Have you ever marcelled your hair?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382237)
Rockingham, Australia
June 12, 2026 7:10pm CST
I’m reading a book set in South Africa in the early 1900s. It’s set on an ostrich farm so watch this space for a discussion on how ostrich feathers are harvested. 
However, I’ve come across the word ‘marcelled’ in connection with the heroine’s hair. I’ve never heard the term but Wikipedia says it’s a method of waving hair using hot tongs. My mother would sometimes curl my hair with tongs. I remember her heating them then testing the heat on newspaper. If the tongs were too hot the paper would scorch. Curling tongs are still in use but not heated in an open fire any more.
Have you heard of the term marcelled?
The photo is mine, taken in Bavaria.
However, I’ve come across the word ‘marcelled’ in connection with the heroine’s hair. I’ve never heard the term but Wikipedia says it’s a method of waving hair using hot tongs. My mother would sometimes curl my hair with tongs. I remember her heating them then testing the heat on newspaper. If the tongs were too hot the paper would scorch. Curling tongs are still in use but not heated in an open fire any more.
Have you heard of the term marcelled?
The photo is mine, taken in Bavaria.10 people like this
11 responses
A classic! Mom had curly hair.
@DaddyEvil (174528)
• United States
3h
When Dad cut our hair, he shaved it off. When I got old enough to pay for my own haircuts, it started curling. Dad hated that and called me a hippy! Mom told him to leave me alone, since I'd paid for the cut, it was my choice how long I wanted it.
Mom's hair was really thick and curled. Dad's hair, what little he had, was straight. (He was bald on top and only had puffs of hair on the sides of his head. 
)
)1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174528)
• United States
7h
Not for hair, no. I've heard the term "marcelled" in reference to French fries... It is/was an old name for crinkle cut potatoes.
I learned a lot of "old-fashioned" terms from my parents. Dad was born in 1909 and mom in 1921, so they used terms from those times. When I used an old fashioned term for something in school, I'd get the strangest looks from my friends.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174528)
• United States
3h
@JudyEv Once in a while, I still get use out of old words/terms.
Once in a while, I still get use out of old words/terms.1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (122195)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
9h
The first time I have heard of the termed marcelled.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43611)
• Denver, Colorado
6h
No, I've never heard that term. Sounds a bit similar to the crimping fad of the 80's here in the States.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (208984)
• United States
2h
I haven't no. Lovely pic, reminds me a bit of my grandparent's farm. They had an aerial shot of it too
@Fleura (35054)
• United Kingdom
4h
I've never heard it used that way but I do remember reading about the Marcel wave which was all the rage, probably when I was doing a school project on the 1920s.
Found this information about it
https://www.1920-30.com/fashion/hairstyles/marcel-wave.html
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (11397)
• United Kingdom
1h
Yes I have heard of it ….it is quite an old fashioned way of describing it ….marcell wave ….but then again younger folk don’t have their hair permed today …..although they do have waves put in their hair …..I guess they just have a more trendy name for it. I don’t know as I’m not young ….or trendy !
@Ineeddentures (34726)
•
11h
I do it all the time.
Waving hair, not for a few years.
No hair more like
2 people like this
