Whether your first memories of the beauty parlor were tagging along while your mom went to have her hair set or getting your hair and makeup done for a school dance, there’s no mistaking the familiar sight of a group of women waiting to have their hair finished while excitedly chatting away.

Looking back at some of these photos it’s striking not that this equipment no longer exists, because it certainly does. But, what gets us is how little the old equipment is used compared to the old days. While hand held dryers existed as early as the 1920s, the blowout wasn’t a common phenomenon until just the past 10 years or so.

With the changing of styles the old ways of doing things no longer apply. Perms are far less common, while a “shampoo and set” is almost unheard of these days. The era of women lined up under hairdryers is almost entirely gone. That was back when ladies smoked while their hair was being done and every chair had a large ashtray and the clientele read magazines to pass the time. Now everyone’s usually on their phones!