Then: ERMAHGURD PERMS

Whether you were there or not to see them, 80s hairstyles make us cringe with embarrassment. I'm embarrassed and I wasn't even alive. Side ponytails and jheri curls and big bangs, oh my! Another famed American 80s hairstyle we already discussed is the mullet, but the one we are talking about today is just as great: the perm.

If you're like me and were actually born early to mid 90s and beyond, you're probably not even completely sure what a perm is.  Short for permanent wave, a perm involves the use of chemicals to break and reform the bonds of the hair. The hair is washed and wrapped on a perm rod and waving lotion is applied with a base. This solution creates a chemical reaction that softens the inner structure of the hair by breaking some of the cross links within and between the protein chains of the hair. The hair swells, stretches and softens, then molds around the shape of the perm rod.

The practice of perming hair first began in Europe in the late 19th century. After much trial and error for a couple of decades, perming hair was finally safe and  boomed in popularity in France during World War I. Many women cut their hair short, then had it permed into semi-loose curls or large waves that were very tight to the head. This was both a political and fashion statement, showing society that women were tough and could handle taking on men's work, and even though their loved ones were at war, their appearance did not have to suffer for it. This style then made it's way to America just after the war and became the primary women's hairstyle of the "Roaring 20s."

Here is an example of the permed hairstyle that was popular in the Roaring 20s.

The style lasted well into the 30s, and in the 40s women began to grow it out, sporting looser, longer waves that framed the face. A young Elizabeth Taylor is shown below wearing the style.

"When I was a little girl, my mother and her sister used some sort of hot comb to create gentle waves on their full, shoulder-length hair for special occasions, or if we had enough money at the time, they would have it done by a hairdresser. It looked like this." recalls my 70-year-old grandmother Josie Garcia, pointing to this very picture of Liz Taylor on my laptop screen. My 71-year-old grandfather nods his head in confirmation, as his mother did the same, and him and my grandmother have known each other since they were small children. He was born in November 1941, and she in December 1941. They are my go-to primary sources for all that was the 40s, 50s, and 60s.

The perm's popularity faded into the 50s, replaced with ponytails, bangs, updos, and half-up half-down variations. Curls were still fashionable, but not so much the "perm" look. It was not until the 1980s that this style came back with a BANG, with a new kind of look for the perm. Curls were not spiraled, but kinky and very small with A LOT of volume. Below are some examples of famous celebrities who inspired and rocked the 80s rendition of the perm:

Madonna in "Like a Virgin" 1984

Sarah Jessica Parker mid 1980s

 This kind of perm lasted all the way into the mid 1990s, mostly sported by adults who were teenagers and budding adults in the 80s. Since then, perms are scarce, and the ones that do exist are "relaxed perms," which look something like this:

"Getting my first perm is what made me want to enter the hair industry," says Martha Zamago, hairdresser and salon owner of San Antonio. "I was 17, and was fascinated at how the chemicals completely changed the structure of my hair, and it lasted for months! Until that time, I just had straight hair, and didn't think I could do something like this. After my first perm, I went back several times to re-perm it and experimented with different cuts, loving how each cut gave my hair a complete transformation, mostly because of the perm!"

As we can see, the perm has evolved over the last few decades. Now, there are many ways to perm hair. The exact shape and size of the final curls depends on several factors, including:

• The shape of the rods used for the treatment: Narrower rods produce tighter curls, and the curvature of the rods affects how the curls rest against the head.
• The strength of the solution used to break the bonds keeping the hair's natural shape: The stronger the solution,  tighter and stronger the curl.
• The time the solution is allowed to rest on the hair before being rinsed: Longer durations will break more bonds and result in a curlier style.
• The way hair is rolled onto the rods: A vertical roll with long hair creates a spiral perm with ringlets, while a tighter horizontal roll brings curls closer to the head.

When properly done and cared for, a permanent wave can last 4-6 months depending on the hair's length, daily treatment, and environmental factors. While this isn't exactly a "permanent" style, then, it is still a drastic improvement for individuals who normally struggle with curling irons or other techniques every few days.

The perm has not made a true comeback since the 80s, but with the creativity and science behind the hair industry today, maybe it will in an even bigger, better, crazier way.

Then AND Now: Braid Parade

The braid is back and better than ever, or at least we think so. The braid's popularity may have resurged in the United States, but never actually went away. 

Although braids are a hot fashion trend as of late in the U.S. , hair braiding is an ancient art, dating as far back as the time of ancient Egyptians in 4000 BC, and is still a popular style in many parts of the world. Both men and women of many cultures have embraced this beautiful art, creating color and style beyond our ancestors wildest dreams.

Here is an ancient Egyptian artifact of an Egyptian man and woman depicted to have braided hair, circa 1500 BC.

The symbolic roots of hair braiding are said to have begun in West Africa,  inspired by agricultural practices. Just as ancient African field workers and farmers used landscaping tools to make rows in the soil, sowed the crops by hand, and fertilize the land, they used combs to part their hair, oil to tame it, and plaited their hair by hand. Because braiding hair was so parallel to farming, the style was dubbed "corn rows." which is still used today. 

Braiding is also traditionally a social art; while women braided or had their hair braided, they would engage in conversation. Also, certain and often complex designs signified social status, age group and village a person has come from. The most elaborate braiding was seen as a privilege, and worn by married women of the tribe. The hair of these women were typically braided up into styles of butterfly wings or plaits, as pictured here.

Another culture that sported braids regularly were American Indians, better known in our society as Native Americans. We do not know how far back this practice dates, but upon my research, I found that braids were very popular among men and women, from children to adults, of many tribes, including the Cayuse, Hopi, and Navajo. For American Indians, hair was and still is strength and power, which is why men and women grow it to be very long, even into old age. Braiding hair was a way of keeping your hair out of your face without cutting it.

For some groups of people, braiding has become a way of life; it is a way of expressing oneself, and after a while, becomes a big part of one's identity. For example, the Hip Hop industry took hair braiding  to a whole new level of popularity and style in the early 90s, so much so that it became an identifier for nearly all hip hop and rap artists.  

Alicia Keys

Ludacris

Snoop Dogg

Braids werealso a large identifier for European cultures. The French adopted it from the African and American Indian cultures, putting their own twist on it by starting near the crown of the head and gradually adding more hair to each section as it crosses in from the side into the center of the braid structure. The final result incorporates all of the hair into a smoothly woven pattern over the scalp. The term "french braid" first appeared in writings in the late 19th century, though the style is said to have began centuries before.

Here is a modern, loosely plaited variation of the french braid that I did on my roommate Hilary Taylor. This style is commonly worn today.

Here is an example of two french braids, mostly worn by young female children in today's society.

Then: Mullet Over

July 13, 1985- The Live Aid Concert benefiting the famine of Ethiopia took place, simultaneously in London and Philadelphia. To this day, it is one of the most memorable and historical musical performances of the century. Artists such as Queen, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Mick Jagger put on a show that is still discussed and referenced today. The main purpose of the concert was to raise funds for relief, but one thing the audience- goers took away from the concert, whether consciously or subconsciously, planned or unplanned, was, yes the hair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVj7J-78Gu8&feature=related <-- Click here to see U2 performing "Sunday Bloody Sunday" at Live Aid 1985. Below is a picture of during the performance.

A little band we like to call U2 was still on the rise at this time. Bono, the lead singer of the group, sported a hairstyle that had been around here and there, but once he stepped on that stage, it became an iconic trend of the 80s; It's a hairstyle we love to hate on, best described by Joe Dirt as "business in the front, party in the back"- you know what i'm talking about- the mullet.

Though U2's performance at Live Aid is the most widely credited instance of making the mullet popular, this style started long before that, being said to date as far back as the Classical Period. According to ancient documents, Roman emperor Nero may have at one time adopted a hairstyle that resembled a mullet. After that, our first introduction to the mullet was in the early 1970s by Paul McCartney and David Bowie. Below are photos displaying each icon's rendition of the hairdo.

Post 80s, the mullet movement was still going strong. In the mid to late 1990s, the trend of having the "tail" of the mullet  "permed" with loose or tight curls came into play, adding yet another option of how to work the hairstyle. Also,some mullet-rockers began to grown the tail end very long down the back. Mario Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus, and John Stamos show us how to properly mullet 90s style.

Circa the 2000s and 2010s, the style's popularity increasingly waned, but makes for great jokes, icebreakers, and reminiscing experiences.Will it be back with a modern twist? With other hairstyles of the past, this proves to be so, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. 

Now: Yay for Ombre

June 6, 2011- Lauren Conrad appeared on the Chelsea Lately Show, and the world stopped- the world of fashion, beauty, and all that is trendy, that is.

The reality star talked about her growing empire, including her upcoming book, but she could have been speaking gibberish in a convincing tone and no one would have cared, because the focus was solely and completely on her gorgeous hair.

This trend, called "ombre hair",  or "ombre-ing," grew slowly but surely, and is now well-known by anyone who has an inkling of what's going on in the outside world. The fun, French word can be defined as “having colors or tones that shade into each other…in which the color is graduated from light to dark” according to the ever dependable Merriam-Webster dictionary. Although this can be done, the reverse is more common, with and hair color fading from dark to light. Lauren Conrad, or "LC" as we used to call her back in the good old  Laguna Beach days, is not the only one known to sport this style. Other celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian, Leighton Meester, Miley Cyrus, and many others have joined the movement.

Don’t be fooled: growing your hair out and having a severe line separating your natural colored roots and formerly colored hair is not to be confused with the term. The color should look as though it slowly faded and look natural, otherwise it just ends up looking tacky. Celebrities Ciara, Jessica Alba, and Drew Barrymore demonstrate how not to ombre.

As Chelsea Handler so eloquently put, “I wouldn’t have to get my roots done so often,” and she speaks the truth. One of the many benefits of this trend as well as a big reason why this style is chosen is because it is a more natural take on highlighting, and usually requires less dye or chemicals.

It's been almost a year and a half since Lauren Conrad made her appearance on Chelsea Lately, and the ombrevolution is still going strong, with the likelihood of disappearing anytime soon as slim to none.

Thank you for reading my blog. My posts will usually include some humor and pop culture. Please feel free to comment and discuss!