Perfect Victory Rolls

It's time for part two of this weeks hair tutorials and we're looking at the iconic Victory Rolls.  Perhaps one of the most easily recognisable 1940s hairstyles, Victory Rolls can be both practical and glamorous.  The style first achieved popularity during wartime when women needed their hair off their faces and out of the way.  The name is itself is thought to have originated from the fighter plane manoeuvres.  
Since then it has become a popular choice for many re-enactors and vintage lovers alike.  I would say that out of all the styles I do on my hair, this would be the one that gets the most "Wow! How did you do that?!" 's.  It's actually much easier than it looks and you can give it a go for yourself with this tutorial.

This style is definitely easier on day old hair so I wouldn't recommend trying this on freshly washed hair the first time you attempt it.

1) Start by gathering the front section of your hair, which will be the base for the victory rolls. The easiest way to do this is to place both thumbs just behind your ears and push up through the hair to the top of your head, about halfway between your hairline and your crown.  This should create a nice neat partition.  Tie or clip the back of your hair out of the way.

2) Next you will need to decide where you want your parting between the rolls to sit.  You can wear it centred but I prefer to wear mine to one side as it flatters my face shape better.  Comb or brush your hair through to remove any tangles, then clip one part out of the way whilst you style other section.

3) Using a fine toothed comb or small brush, backcomb the hair as close as possible to the roots in one inch sections.  If your hair is particularly thin or stubborn you can spray each one inch section with a bit of hairspray to help it hold the volume. 

4) Once you have backcombed the whole section of hair it will most likely look a complete and utter mess.  Don't worry though, it will look neater when it's finished, I promise!

5) Using a smoothing brush gently smooth the hair towards the 
parting.  Be gentle, as you only want to smooth the top layer of hair so that you don't loose all of the volume you have created.  You may want to apply a small amount of pomade  or hairspray to get rid of any stray hairs.

6). Starting from tip of your hair, wrap the smoothed out section around two fingers and roll it down towards your roots.  Where the roll sits is a matter of personal choice, you can either sit it as close to the parting as possible or leave a bit more room.  Play around with different spacing to see what suits you best.

7) When you are happy with your roll, pin it in place using a couple of bobby pins.  Try to conceal them as much as possible by placing them right in the centre of the roll.

8) Repeat steps 3 - 7 with your second section of hair.  Smooth out any flyaways with a little more pomade before giving the rolls a final spritz of hairspray to hold everything firmly in place.

The back of your hair can be worn loose, I sometimes like to add a few curls to mine using a curling iron or rollers but it can just as easily be worn straight.  Alternatively you could do a similar, large roll with all of the remaining hair to create a chignon.  I'd love to see what you come up with! Thanks for reading,