Victory Rolls: A Personal Love Affair

One thing I always look at when I see vintage photos is the fabulous hairstyles. They make the lady sporting the style look just elegant and beautiful. My immediate after thought usually goes along the lines of “I couldn’t do that, I struggle with straighteners on a good day.” It got me thinking though, why was I letting negativity stop me and not even attempting these hairstyles?! So, I grew some ‘lady balls’ and decided to do something about it. I just don’t see the harm in attempting to make myself happy and learn a new skill.

To try and work out what I needed to do I combed through copious amounts of YouTube tutorials but I wasn’t being explained in a way a complete hair novice like myself would understand. I then investigated vintage hair salons in the Swindon area (my current residence at the time) and stumbled across a beacon of hope in the form of Vintage Victory Rollers Vintage Hair Workshop. At a bargain price of £80 I got to understand the assorted products and tools I could use and more crucially I saw a hairstyle that even me the hair novice could do! This is the fabulous Victory Rolls, a popular hairstyle of the 1940’s and even into the early 50’s. I couldn’t believe such a complicated looking hairstyle was achievable and wouldn’t break the bank! The lovely Rachel of Victory Vintage Rollers changed my whole attitude to styling that day. She gave me confidence.

There are many techniques to achieve fabulous rolls but my preferred is what I call the ‘can of hair spray and back comb method.’ Its simple yet effective and a bonus is if you wrap your hair in a scarf before bed, it will not only hold but will require very little maintenance in the morning. I will warn you though, washing this out will involve you needing a comb when you condition your hair.  Please follow these steps to achieve these fabulous rolls. Note: Credit to Rachel at Vintage Victory Rollers for teaching this method to me and many other women out there. 

What you will need:

• Hair bands or sectioning clips
• Hair grips
• Comb
• Back Combing Brush (optional but the results are better I think)
• Hair Spray
• Hair Flower (to decorate)
• Nylon Scarf  (optional)

Step 1

First of all, you will need section your hair off into three sections. Grab a hair grip or the tip of your comb and separate the hair from the back of the ear on the left side. With the front section you have just created, use a hair band or sectioning clip and gather the section together. Repeat this on the right side. Once done, grab the remainder of your hair and tie up at the back and out the way.

      

Step 2

Next, you will need the hairspray and back combing brush (or your comb). Choose either the left or right side and remove the clip or hair band. Take a small section of hair and brush it smooth. On the side closest to your head, grab your brush or comb and start back combing. Once happy, spray that section and move over to the side of your head. Keep doing this until you start to resemble a crazy professor.

           

Step 3

Right, now you should be looking completely crazy and bird ‘nesty’. With this mop, gently brush the outside to gather the ‘nest’ together. Once the hair is gathered, create a small loop with your fingers (don’t worry if your struggling this can take some practice) and slowly start rolling the loop inwards. Once you’re happy with the shape, pin the hair in place with a couple of pins to get the initial structure. Once secure, gently move your hair around until you are happy with you roll and securing with pins and hairspray. Don’t worry again if you have to re roll, it’s perfectly normal.

       

Step 4

Now with the other section of your hair, repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have 2 lovely rolls. From here you can do whatever you want with the remainder of your hair. I personally like to gather my hair up and adorn my head with a nylon scarf and hair flower. You can though straighten or even curl the back of your hair, the choices are endless! Just remember, once your happy with your hair, use that spray just to make sure everything looks lovely and smooth but more importantly, will stay in place.

        

I hope this guide has helped but if you do have any questions or queries, then please do not hesitate to contact me on my contact page. I hope you do enjoy your lovely new do and remember everyone, why be  normal when you can be fabulous!