DIY Wedding Hair: Hollywood Vintage Waves

By Nicola Mills

Get big, beautiful Hollywood hair for your big day, with this stunning look inspired by vintage Hollywood starlets. Is there anything more romantic than a classic black and white movie? Gorgeous Old Hollywood stars like Rita Hayworth and Vivian Leigh from the 40s and 50s all used volume and tumbling waves to create a drop dead divine look that lit up the silver screen.

To recreate this vintage-inspired look and to be the ultimate glamorous leading lady on your wedding day, we’ve created an easy-to-follow tutorial you can do yourself. Who needs hairdressers?

What you’ll need…

• Clip-in hair extensions
• A comb with a thin handle (a pencil works just as well for sectioning)
• Hair clips or hair ties
• A curling wand or iron
• Curling clips (optional)
• A comb for backcombing
• Hairspray

“WeddingMix was so appealing because it took the idea of having a wedding video and personalized the experience so, so much more than any hired videographer would have been able to.”

This brides wavy curls and head piece are PERFECT with her traditional wedding style! See how she made her wedding hair pair with her wedding style and how you can do it too!

Get the look…

1. Clip in your extensions

Start at the nape of your neck. Tie your hair up on top of your head, leaving just one section of hair loose right at the bottom of your hairline across your neck.

Choose the length and thickness you want (Alex uses stacked wefts in her video tutorial to get extra volume) and clip your chosen extensions into the loose hair right at the roots before brushing everything through so it’s nice, smooth and flat.

Need some more hair extension pointers? Here’s a handy resource that will get you up to speed.

2. Get curling

How your curls fall is essential to getting this look right, so make sure you follow these instructions carefully. First choose one side of your face you want your waves to fall away from and one side they’ll curls into. On the “away” side take a thick section of hair which incorporates both your natural hair and your extensions. Place your curling wand behind the strand then wrap your hair around it, making sure it lies flat on the barrel, all the way up to the root.

Continue curling until you’ve completed half of your head, then switch the direction of the curls by placing the wand in front of your hair before wrapping it around the barrel. 

3. Get extra bounce

If you want your waves to be extra curly and bouncy, gently catch your new curl as it comes off the curling wand, recoil it by hand and pin it to your head with curling clips. This step is optional but will give your look more drama. Let your pinned curls cool, then unpin them.

“Our entire ceremony had unique moments that WeddingMix was able to capture.”

Beautiful curls for a beautiful bride! This Bride had wedding hair curls to die for.  See how she rocked these curls and her beautiful wedding!

4. Clip, curl, repeat

Repeat steps 1-3 with each layer of your hair, taking a little more down from your topknot each time until you’ve completed a your entire head. Don’t forget to leave a thick upper layer to conceal your extensions. Create a side parting with your upper layer of hair with the larger section on the “falling in” side. At this point your hair will look enormous and crazy – but don’t panic!

5. Brush away!

To calm your curls, spritz your locks with hairspray then gently brush them through until they are soft and shiny with the perfect amount of volume.

6. Backcomb

For the finishing touch, backcomb your roots at the front of the larger “falling in” portion of your hair, keeping the roots sleek on the other “falling away” side to achieve a beautiful retro look.