Creating a Buzz
Men’s and Women’s Hairdressing in the 1940s
When you picture a barbershop or hairdresser’s today, what comes to mind? The hum of hairdryers, the sizzle of curling irons, the buzz of electric clippers? Now, imagine stepping back eighty years to the 1940s. Electronic appliances like these were nowhere to be found. So, what did a hairdresser’s shop look and sound like then?
While a lot has changed, some things remain the same—a friendly chat, a skilled hand, and the right tools have always been at the heart of hairdressing. Take this hairdressing case, filled with combs, scissors, and manual clippers. It belonged to Miss Hazel Marsh (1918-2000), owner of a hairdressing salon in the small town of Maclean, on the Clarence River in the Northern NSW.
In the 1940s, Hazel’s salon, where she worked alongside fellow hairdresser Ruth Wheeler (née Hammond) (1912-2006), offered the full range of services: cuts, trims, perms, curl setting, even bleaching and dyeing. The latest hairstyles from America and Europe had travelled all the way to small-town Australia, where hairdressers like Hazel and Ruth made sure their clients felt beautiful, polished, and cared for.
Women’s hair was coaxed into stylish waves, and men’s cuts were shaped with manual clippers—the kind where you had to squeeze the handles together to make the blades snip the hair. Though quieter than today’s salons, Hazel’s shop was alive with conversation and the artistry of the hands at work, crafting looks that connected this little town to the wider world of style.
