Victory!

At last, after a great frustrating ordeal, I think I'm finally on my way to learn and master the, oh so dreaded, victory roll. They were characteristic for any 1940's hairstyle, and they're basically a set of two rolls, one on each side of the head. Some people might think this hairstyle looks weird, but in my opinion this is art - with hair (If done properly). I believe that when you've learned to master victory rolls, you can conquer any vintage hairstyle. If you learn to master the pincurl first, it'll probably be easier to do a victory roll, but of course I had to make things complicated for myself, as usual.

There are several different ways you can achieve a victory roll. One way, is using the method that you would for pin-curling. It's basically the same procedure when you make a victory roll, only more difficult since you've got A LOT more hair to work with than in a small 'regular' pincurl. Another way is to use a hair rat. This will hopefully make the rolls easier to create, especially if your hair's a bit on the longer side. You can make the 'rats' by collecting your own fallout of hair, (which is the authentic method) - or if you need one right a way, make it yourself using some cotton and a pair of old pantyhose! (which is what I did.) Or you can buy them cheap from wherever.

When it comes to making victory rolls, I use the pincurl-method. This is because I personally find it's easier to decide the shape and size of the roll. When I make the rolls I have my hair in a sidepart, not a senterpart. I just don't think it suits me, childhood trauma I guess.. You can place the roll itself however you like. My favourite is to place it vertically, because I haven't really gotten used to wearing it horizontal. I usually roll my hair off-base in spongerollers before doing victory rolls. I chose spongerollers because they're fast to put in, dries quickly, and provides the firmest curl. When I make the rolls I usually use the hair in front of my ear, it all depends on the size I want the roll to be. A trick I learned to help make the hair more manageable, is to tease the hair that will be inside the roll. This helps a lot in supporting the roll and making it more 'firm'. In theory everything sounds pretty simple, but when I first tried to make victory rolls it looked weird and messy. The trick of managing all the hair, holding it tight while rolling and placing with the roll still intact, can be SO frustrating. Also a challenge is making it so that the bobbypins doesn't show and making the roll look even all the way. It can also be troublesome to achieve a victory roll without it looking hollow and making sure it's covering the pins at the end (or what would be the back) of the roll.I guess the stuff I've been talking about now, (and I know I could have made this a lot longer) is the reason why I'm calling victory rolls art - with hair. I don't claim to be an expert at this at all. It's just that I take every oportunity I get to talk about these type of things, and I would love to share it with someone. I guess I'll finish off by saying that if you love vintage hairstyles, it's well worth the hassle! I think it took me several months before my trials even started to look like something that kinda reminded of a victory roll.. They're still far from perfect, but I got excited when I noticed progress. Also: remember hairspray. It tames flyaways and makes that baby smoooooth! With that said; Happy victory rolling!