We have the pageboy, the flip… but nothing is happening around the top of the head" said the editor of Modern Beauty Salon magazine, when she tasked stylist Margaret Vinci Heldt with creating something entirely new for one of its covers. And so in 1960, fashioned around a Pepsi can, the beehive was born - called so because of its conical shape. Though bearing striking resemblance to the nose of a Boeing jet-powered strategic bomber, it also became known as a B-52. Gravity-defying, beehives fortuitously coincided with the innovation of hairspray, and the style swept through suburban and inner-city salons, with women soon learning to create their own. Early exponents included The Ronnettes, Barbara Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Bridgette Bardot, before most recently becoming synonymous with Amy Winehouse, who wore hers mountainously and mussed.
How to? Heed session stylist Zateesha Barbour. “Nourish hair with Dizziak Hydration Wash and Deep Conditioner, and blow dry it. Then section hair at the front, leaving two loose bits to frame the face. Next, gather a second section a little further back, teasing volume as you go by backcombing at the hairline. Remember: the key to any good beehive is texture and padding, so this bit is crucial.Tease this section into a dome shape and secure it with grips. Then gather the remaining hair, rolling it in and under to form a bouffant, before also securing with grips. Finally, finish by polishing with a smoothing brush and a misting of hairspray”.