Marcelling is a hair styling technique in which hot curling tongs are used to induce a curl into the hair.[1][2] Its appearance was similar to that of a finger wave but it is created using a different method.
Marcelled hair was a popular style for women's hair in the 1920s,[2] often in conjunction with a bob cut.[2] For those women who had longer hair, it was common to tie the hair at the nape of the neck and pin it above the ear with a stylish hair pin or flower. One famous wearer was Josephine Baker.[3]
History
Accounts vary about the invention of the style, but Marcel Grateau (October 18, 1852 – May 31, 1936) is widely credited with inventing the hair styling technique in the 1870s (differing accounts report 1872 or 1875).[3][4][5] The inventor and stylist emigrated to the United States and changed his name to François Marcel Woelfflé, sometimes reported as François Marcel.[6][2] He was granted U.S. patents for implements for performing the technique; the first, U.S. patent 806386, entitled "Curling-Iron", was published in 1905,[7] and the second, entitled "Hair-Waving Iron", for an electric version, under the name François Marcel, was published in 1918.[6] His obituary appeared under the name Francois Marcel Grateau in 1936.[2]
In popular culture
In the 1914 song "By the Beautiful Sea", the female protagonist is said to have a job marcelling hair.[8]
