African American Pin-up Hairstyles

[Miss Melody]

Hi all! Getting ready for my first shoot and I have no idea what to do with my hair. I currently have a weave in, but it's not a style I want to use for this shoot. Once I take it out, I will have REALLY tightly curled (read:nappy) hair and will be getting it pressed (straightened without a chemical).

I have seen many awesome tutorials for vintage hair, but few for African American hair. Does anyone know of a few good ones? I haven't seen my hair in months, so I have no idea how long it is, I would guess it's hovering over my shoulders at this point. Doubt it's longer than shoulder length, though.

 

Thanks in advance, dolls!

 

[Goldmine Trash]

 I think afro's are beautiful and amazing looking, and wish they'd come into fashion again! I'd love to see some ladies do a pinup style homage to the late 60s and 70s (ala Pam Grier and Marsha Hunt) - afros and all : D. Anyway...

 

 I was looking at Billie Holiday photos and it looks like she straightened her hair, then slicked it back w/ pomade to keep it away from her face. From there she tied a ponytail, rolled some large curls, arranged them around the base of the ponytail, and secured them in place with lots of bobby pins. And topped it all off with some large flowers by the side of her face. This is updo is very elegant looking, and perfect for a 40s or 50s pinup shoot!

 

 

 

 

[GiGi Von Vroom]

oooooo, i likey!  i have better luck styling my hair when it's straight.  so i keep it pressed.  i love your blog though!

TheRetroNatural said:

Just wanted to post the link to my blog for natural retro hair styles :)

www.theretronatural.blogspot.com =)

 

It's new but I'm quickly adding content!

[Miss Melody]

Hi everyone! I had the shoot on Sunday and decided to just pick my hair out and see what we could come up with. I had been playing with some stuff in the week leading up to the shoot and had an idea of what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure we could pull it off. We did!

Here is a link to the the pre-shoot album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=289037&id=505923462&l...

I can't wait to see what other people are doing with their hair. The links and ideas you all have already posted have been great.

[GiGi Von Vroom]

you look REALLY good!!!

Miss Melody said:

Hi everyone! I had the shoot on Sunday and decided to just pick my hair out and see what we could come up with. I had been playing with some stuff in the week leading up to the shoot and had an idea of what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure we could pull it off. We did!

Here is a link to the the pre-shoot album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=289037&id=505923462&l...

I can't wait to see what other people are doing with their hair. The links and ideas you all have already posted have been great.

[TheRetroNatural]

thanks!

 

Without straightening, I'd say I've gotten the best results after using curlformers. They straighten your hair and give you a nice big bouncy curly look without the heat of flat irons and pressing combs. It's easy to set your hair the following nights in pin curls too!

GiGi Von Vroom said:

oooooo, i likey!  i have better luck styling my hair when it's straight.  so i keep it pressed.  i love your blog though!

TheRetroNatural said:

Just wanted to post the link to my blog for natural retro hair styles :)

www.theretronatural.blogspot.com =)

 

It's new but I'm quickly adding content!

[TheRetroNatural]

You look gorg Miss Melody! Can't wait to see the photos from the shoot! :)

[TheRetroNatural]

Me too! I wanna do a Pam Grier homage shoot...I'm missing her perfect boobs though! lol

Goldmine Trash said:

 I think afro's are beautiful and amazing looking, and wish they'd come into fashion again! I'd love to see some ladies do a pinup style homage to the late 60s and 70s (ala Pam Grier and Marsha Hunt) - afros and all : D. Anyway...

 

 I was looking at Billie Holiday photos and it looks like she straightened her hair, then slicked it back w/ pomade to keep it away from her face. From there she tied a ponytail, rolled some large curls, arranged them around the base of the ponytail, and secured them in place with lots of bobby pins. And topped it all off with some large flowers by the side of her face. This is updo is very elegant looking, and perfect for a 40s or 50s pinup shoot!

 

 

 

[Gidget Jo Lee{★}]

i would have never thought to use curlformer to get my hair straight. i wanted to get it straight without heat and didn't find ways so i just gave up going to give it a try casue i want to do pin curls on my natural hair for once.

TheRetroNatural said:

thanks!

 

Without straightening, I'd say I've gotten the best results after using curlformers. They straighten your hair and give you a nice big bouncy curly look without the heat of flat irons and pressing combs. It's easy to set your hair the following nights in pin curls too!

GiGi Von Vroom said:

oooooo, i likey!  i have better luck styling my hair when it's straight.  so i keep it pressed.  i love your blog though!

TheRetroNatural said:

Just wanted to post the link to my blog for natural retro hair styles :)

www.theretronatural.blogspot.com =)

 

It's new but I'm quickly adding content!

[Gidget Jo Lee{★}]

Miss Melody your hair looks beautiful

Miss Melody said:

Hi everyone! I had the shoot on Sunday and decided to just pick my hair out and see what we could come up with. I had been playing with some stuff in the week leading up to the shoot and had an idea of what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure we could pull it off. We did!

Here is a link to the the pre-shoot album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=289037&id=505923462&l...

I can't wait to see what other people are doing with their hair. The links and ideas you all have already posted have been great.

[Ellie Retrophilia]

I've been trying to do retro styles on more African American women myself.  This was my first attempt at a retro 'do: 

Miss Melody said:

I'm in the DC area. I plan on doing my own hair...but that may change if I can't get a style I like, haha.

 

I'd love to use my current weave, but it's not the kind I'd want to use for this kind of look. The one I had in my profile pic was better but that was from December.

 

Thanks for the tip, Samantha. I'll go look for that now. I guess I'm just nervous because I haven't had my natural hair straight in around 8 years and even then I never knew how to style it, lol.

[Ellie Retrophilia]

As you can see I did try to see if I could get a finger wave going with her bangs but due to limited time it didn't hold quite the way I would've liked.  I'll be attempting a deep ridged finger wave on her soon for a Josephine Baker look but then that will require plenty of time with some setting lotion, wave clips and a hair dryer.

[Ellie Retrophilia]

I love how you worked with your natural curl!  It looks cute. 

Miss Melody said:

Hi everyone! I had the shoot on Sunday and decided to just pick my hair out and see what we could come up with. I had been playing with some stuff in the week leading up to the shoot and had an idea of what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure we could pull it off. We did!

Here is a link to the the pre-shoot album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=289037&id=505923462&l...

I can't wait to see what other people are doing with their hair. The links and ideas you all have already posted have been great.