parting.
2. Then create a rectangular section on top of the head facing downwards. Make sure that both sides are equal sides from the head so that neither side goes baggy. Then place a roller in and pin it down. Do this twice going down on both sides and then 2 going sideways.
   
3. The next step is up to you on how you want to design your hairstyle. What we did was to tie up some of the remaining hair into 2 ponytails and the curl them. You can also curl the parts of the hair that aren't tied up. Once you have curled the sections that you want you then pin them up so that it creates an almost waterfall affect. 
4. The last step is to take out the rollers. Take out the ones at the side and then pin them in the middle at the back of the head. Do this on both sides.
5. Lastly take out the ones on the top. Brush them out and pin them slightly higher than the ones on the side. This creates the middle parting we were talking about.