Updated January 2023

I thought I would share some of my favorite vintage ladies who are doing some great hair tutorials online and maybe help you find a great vintage look for that next dance or night out.

As a lover of vintage clothing of the 1940’s & 50’s I eventually got to the point that it was just not enough to throw on a vintage dress and head out the door, I needed a little something “extra”. So after much thought over a glass of wine 🙂 I figured out that the “extra” was my hair and makeup, but for a long time I was going on and on about how my hair never keeps a curl and I can’t apply liquid eyeliner if you paid me a million dollars (note: I still can’t but that is not these ladies fault lol) so what’s the point? Well one day I was surfing the net looking for all things vintage and I stumbled upon “Lisa Freemont Street” who has a YouTube channel FILLED with vintage hair & makeup tutorials.

I then watched some of her “foundation” videos and realized…I had it all wrong! Lisa has hair like me (fine and poker straight) and she manages to pump out amazing vintage hair styles probably 30 times a day lol, so why could I not do that? So off I went to Sally’s Beauty for all my “must have supplies” and started watching all her videos for tips & tricks. Next thing I know after about 3 failed pincurl sets and a curly hair frizz disaster…I had it! I really had it! Now I can’t do everything, in fact I have only mastered my foam roller set, brush out and some easy vintage styles but I still did it! And boy has it made a difference in my whole vintage look and now I try to set my hair at least once a week (especially before I go dancing) because it just makes me feel…awesome. My husband has even gotten use to seeing me run around our apartment in foam rollers and a hair scarf like it’s something he has seen since day one.

ANYWAYS…all that aside here are some of my top picks for some great inspiring Vintage Hair Tutorials.

# 1: Lisa Freemont Street (Oct 2022 update: Lisa is now doing a new collection of vintage “life” tutorials (hair, clothes etc) over at ‘Lady in Waking‘)

This woman has talent coming out of her ears and it amazes me every time I watch her videos how she makes it look so simple (and many of the times it actually is..Surprise Surprise!). Her YouTube channel has everything from “Pinup hair styles”, “vintage makeup tutorials”, “the basics for great vintage hair” and even clothing tutorials. There are many videos on there, so make sure you make time to browse thru her selection and pick some easy ones to get started and build your confidence up.

Funny story about Lisa Freemont, 2 years ago I went to VIVA Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend with the intention that if I saw her there I would go up and say hi. My finance (now my husband) knew my plan and was on the lookout for her but 3 days had gone by at the event and no sign of her so I had given up hope that I would get to meet her. Jump to the Tiki pool party on the Sunday afternoon, I’m sitting on the grass watching the people go by and I look to my right and sitting 3 people over is Lisa Freemont (Ashley is her real name)…right there 3 people over from me. My husband sees her too and goes “There she is go say hi”, BUT instead of walking over there and saying hi and could not move off my towel to go say hi. I got all shy and was wondering what I would say to her that would not make me sound like a dork. So I let her be and never got my chance to introduce myself and my husband teased me for the rest of the weekend on being that dork I was soooo trying not to be lol!

Side note: The attached link is the video that Lisa Freemont took at that pool party, which I AM IN! So you can see how close I was too her and still never said hi lol. You can see me at the 11-15 sec mark sitting on the ground facing towards the pool.

# 2: Cherry DollFace

This woman is also super-duper amazingly talented, with not only Hair but also Makeup. She always looks so pulled together when I watch her tutorials and I’m pretty sure she wakes up looking awesome lol. Her tutorials also cover a good range of the vintage world from a “Bettie Page look” to how to get great “Hawaiian hair”. The YouTube site also have clothing reviews and great makeup tutorials. CHECK HER OUT!

October 2022 UPDATE: Follow Cherry Dollface on her Facebook page HERE.

# 3: Super Kawaii Mama

I have recently started reading her blog and watching her hair tutorials and she is..awesome! There was a snood tutorial that just made my life so much easier at a recent 1940’s dance I went to (wish I had pictures). Enjoy!

# 4: Vintage Hairstyles for Black Women (January 2023 Update)

I realized that I did not add any links to Black creators, showcasing how to style Black hair. Here are some helpful tutorials, that can get you started.

(Further Reading: Vintage Photo Tuesday: Vintage Black Style ; Vintage Accounts on Instagram to Follow that are run by Women of Colour (WOC)

Pinup Style by Angelique Noire

No heat vintage Mid Century / 1940s Style by Iridessence AKA Jezebelly

So there you have 4 of my personal fav “go to” vintage hair online tutorial sites. If you have some really good ones that you go to all the time, I would LOVE for you to share them with me as I’m always on the hunt.

January 2023 UPDATE:

Since I did this post back in 2013, the world of vintage hairstyle has changed..big time! You can find hair tutorials on TikTok, Instagram, Reels, stories etc. There are so many amazing tutorials out there, so start searching. Even I have done a few tutorials myself, which you can find HERE.

FURTHER READING: Collection of Blog posts on “Vintage Hairstyles“

Happy vintage hair styling 🙂

Liz