How to: a Modern Take on Marilyn Monroe’s Retro Waves

Fri, 21 September 2012 4:24PM

Along with her signature beauty look, Marilyn Monroe’s platinum blonde retro waves have also always been considered somewhat of a trademark. Still seen as an iconic style today, at recent London Fashion Week shows, both Vivienne Westwood Red Label and Tata-Naka, modern-day interpretations of the style were seen on the catwalk. We asked hairstylist Barney Martin from Barney Martin Hairdressing to take is through how to recreate the look at home.

To modernise the style and prevent it from falling into the too “done” category, yet still keeping it on-trend, Barney says to make the hair look a little more relaxed and textured. “You want it to be a little bit roughed up and not too perfect. It’s also important to remember that when creating a style like this, it’s all in the preparation and setting of the hair,” Barney says.

• Wash your hair and use your hairdryer to roughly blow-dry.
• Use approximately a golf-ball sized amount of stronghold mousse. For those with finer hair, you may need a little more. Using your fingers, work the mousse from the roots to the ends of your hair, then blow-dry. Repeat this step, drying in the mousse into your hair. Barney says it shouldn’t feel sticky, but still quite firm and cardboard-like.
• Heat a set of hot rollers – Barney used Cloud Nine’s The O, $299, Cloud Nine – and choose which side you will part your hair. Section off the fringe section, about halfway back towards your crown, and separate into small sections. Whichever side you are going to part on, wind the hair sideways into the curler in the opposite direction as to create the coiffed fringe at the front.
• For the rest of your hair, work in a staggered formation (Barney described it like layering bricks), and use the hot rollers on the sides and work towards the back of your head. Lightly spray with a stronghold hairspray, like Pantene Pro-V Sheer Volume Body Builder Hair Spray, $6.99, from supermarkets.
• Try and leave the rollers in for at least 20 minutes, and then take the rollers out when they are cold to touch.
• Clip away the front fringe and top section. Using a fine teasing comb, gently backcomb the roots section by section at the sides and back for extra volume and height. Then, using a flat paddle brush, smooth all the layers over the back section looks smooth, but still has the structure and hold underneath. Add more hairspray all over.
• If your hair is on the longer side, roll the hair underneath, like you would when creating a faux bob (click here for more details) and pin in place with bobby pins.
• Unclip your fringe and tease the roots, using your fingers to mould the hair to get the ‘50s coiff at the front. “It doesn’t need to look perfect,” Barney says. “Remember that this is a more modern-day version, so you want contrasting textures to make it look more lived in.”
• Add more hairspray to keep the style in place.

Here it is from all angles …

and the back …

and the front!

What do you think, Primpers?

Keen to try this at home?

Did you love Marilyn’s retro waves as much as her makeup?

Hayley x

Barney Martin Hairdressing is located at 399 Riley Street, Surry Hills, NSW. For more information, please call 02 9212 0204

Posted by: Hayley Bennett

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Tags: '50s, barney martin, cloud nine, hair trends, hair trends 2010, how to, marilyn monroe hair, retro