You will need:

Hairspray – We recommend Kenra Volume Hair Spray 25 as it provides up to 120 hours of super hold and 24 hour high humidity resistance. This award-winning hairspray is fast-drying, flake-free, and wind resistant up to 25 MPH.

Backcombing comb – We recommend the ProTip Backcombing Comb.  This professional tail comb is made from striking and durable red plastic and features specially-designed teeth that make it the ideal choice for backcombing.

Dress Out Brush (Also known as a Smoothing Brush) – We recommend the SS Dress Out Brush.  It is important to have a brush like this as you want to smooth the hair once it is styled but you don’t want to brush out any of the backcombing you have just done.  The different layers of bristles on this brush does this perfectly.

1 inch clip Tongs (Also known as a Curling Iron) – We recommend the Babyliss Pro Ceramic Tongs. The clip makes it easier to get a nice tight roll with the tongs, instead of the hair slipping out when you roll.

2 inch waved kirby grips (Also known as Bobby Pins) – You can get these in any chemists like Boots or Superdrug.  It’s best to get these in the same colour as your hair.  If you have red hair I would recommend the dark brown ones.

How to:

Begin by sectioning the hair.  You want the front sections for the victory rolls so section these off just behind the ears and then pull the rest of your hair into a pony tail to keep it out of the way.  It’s important to have clean sections as it makes life a lot easier.  Then take the front sections and half them again.  Clip one half up out of the way.

Now, spray the section at the back liberally with hairspray over ends and mid-lengths of hair.  This will hold the roll in place when it has been tonged.

Place the ends of the hair in the clip of the tong and roll it back from the face down to the roots.  There may be a little sizzle or some steam emanating from the tongs but DON’T WORRY!  This is the product hitting the heat of the tongs NOT your hair burning! 

Wait till the outside of the hair feels hot and then, while keeping the tongs in that same position, unroll them twice, open the clasp and gently pull the tongs out (whilst cupping the roll with your other hand).  If you can keep the rolls shape while taking the tongs out then that will make things easier.  If not then just drop the hair and roll it back up into the roll shape. Clip this in place and leave to cool.  Do the same with the front section of the hair and on the other side.

Once the hair has cooled take the clips out.  Pull each section straight up (45° from the head) so that the roots are taught and spray a little hairspray at the root.  Then take your backcombing comb and from about 3-4 inches from the root, place the comb into the taught hair and drag down.  Then take the comb out of the hair and repeat until you have a good amount of back combing at the root of each section.  It is important to take the comb out after each drag as this creates the firmest backcombing.  Moving the comb up and down in the same area won’t.

Then with your smoothing brush, clasp the whole front section in your hand and gently brush the roots to the middle of the hair to smooth the backcombing and giving you a cleaner look.  You can spray this area lightly to tame any flyaways, once you’ve got it smooth.  Then, while holding the middle of the hair firmly, brush the bottom of the hair till it meshes together and becomes one big curl.  This should be made easier due to the hairspray holding the roll in place while it cooled.

Now you have the curl for the Victory roll and the base of backcombing for it to sit on securely.   Begin by shaping the end of the hair into a kiss-curl, this should be easily done as the tonging would have already created it so just follow which way the hair wants to go. 

Then gradually roll the hair down on itself, whilst keeping the sides smooth and taught.  If you don’t keep the hair taught then you will end up with a baggy roll at the sides.  When you have rolled the hair all the way down, then you can start moulding your roll.

If you want your rolls facing up and back then you just need to shape them into that for, the shaping it pretty much the same, just in different directions.  These are Pinup Victory rolls so we have done them facing forward so to sculpt these it’s good to start with moulding the front roll.

Use your fingers to twist the curl at the front into a more pleasing shape, once you have done this place one grip down the centre of the victory roll and into the backcombing at the base, securing the roll in place.  Then add a few more grips to anchor the roll more securely.  Try to do this inside the roll so that you can’t see the clips.

Then make sure you can’t see through the roll, if you can, push the back section of the roll closer to the head and secure in place at the back by folding the clip into the hair.

Once you are happy with your roll then spray it liberally with the hairspray and smooth over with your smoothing brush.

Once your victory rolls are done, you can release the rest of your hair from the ponytail.  You can either leave it natural or curl it for a cute 50’s Pinup style and add some flowers.

We would like to give a huge thanks to the stunning Scarlett Luxe for being our fabulous model and for Porcelain Photography for taking these beautiful photos.