Nothing New Under the Sun

Necessity is the mother of re-invention.  A viral new hairdressing technology is actually a viral OLD hairdressing technology. Not that they know it – the youngs think they invented everything. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.

My old sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Rice, would frequently observe that “There is nothing new under the sun.”  (The quote is from Ecclesiastes 1:9, but I was sure at the time that he made it up himself). But I was again reminded of that this week, in a brief news item about hairdressing in Asia.

There is a new viral trend from Korea that is spreading fast through Asia and the rest of the world – the Korean Digital Perm. I am not actually sure what is Digital about it – looks pretty analog to me. Digital perms are described by one salon as “a semi-permanent hair treatment that uses chemicals and heat to create structured waves and curls… Stylists apply a cream solution to your hair, and use a professional machine to heat rods before they’re applied to your hair. This results in longer-lasting waves or curls.” Apparently, it is also quite expensive and takes most of the day.

But if you would rather do it yourself, Amazon (and I’m sure many others) sell digital wave machines for home use. They have several models, which vary in price from about $200 to $1100.

Check it out!  Look familiar?

Yes, it does! Because this machine is not futuristic at all – it’s Retro.  It is the modern version of an electric perm machine that was invented about a century ago.  The Needham History Center has one such device (actually, we have two) and it is currently on display in our exhibit, The History of Needham in 100 Objects.

Following the First World War, fashion for women dictated small sleek hats and short bobbed hair.  Short, boyish hairstyles replaced the long (and cumbersome) tresses that had been the standard for centuries. The “Marcel Wave,” became the rage – a flat permanent wave, close against the scalp, that lasted for days and was not mussed or flattened by the obligatory hat. 

Electric perm machines to create the Marcel Wave were developed in Europe in 1917 and quickly became popular in the United States as well. Before this, hair was curled “naturally” – set when wet with rags or curlers, or with a hand-heated curling iron. The process was tedious, and the curls did not last very long. The perm machine used electrically-heated rollers and chemical treatments to set in a more “permanent” curl that could last for weeks.  The machine’s wiry extensions functioned like hot rollers – treated hair was wound around a curler, and the curler tube was inserted into one of the “plugs” where it was heated and the wave was set. 

And if it looks dangerous – it was! The combination of wet hair and electricity did result in the occasional accident – shocks, heat-burned skin, and the occasional hair fire. In Julie A. Willet’s book, Permanent Waves: The Making of the American Beauty Shop (NY: 2000), a woman in Wisconsin recalls her experience  with the electric wave machine:

It took all day, and cost $1 each….First our hair was washed and cut, then we waited and waited. There were women everywhere in different stages of getting beautified. Everyone was waiting….My hair wound up on spiral rods so tight that I thought I would never blink again [and] after the machine that looked like a milking machine was attached to the rods, I couldn’t move. [Then] it began to steam and tears rolled down my checks. …[finally] someone got a blower and cooled my head here and there, but my scalp was scalded.

Production of these machines fell off during the Second World War, especially in Europe where the need for manufacturing facilities for the war effort was more urgent.  They became pretty much obsolete after the War, in part because of the longer, looser hairstyles; and in part because of newer, easier, and less scary methods of perming hair, such as “cold perms” and chemical treatments that did not require heat.

Needham had numerous hair styling shops in the 1930s, some as storefronts and some as hairdressers working out of their homes. We unfortunately do not know which one was the original owner of our perm machines. If I had to guess, a likely suspect would be The Permanent Wave Shop. The Permanent Wave Shop was on Chapel Street in the 1930s, but an ad from 1951 locates it at 954 Great Plain Avenue, the current location of Little Spoon:

Would you like the very newest look? If you do, go to the Permanent Wave Shop and have a new hair cut and wave set. Specialists in all kinds of permanent waves.

The new version of the wave machine looks like it’s made of plastic, and less liable to shocks, hair fires, and the rest, as personal-grooming businesses look for newer and safer ways to serve their customers.  Even so, it still looks too Bride-of-Frankenstein for my comfort. I’ll bet most current hairdressers don’t even know that their trendy new digital wave machine has such a long history. Truly, necessity is the mother of re-invention.  Or, as Mr. Rice would say, There is Nothing New Under the Sun.