What Is It???

 I know some of you will recognize this right away but there will be some that do not!  Do you know what it is??  This is a very early curling iron or curling tong.  Non electric!! Something we are very fortunate never to have had to use!  They would heat the metal part on a stove and then hold it by the wooden handle and curl their hair.  Can you imagine how time consuming this task would be!  You would need to be near a wood stove or some type of a flame to accomplish the task.  What did they do in summer?? There are several different styles.  The “wavy” one is actually a hair crimper to give the hair a wave effect.  Looking beautiful was a labor intensive task.  The wicked looking clamps

Marcel clips

shown here were used to achieve a “Marcel” wave.  If you were
going to get a permanent wave, you would have used these little aluminum rods.  All of these little implements for achieving beautiful hair are very collectible today as decorative items.  I think you could even get your own “Marcel” look with the clamps!

Permanent rods or curlers

This is an oil that was worked into the hair prior to using a hot iron