FROM 3000 B.C. To present Day

Ancient Civilizations Egypt In the heat of Egypt, noblemen and women clipped their hair close to the head.  But for ceremonial occasions heavy, curly black wigs were donned.  Women’s wigs were often long and braided, adorned with gold ornaments or ivory hairpins. Men’s faces were generally clean shaved, but stiff false beards were sometimes worn. Greece In classical Greece women’s hair was long and pulled back into a chignon.  Many dyed their hair red with henna and sprinkled it with gold powder, often adorning it with fresh flowers or jewelled tiara’s.  Men’s hair was short and even shaved on occasion. Rome In austere Rome the tendency was to follow Greek styles.  The upper classes would use curling irons and favoured the gold powdered look of the Greeks.  Women often dyed their hair blonde or wore wigs made from hair of captive civilization slaves.  Later, hairstyles became more ornate with hair curled tight and piled high on the head often shaped around wire frames.  Hairdressing became popular and the upper classes were attended to by slaves or visited public barber shops. The East  Amongst the Muslim community the hair was traditionally concealed in public.  Men wore a turban or fez and womens hair was hidden under the traditional veil.  Both men and women visited the local public baths for grooming where the mans head and face were shaved and omens long hair was given a henna rinse. China Unmarried Chinese girls hair was usually worn long and braided whilst women combed the hair back from the face and wound into a knot at the nape.  The Manchu regime of the time dictated that men shaved the front of the head and wore the back hair long and braided, tied with black silk. Japan Males in Japan also shaved the front of the head but kept the back hair pulled tightly into a short stiff ponytail.  During the Medieval period women’s hair had been long and loose but by the 17th century the hair became more styled, swept up from the nape of the neck and adorned with pins and jewelled combs.  Geisha women’s hairdo’s were especially elaborate, high and heavily lacquered and often enhanced with hairpieces. Africa Due to the many tribal customs African hairstyles were many and varied and usually signified status.  Masai warriors tied the front hair into sections of tiny braids whilst the back hair was allowed to grow to waist length.  Non-warriors and women, however shaved their heads.  Many tribes dyed the hair with red earth and grease – some even stiffened it with animal dung.  The complex style of the Mangbetu women involved plaiting the hair thinly and arranging over a cone-shaped basket frame, flaring the top then adorning the whole thing with long, bone needles.  Other tribes such as the Miango took amore simple approach, covering their long ponytails with a headscarf and adorning with leaves. America Native American Indians were divided in their hairstyles – those on the East Coast sporting entirely shaved heads save for a ridge of hair along the crown, whilst Plains Indians, both men and women, wore the recognized long braids adorned with feathers.  Further South the Incas sported black headbands over relatively, short often bobbed hair, whilst Aztec women plaited their hair entwined with strips of coloured cloth then wound around the head.  The Mayan nobility, although having shaved heads, donned high, ornate headdresses. The Western World In the 15th century – The Renaissance period – the ladies of the upper classes really took ‘plucking’ to its limit!  If you think tweezing the odd eyebrow here and there is painful, imagine yourself plucking the entire front hairline away to give the appearance of a higher forehead!  The rest of the hair was tightly scraped back to show off the elaborate headdresses of the day. This was a practise common in Europe whereas the upper class ladies of Italy preferred to cover the hairline with low caps and jewelled turbans.  They did, however, envy the fairer hair of Northern Europeans and sat for many hours in the heat of the sun in an attempt to Bleach their hair.  The ‘bleach’ of the day was made using either saffron or onion skins! By the 16th century Queen Elizabeth was the main female icon and set the trends for the era.  Her lily-white complexion and red tresses set women everywhere rushing for copious amounts of white face powder and red wigs.  Thos really serious about achieving a pallid complexion used the very successful but highly poisonous white lead, adding glowing cheeks with – lead based rouge!  Follow this with a thin layer of egg-white to bind it all together and you were ready to party The 18th century saw the emergence of elaborate wigs, mile-high coiffures and highly decorated curls.  White powdered wigs with long ringlets were the order of the day often tied back with a black bow for men or decorated with feathers, bows and garlands for women.  Big hair was definitely the ‘in’ thing and many styles were modelled over a cage frame or horsehair pads – the bigger the better.  Some immensely tall coiffures took hours to create and were heavily starched and powdered.  However, the length of time spent creating these elaborate styles did mean that weeks went by between styling and the mixture of horsehair and heavy powder created perfect nesting material for vermin! This didn’t seem to put them off though, and some adventurous souls had mini gardens or maritime scenes complete with model ship incorporated into their style – in fact it was not unknown for imaginative ladies to create mini-bird cages complete with birds on top of their heads! Following the decadence of the previous era, the Victorians took a much more subdued and puritanical line.  Middleclass ladies, although not abandoning make-up completely, did tone things down considerably with more of an emphasis on natural beauty.  A Victorian lady would play up her natural features and aimed at a healthy hygienic look.  Hair was supposed to look sleek, shiny and healthy and styles were altogether more elegant and demure.  The hair was often smoothed down with oils and curled into long ringlets, fringes were short and decoration was more subtle. Hairnets were often worn during the day to keep curls confined and clipped to the back of the head with a simple ivory comb or black bow.  Later in the century hair was often plaited and wound into heavy coils pinned neatly to the nape of the neck.  Neatness was the order of the day and ‘loose’ hair would have been considered vulgar.  Men of the time kept their hair relatively short, pomaded with macassar oil and most would have worn some form of moustache, beard and sideburns. 1920’s society very much abandoned the puritanical standards and constraints of Victorian life.  The ‘Roaring Twenties’ saw the emergence of short, bobbed and waved styles, signifying the new independent, free-spirited, free-woman ethos of the day.  Women increasingly had access to cinema and theatre and trends were set by the ‘superstars’ of the time.  Make-up was very much back in fashion – powder, rouge and very red lips were ‘in’ albeit in a more demure way than the earlier 18th century Style.  Men’s hair remained short, as in the Victorian era but was most often worn with a centre parting and slicked back using brilliantine and highly perfumed oils. 1940’s women continued to follow their on-screen idols, with the emphasis on feminine, romantic styles.  Soft curls falling onto the shoulders or long, wavy natural looks were popular and for the first time sun-tans became popular – probably inspired by Hollywood starlets.  Of course these styles would have been saved for evening wear – as the war years raged something of a more practical nature was needed.  Many women worked either on the land or in the munitions factories, and as shampoo and non-essential items were hard to come by fashion was often dictated by practicality.  Practical women wore their hair in a neat roll around the nape and over the ears, often covered with a headscarf knotted at the front leaving only the fringe exposed.  Plastic hair rollers were an essential part of styling as was styling lotion to hold the hair in place for as long as possible. By the 1950’s, with the constraints of war at an end, glamour became popular and women attempted to achieve a look what implied ‘domestic goddess’  The impression that all household chores could be accomplished whilst still looking stylish and well groomed was aspired to.  Returning to the home duties after the demands of war-time meant women could spend more time on achieving the ‘50’s ideal of beauty.  Eyebrows, mascara and eyeliner became heavier with intense coloured lips highlighting a pale complexion.  Hair began to suffer abuse however and was teased, sculpted, sprayed, permanently waved and forced into perfectly formed curls.  Hair often resembled a perfect helmet and women started to visit salons on a weekly basis for he ‘shampoo and set.’  Men of the day were also prepared to spend time copying their idols James Dean and Elvis and greased back hairdo’s were coupled with long, heavy sideburns. Complex hair styles were definitely ‘out’ in the 1960’s.  Women were once again moving into the workplace and needed to adopt a more achievable style for a day-time look.  Many favoured short, back-combed hairstyles that could be quickly styled and held in place with hair spray, softened with a long, feminine fringe.  Younger women who left their hair longer tended to wear it loose or in a simple ponytail, adorning it with flowers or ribbons during the fashionable ‘hippy’ phase.  Both hair and make-up was kept simple, the emphasis being on natural, healthy looks – the all American girl-next-door look was widely popular. Blonde was the colour to be and darker hair was often given  highlights and the sun-kissed look by soaking strands of hair in lemon juice and sitting in the sun. Long, free and natural best describes hair in the 1970’s.  Manes of free-falling curls, soft partings and long fringes were complemented by bronzed skin and glossy lips, soft tailored clothes and the ultimate aim was soft, feminine and romantic.  The cult-series ‘Charlies Angels’ depicted everything that ‘70’s woman should be.  Even male styling became softer with ‘feathered’ cuts, highlights and soft layers.  Use of products was limited as the aim was ‘natural’ looking hair and products were marketed accordingly with an increase in the use of plant and herb extracts. Towards the end of the era though, certain sections rebelled against this floral, romantic image and the distinctive if somewhat shocking looks of the ‘Punk’ briefly pre-vailed.  Spiked hair, dyed vivid primary or fluorescent colours, tattooed scalps or outrageous Mohicans ‘graced’ the high streets. The “Age of Excess”, otherwise known as the 1980’s saw less constraints and more freedom of choice in styles and trends.  People were no longer prepared to conform to a set image and many variances occurred.  On the one hand were the ‘power dressers’ – immaculate women with strong tailored clothes and meticulously groomed hairstyles.  The long-bob was highly favoured-precisely cut and evenly curled under, a good hairdresser was an essential part of this woman’s life.  This woman’s hairstyle reflected ‘control’, a busy work life, a hectic social life but on top of it all – even her hair style!The rebellious element on the other hand were busy following Madonna’s ever-changing style and were willing to sport unconventional, choppy off-coloured hairdo’s, to match their unconventional, eccentric clothing. During the 1990’s hair and beauty styles were constantly changing and pretty much anything was acceptable.  A huge fad was the ‘Rachel’ cut, Jennifer Aniston’s character in ‘Friends’ hair was long and sleek with longer length layers, a ‘grown-out’ fringe and framed with highlights around the face.  Also extremely popular were short, choppy styles as Meg Ryans and many variations on the same theme.  Messed-up hair was very much in but whether long or short it seemed the whole world had definitely gone blonde!  Multi-toned highlights, all over blonde – any shade of blonde in fact, even previously brunette models and film stars turned blonde.  With golden tresses and full, pouty glossy lips and sultry eyes the look was definitely a throwback to the Bridget Bardot ‘Sex Kitten’ style. Men on the other hand were very minimalist in their approach – shaved heads being the order of the day.  In fact anything over an inch was deemed long and there was a new trend for products.  Prior to the nineties men had made do with shampoo alone, or occasionally pinched the girlfriends hair gel but the ‘new man’ image encouraged companies to produce all kinds of new products for men.  With new all-male packaging of men’s toiletries it became completely acceptable for men’s bathrooms to sport as many products as females.

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