Old Fashioned permanent wave machine for hair!!

[Nasoosie]

Ava's 'new do' post made me remember one of the only times I have ever had someone other than me cut my hair!

I've only ever had about a total of two haircuts by other people in my entire life, and that was when I was small and under the control of my mother! Since then, I have always cut my own, including a DA (Duck's Ass) haircut that was popular when I was in high school. It took me all day to do it with a razor blade and a series of mirrors, but it came out so good my friends wanted me to do their cuts, too! One other time I had a friend who was a hairdresser give me a shag cut, which I loved better than any other way I ever wore my hair. If I thought I could still do it, I would attempt that on me over this vacation.

I was just remembering what precipitated my first haircut that I remember! My grandmother had a huge permanent wave machine-like thing with tons of wires coming from it, and tons of curlers at the ends of the wires that attached to my hair. I remember its looking sort of like a huge device on a floor stand that looked like an octopus on top. After applying some ammonia-smelling icky lotion to my hair strands, and winding them up all over my head, she turned on the machine and I had to sit still for what seemed like hours and hours while it did its 'thing!' The smell of frying hair and ammonia made me puke while I was sitting there! Afterwards, when the wrappers and curlers were removed, my hair looked as if I had stuck my fingers in a light socket! That lasted about a day, when I refused to go out until the curls (frizz) were removed---hence, the haircut!

I just found a picture of it online, and will show it! Frightening!

[OutandAbout]

That certainly looks like a torture device. Ammonia and icky lotion then add heat, I would throw up also. My mother use to tell me about all the things she and her friends used to do to themselves in the name of beauty. I'm so glad things have gotten simpler now. Blow dryer, curling iron and now those straightening irons, all much easier to use and so less time consuming. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Soos. Linda

[asirimarco]

I remember those - one time my Mom took me in to get a perm I told her I'd tell the hairdresser how old she was if she made me do it. Didn't work - had the perm anyway - but afterword Mom took me to lunch and let me have a tuna salad sandwich with chocolate milk. Remember the tramma like it was yesterday. Only once ...

[Sparkle]

Remember those big hairdryers you had to sit under? One time two ladies were each under a dryer and they were ripping the place up verbally, it was filthy, the hairdresser didn't know what she was doing, they were never coming back to this establishment and on and on, not realising we, including the hairdresser heard every word. Bet they got a rough comb out.

[Echo]

I've seen pictures of women sitting under those things and was always glad I never had to experience one.

Always kind of thought that one of those things is what they used on the Bride of Frankenstein's hair.