Ladies Keeping Beautiful in the 1940s

There were strict methods of maintaining a lady’s beauty during the 1940s. That would be your mother, aunt or grandmother’s era.

For example, bathing (mostly a bath vs a shower) was done frequently, but many women only washed their hair once or twice a week. But many also only washed their hair once every two weeks. The all-important bathing cap was used not only in the shower, but also when swimming, so that the hair didn’t get wet. When the hair was washed it had to be ‘squeaky’ clean and little or no conditioner was used. They were encouraged to brush their hair daily at least 100 times.

Having curls or waves in one’s hair was important in that era. So a lady set a wave pattern using rags, pin curls or curlers and this was done every night before bed. Then they wrapped their heads in scarves so in the morning nothing was messed up and they had their perfect curl pattern. Check family photos from the 1940s, you will see that wavy hairstyle.

To remove facial make-up, which ladies did wear, cold cream was used. They did use a safety razor to shave their legs. Ladies also always wore lipstick when leaving the house. The color used in the 1940s was red. Having natural full eyebrows was the fashion in the 1940s. For their nails on the hands, it was shades of red and pinks. Wearing nylon stockings was a treat because there was a shortage of nylon due to World War 2. But once the war was over in 1945, the stockings were worn.

Something very classic of the 1940s was women really enjoyed the art of getting ready. They took the time to fix their hair, do make-up and dress nicely.

Photo: Classic style for ladies in the 1940s, the hair and makeup.

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