National Beauty Service
March 10 - April 21, 2007

The gallery is proud to present a series of vintage photographic hairdressing studies from the 1940s produced by the National Beauty Service of Chicago. They were created as originals from which posters would be produced and marketed for sale to hair salons across the country. Much like knockoff dress patterns of Paris fashions, they were used as templates to recreate the latest hairstyles of the day, giving every American woman the opportunity to emulate the look of their movie star idols.

As part of the national self-reflection movement that ensued after World War II, these hairstyles were popularized in magazines such as American Hairdresser, the National Cosmetologists Association's official magazine. Founded in 1877 and still in publication today, it operates under the title American Salon. Long before the advent of hairspray, which was invented in 1950, these styles were created by solely by the use of water, with hair being set while wet in tight curls until dry.

In these photos in fact, the hair is the star, in spite of the often glamorous woman models used. With the use of ingenious printing techniques, exquisite gold toning and an ample supply of negative retouching, one can't help feel the lusciousness of these hairdo's.

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