All Wet - Extolling the Virtues of the Wet Set

My friend Carol and I were talking about hair the other day. I was extolling the virtues of the wet set - an all too rare styling technique, now-a-days. So just the other day, she came by for a girl's day in with her DVD of the 80's miniseries I'll Take Manhattan and I gave her lovely black mane a classic wet set.

It's not difficult to do, but there are a few tricks to making it come out right. You'll need to start with wet, but towel dried hair. Because Carol likes the "That Girl" style, I used mesh rollers in the two largest sizes. They give you body and lift, but not a lot of curl.

The next requirement for a good wet set is setting lotion. Now my hair is very amenable to a wet set, so I usually just use a spray gel. It's easier to find than true setting lotion. That was a bit of a mistake with Carol's set. Her hair didn't respond as well to the gel as I would have liked. It gave us the body, but not the tight curl needed to give her that iconic flip.

One of the tricks to a good wet set has to do with the direction of the set. In order to create the full crown I wanted for Carol I rolled the hair on top of her head over the rollers, not under. That gave me lift. I also over directed the curls, which means that I held the hank of hair away from the scalp at an angle in the direction I intended on rolling it, rather than directly perpendicular to the head.

This allows the roller to work on all the hair in the hank - the hair at the front of the roller doesn't slope up to it, it wraps around.

Once her hair was rolled, it was time to go under the drier. Now you can do a wet set without a drier. Remember all those women in the supermarket with curlers under a scarf? You can, however, dry it more quickly if you use a hard or soft top drier. They can be found on eBay and in thrift shops.

I have a fun 60's drier - it's a Lady Schick, Capri Consolette in two shades of blue and it does a great job of drying your hair with 4 different settings. After you're dry, it easily collapses down for storage. Carol had fun with my vintage magazine collection while sitting under it. It took quite a while. It's important to make sure that the hair is bone dry before removing the rollers or you'll risk undoing all your hard work.

Once she was completely dry we stowed the drier and removed the curlers. Upon combing out her locks I was pleased with the body, but disappointed by the lack of curl. Next time I'll use a firmer setting lotion. I gave the back of the crown a bit of back combing for height, loaned her a pair of earrings, applied some luxurious false lashes and took some glamour shots.

Have any of you tried a wet set? Was it successful? My friend Thanos in Greece has been making quite a name for himself doing hair for fashion shoots. He's promised to do me over on his next trip to New York. I'm sure it will require some time under my hard top drier!

Feminine Hygene & Fabulous Fashion - The Kotex Box of the (Past) Future

While I was rooting around in storage a few days ago, I ran across this delightful little item.

It was a gift from a friend - Cator Sparks. He found it in a general store out in the country somewhere. It had been on the shelf since 1969 when it was new and he just had to have it. I don't blame him, it's quite the deadstock item.

I'm really enamored of the graphics on the box and it's contents just make it all that much better. That the Kimberly Clark corporation thought using space age imagery and avant garde fashion to sell feminine hygene products was a good idea is a real testament to the time. There's so much to talk about here.

This is the main face of the box. The windblown model is wearing such a festive cape. I love the double zipper that allows you to zip it open up to the collar. What makes it absurd, however is the space helmet in the lower right hand corner. I suppose even fashionable lady astronauts need protection at that time of the month.

This is the box top, and I'm loving the sequined hood. Just look at that eye makeup too.

The last image resides on the sides of the box and it's probably my favorite. I love the Whiting and Davis metal mesh dress and head piece and the head set with the antenna on it. Again, the makeup is truly remarkable.

Collecting vintage packaging is quite an interesting hobby. There are so many different styles, periods and eras to collect, and finding an unopened box of something consumable is always such a delight. Things like these can be found on eBay and occasionally at yard sales, and they make such a delightful addition to a retro home.

While you're shopping, check out the Brini Maxwell auctions on eBay. There are lots of fun things up this week.

Do, Do, Do... What to Do - Musings on Hairstyles

Hi people. I've been thinking of changing my hairstyle. My friend Thanos will love this post. Among other things, he does this sort of thing on Blythe dolls. I'm particularly fond of asymmetrical styles and have found a few examples to show my hair dresser.

These are rather pretty, simple styles that might be fun for every day.

Speaking of Asymmetrical, how does she keep this up?

This is a fun style. I love sausage curls and if styled into a fall you can just pin them on and off you go!

Speaking of falls, I'm thinking of getting one. What do you think? Long or short?

Maybe I should go with a medium length one?

I'll let you know what I decide. It's fun to change up your look sometimes. How often do you change your hairstyle? Is it traumatic? Thanos, when are you coming to New York to give me the Blythe treatment?