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Beehive hairdresser dies at 98

The hairdresser that created the iconic beehive has died at the age of 98. Margaret Vinci Heldt died on Friday 10 June 2016 at her Illinois home. A Chicago beautician, Heldt created the beehive hair-do in the 1960s with the help of a favourite hat and lots of hairspray.

She backcombed the hair for volume and piled it on top of the head and wrapped it around itself for style. There are variations that include a tight bun, a messy look, and a pony tail. The keep the height it was smothered in hairspray.

The beehive was first conceived for the February 1960 magazine, Modern Beauty Shop. She regularly contributed hair designs to the magazine (now called Modern Salon) because she was an award-winning hairdresser. The magazine asked for an innovative design to boost magazine sales. 

She practiced on a mannequin, wrapping the hair around the top of the head. Her favourite hat – a black fez-like cap – was the inspiration for the shape.












MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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