/fa/ - Fashion

>Hair

Sorry for the wait, dinner took longer to cook than anticipated.

Hair changed right about halfway through the 40s, and the primary difference was volume. In the prewar years, slicked back and extremely shiny hair was standard. Volume was low, and the top would usually be put in place by a boarshair military brush. By '45, wavier and lightly pompadoured hair was in. This was created with combs and teasing the hair while wet, combined with product.

The basic men's haircut itself was simple enough, being a few inches long on top, and short, tapered sides. Front to back blending was common, and aided the 'wavy' look.

Crew cuts and flat tops are more of a 50s phenomenon, as well as the larger Elvis and Johnny Cash pompadours.

Common hair products include Brylcreem, Brillantine, Hair Tonic (Vitalis, Jeris, etc...), Pomade (Dax, Black and White, Sweet Georgia Brown). Pomade was primarily considered a black product until the 50s, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of these guys were using it to achieve that level of volume. The lighter hold of Brylcreem and Hair Tonic gave a slightly more natural appearance, allowing the hair to 'flop' a bit while moving around.

It may seem unhygienic today, but hair washing routines were weekly rather than daily, which certainly improved the longevity of those oily hair products. Try at your own discretion.

The 'Clark Gable' mustache was pretty much the only facial hair you could get away with back then, which was extremely neat, pencil thin, and sometimes was interrupted in the middle.

Cologne was expensive, but aftershave was common and happily used. Deodorant was less common than you'd assume around this time, and aftershave (such as aqua velva) was used instead.