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Do you remember a hair necessity of the past… the Bobby Pin?

I certainly do! Nowadays there might be an instance when a lady needs a hairpin or bobby pin as they were more commonly known as, and that is to hold back that small wisp of hair that seems to be out of place.

I, myself, have not had my hair in bobby pins, but I certainly remember my Mom deftly twisted her auburn hair around her fingers with a swiftness that was remarkable to say in the least. She would wrap her hair a couple of times a week and then cover her pinned hair with a little blue headscarf. She had other colors of headscarves, but I remember the blue one more than the others. Not only did my Mom do her hair up in Bobby Pins, but my grandmother did as well.

I really do not know how my Mom slept with those things in her hair. To me, they would be quite uncomfortable. But my oh my what a remarkable do once the bobby pins came out. I was just a little thing but I used to like when she took out the bobby pins. Her hair was so springy, I could pull on the hair and watch the mini curls pop back into place. Once the mini curls were combed out, it was like she just left the beauty parlor. Mom did not believe in dyeing her hair and it stayed a light auburn for all of her life. She had a gray streak at the front part of her hair and it appears that I will follow the tradition. 🙂

I also remember my Nan coming over to our house for a visit a couple of times a week. I might have just been starting primary school when I remember sitting on the top rim of the couch and brushing her hair for a couple of hours while she chatted and had tea and biscuits with my Mom. Mom also told me that when she was a young girl she remembered that her Mom’s hair was so long that she actually used to sit on it at dinner time as it reached way down past her knees. I do not know whether or not Nan dyed her hair, but I do remember that she had a full head of white hair.

I think that most of the ladies at one time used bobby pins to give their straight hair some sort of curl. This was way before all these fancy hair irons that put curls in or take them out came onto the scene.

I do remember a childhood friend whose Mom used to wrap her hair in rags. Well, we called them rags at the time but they were actually white strips of cotton taken from old sheets or pillowcases. These were cut or ripped into strips and used to wind or wrap the hair, in a similar fashion to the bobby pin. When the rags were taken out of the hair, the result was a long, loose curl.

I never had the opportunity to wrap my hair in rags, but I do remember using the mesh covered spring type rollers and the foam covered rollers as well. For those of you who are unfamiliar with either of these types of rollers, the mesh covered on gave me a nice loose curl and the foam rollers gave me a ‘Fro’.

Have you ever used bobby pins to curl your hair or know of someone who did? How about the mesh covered wire rollers or the foam curler, every try them?