Shear Genius - Period Hair

MissHuff · May 11, 2007

*Edited* Something happened with the pictures I uploaded so I put up the link to the website with the pictures of all of the hair.

There is a reality hairstyling competition show on Bravo called Shear Genius and I just caught an episode in which each stylist was given a specific era to create a hairstyle for. There was Medieval, Elizabethan, Victorian, 1920s, 1940s, 1960s, an 1980s punk. It was fun watching the stylists work these different hairstyles that we all have meticulously tried to recreate. The guy who was doing the 20s 'do even used pincurls. They had an hour to search online for resources for the hairstyles.

After seeing the end result I must say that there are definitely a lot of ladies in here that do their own hair 100x better than what the stylists came up with. Granted they were on a time constraint and weren't trained in vintage hair but some of the choices I just couldn't believe. I was excited about seeing what came of the 1940s hair, hoping for something gorgeously sculpted and dramatic, this is after all a competition. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed with the school marm result.

Here are some of the before/after pictures.
http://www.bravotv.com/Shear_Genius/photos/before_after/episode_105/index.shtml

1960s hair: would have liked a little more height, backcombing maybe..

Elizabethan hair: I thought this was an excellent use of rats to bulk up the do. I couldn't find a picture of the back of the head but he used big stuffed rolls and a hair pin in the center of the back.

1920s hair: I would have loved to see a nice waved bob.

1940s hair: The hair was kinda just pulled back and finished with a sparkly hair clip. I don't even know what to say about this one... what do you think ladies?

RedHotRidinHood · May 11, 2007

Bleh...I could do better than that, and I am NOT the world's best hairstylist! Even the 60s one-I think they cheated by using the scarf-and you are right; there should have been more height there. The 20s one wasn't bad, but again-they cheated a bit with the accessories. At least the person used pincurls. The Elizabethan one was kind of cool, and to my eyes looked more 40s than the actual "40s" one did!

jitterbugdoll · May 11, 2007

I watched this yesterday and I agree with you--some of the styles that the judges thought were 'period perfect' were pretty lackluster to me. In particular, the 1940s interpretation was pretty bad (and certainly not helped by her outfit), and I thought the 1920s style looked very messy and unfinished. And, they graded the 1960s style poorly because he did not make use of a fall, and pointed out that women wore scarves to cover up the piece they placed in their hair (and not just for decoration.)

The Elizabethan and Victorian styles were much more interesting.

MissHuff · May 11, 2007

I agree about the cheating with hair pieces thing.

I still can't get over the choice of hair and outfit for the 40s :eusa_doh:

Sweet Polly Purebred · May 11, 2007

I saw it today and I thought the exact same things. I was really surprised that almost everyone, with the exception of the 80's do, knew absolutely nothing about their assigned periods. Kind of shocking really. Should cosmotology student be required to take at least one "hair history" class? Art and Design students are usually required to.

Amy Jeanne · May 11, 2007

Too bad -- the photos aren't showing up for me

Missed the show, but would love to see the results.

woodyinnyc · May 11, 2007

ARGH! I missed that episode, got to catch the rerun this weekend. Unfortunately, the pictures aren't showing up for me. I'll have to check the website. As a stylist, I love doing vintage hair because it gives me an opportunity to show my skills is hairdressing, not just blowing another head of hair straight. I long for the days when women had real hairstyles instead of long hair tied up in a ponytail or bun like every other woman on the street.

Miss Lucy June · May 11, 2007

My dad told me about this episode today...I would like to watch it on rerun for sure...what network is it?

woodyinnyc · May 11, 2007

It's on Bravo. They will show it quite a few times over the next week. I have also heard you can watch it online...

katiemakeup · May 11, 2007

The pics aren't showing up for me either... I would have liked to have seen how they did the Medieval, Elizabethan & Victorian actually!

Yes, I am sure that they lacked something... unfortunately, a lot of artists forget their historical foundations and just shoot strait for celebrity/model hair.

MissHuff · May 12, 2007

hmm I wonder why the pictures aren't showing up.. I'm going in to investigate..

Sweet Polly Purebred · May 12, 2007

MissHuff said:
hmm I wonder why the pictures aren't showing up.. I'm going in to investigate..

Saw your edits, the 40's pic looks even worse than it did in the show .. it's awful ..

katiemakeup · May 12, 2007

Thanks for the link! I wasn't sure at what I was looking~ The 60's was obvious, and so was the 20's, but I didn't realize they were allowed to use fowl as accessories for that one. I wasn't that impressed, although I couldn't do it!

BonnieJean · May 12, 2007

I saw this the other night and, I too, was terribly disappointed. I had really thought I'd pick up a few pointers how to do 30s and 40s hair, but I think I'm getting better advice here on the Lounge! I'm not sure if cosmetology students study vintage hairstyles, but a friend of mine did when he went to school in LaCrosse, WI. He even gave me an old textbook and showed me how to do the waves. (Sorry, Tim, I've forgotten) He's actually a member here on the FL as Al Capone and he is a barber by trade. He's the one who told me about the triple barrel curling iron to get a "cheater" 30s look. Maybe the stylists on the show were just trying to do the "wow factor" and impress the judges rather than being historically accurate. When the stylists were doing their research they should of looked up the Fedora Lounge Beauty forum!

Amy Jeanne · May 12, 2007

Don't tell me this one is supposed to be the 40s one??!!! I can place all the other hairdos on the page except this one!

I like this one best.

The 60s was REALLY WEAK. *I* could do better. Same with the 20s.

Liz · May 12, 2007

When I watched the show a couple of nights ago I immediately thought of this board and wondered if anyone else here was watching! I was disappointed in the '20s, '40s and '60s hairstyles and was also saddened to see how little most of the contestants knew about the different eras. On a lighter note, I recognized the website that Anthony (the hairdresser who had to create a '60s style) was checking out right away, as I've looked at it several times myself!

pigeon toe · May 12, 2007

The 40's hair was AWFUL. It looked like some bad office hairdo. Totally stuffy and not representative of the 40's. And that weird power suit they put her in? Even worse.

SaraBell · May 12, 2007

wow...I'm only in my 3rd week of cosmetology school now and I could already do much better than most of those

ohairas · May 12, 2007

How absolutely pathetic! Let me on that show, LOL!

I really can't understand how someone does hair as an art and doesn't know the hair fashions of the different eras!

I liked the elizabethian best. It was very nicely done.

Did I tell you guys how everyone went NUTS when I wore my hair in victory rolls at the hair show this past weekend? Even platform artists from NY and such told me how much they liked my hair. It all goes back to why arent' they still teaching these things. I just didn't think it would be THAT big of a deal since we are all hairdressers at those shows!

Another thing I find funny is that SURELY when doing a search for the 40's hair they would've been directed to the lounge at some point. They sure didn't take any pointers, HA!

Nikki

fourstarbanner · May 13, 2007

I was disappointed as well. Nothing about the 40s hair looked 40s. And it didn't help that the model was wearing that suit with it.

Bummer.

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