The Cosmetic Urge

They had troubles. Some were running out of hairpins. Others had no more tinfoil for permanent-wave pads. They were beset by complaints of leg make-up that ran in the rain. Many were unable to reorder essential supplies—bubble baths, dyes, cellophane, bleaches, alcohol, shampoos.

On top of all this, the 2,500 harried beauty-parlor operators who scurried to Chicago last week for the annual convention of the American Cosmeticians National Association, worried about the loss of their nimble-fingered beauticians who are fleeing to defense jobs (as one girl said, “I work fewer hours in nicer surroundings and I don’t have to listen to that damned gossip all day long from those chairs full of busybodies”).

At their show the beauticians found not only misery-company but some good news of substitutes:

> Toothpicks, chopsticks, wooden and plastic pins to combat the hairpin shortage.

> Nonrunning waterproof wax for the cosmetic stockings.

> A bleach that can be whipped up at home with an egg beater (ten minutes instead of an hour to brighten the hair).

> Unlimited new domestic scents to replace imported perfumes.

> Parchment paper for permanent-wave pads.

> New vegetable-oil-based cream shampoos, bottled in jars like cold cream as substitutes for vanished liquid coconut oil.

> Lacquered glass containers instead of metal jars.

> Borax in place of alcohol for dandruff remover and waving fluids.

The hairdressers also turned up an assortment of new hairdos for war-minded women, all short bobs designed for efficiency and named, as would be nonsensically expected, “Commando,” “Bombardier,” “Waacaroo,” etc.

To insure accurate copying of these cuts and others, one hairdresser introduced accurate code designations for the first time with letters as symbols (N for neckline, H for halo), figures for length. The haircut Greer Garson wore in Mrs. Miniver is #53, L12 (five inches long for three front cuts; length, twelve inches in back). “V” stands for the disordered Victory Cut worn by Ann Sheridan and many a U.S. female factory worker.