Ancient Greek Hairstyles ~ Classic Hairstyles

Of Greek Women

Do you ever wonder what your hair says about you, whether your
style is too young or too old for you or whether it really suits your face? If you do, you can at
least take heart in the fact that your problems aren't new ones.
Ancient Greek women asked themselves the same questions and had an array of hairstyles that
are nearly as diverse as the ones that we enjoy today to choose from.
Whether you are simply curious about the ancient Greek hairstyles seen in the movie 300 or you
want to look elegant and goddess-like for a toga party, there's a lot of information available on
ancient Greek hairstyles.
The popular profile view found on various art pieces has told us a lot about how Greek women
wore their hair and for the most part, many of the ancient Greek hairstyles, while not
immediately familiar to our modern eyes, are quite easy to reproduce and understand.
When it comes to color, it seems fairly certain that the majority of Greeks sported dark hair.
Despite this, or maybe because of it, one of the Greek ideals of female beauty was very fair skin
topped by golden tresses.
Helen of Troy is popularly thought to be blond, as was Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
Because of this, women went through some serious trials to lighten their hair, trials that make our
times spent with the dye bottle look positively straightforward.
An image-conscious Greek lady might soak vinegar into her hair and then sit in the sun in the
hopes that it would grow lighter. In more extreme cases, urine was used to rinse hair due to the
bleaching power of the ammonia.
 Researchers have found evidence of broad-brimmed
hats without tops. Women would pull their treated hair through the top of the hat and then sit out
in their gardens, allowing the sun to help lighten their hair while protecting their complexions,
which ideally would stay porcelain pale.
The Greek civilization lasted for about a thousand years and and what we think of as Greek
culture spanned vastly different areas and cities. The luxury-loving, sybaritic Athenians were
Greeks, as were the fierce Spartans, so it is easy to see that the styles for these two very different
cities would produce very different ideas about what was attractive. Despite all of these
differences, there were some things that could be held true almost universally.
The hairstyles of the Greeks sent a message, and you could tell a lot about a person simply by
taking a look at the style of hair that they kept. A woman who had short, cropped hair was
probably a servant or a slave, while a free woman of some means would keep her hair longer, but
would often wear it tied back out of her way while she was working. However, for a special
occasion, free women would often get their hair done, in the same style that a noblewoman
might.
The women's ancient Greek hairstyles were quite varied and quite lovely, and the more care and
time a woman could devote to her hair and her appearance, the more well-off she was thought to
be.

Classic Ancient Greek Hairstyles

It is thought that Greek women would wash their hair with water and then use olive oil as a deep
conditioner, giving their hair a smooth shine and a soft, pleasant texture. Depending on the styles
of the day, she might curl it or put gentle waves in it, but while a young girl might wear her hair
streaming down her back, an adult woman would always wear her hair up.
The chignon style that is so popular today can be thought of as an ancient Greek hairstyles, and
chignons were often worn low on the back of the head, occasionally with long, curled or
otherwise styled tendrils hanging down over the ears.

Buns were also popular ancient Greek hairstyles, as

were braids that twisted into buns with long strips of cloth. While a rich woman might keep her
hair long as a source of vanity, often the only people who would see it down after her marriage
were her husband and her servants.
As anyone with long hair will tell you, one of the joys of having it is buying plenty of hair toys
and finding different ways to pull it up, and in this respect, Greek women would have agreed
whole-heartedly with us!
Hair accessories were a part of any Greek woman's beauty regimen, and though their hair might
look plain up in a simple bun, it would soon be decorated with pins and ornaments of all sorts.
One of the most common, but also most recognizable types of Greek hair accessory was the
diadem or the crown. A rich woman would have a thin metal circle, often made out of precious
metals and decorated with jewels, that rested on her head, holding her hair back and away from
her face. This diadem could give her hair a great deal of shape and support as well as being a
beautiful adornment in its own right.
Women would also wrap scarves or colored bits of fabric through their hair, tying it up while
adding a splash of color as well. Hair ornaments of metal, wood, bone and ceramic have all been
used by Greek women, and they range from simple metal or wooden hairpins to jeweled combs
that were meant to adorn a bun or to complement a diadem.
 Of course the complexity of her hair would depend on
the occasion. A normal day with the family might only involve a utilitarian comb that was meant
to hold the hair back off the neck, while a more formal occasion would call for a golden diadem
that had been hammered into the shapes of leaves of flowers.
If you are interested in replicating a ancient Greek hairstyle for yourself, and if you have hair that
at least hits your shoulders,you can give this quick and easy style a shot.
Simply separate out two strands of hair at your temple and start twisting it back towards the back
of your head, gathering more hair into the twists as you go.
When you get the nape of your neck, twist the two strands together and pin them into a bun.
After that, simply add pins as necessary to secure.
You can add decorative hairpins to give this look a bit of color, or you can simply keep it elegant
and simple as many Greek women did!

Chinese Hairstyle
Few modern Chinese people are aware that hair used to be considered a holy and deeply personal
item in ancient China.

In the book of Filial Obediences (Xiao Jin), sages tell that "our body, hair and skin are granted
by our parents and we should not be allowed to destroy them. That is the base of filial
obedience."

Hair-style rules

Ancient people followed the words of such sages and seldom cut their hair throughout their
whole lives. Women's hair-styles witnessed some changes, depending on the aesthetic standards
in different dynasties, while men's remained static. But there were still some general rules to be
followed, making it easy to specify people's ages, sexes, marital situations and social positions at
first sight.

In general, teenage children would tie their hair up in plaits on the top of their heads, one on each
side. After boys reached adulthood, they would comb all their hair into a top-knot (called a Jiefa
in ancient Chinese), which they either covered with a square cloth or with a hat. People at Jiefa
age are expected to get married and in ancient Chinese Jiefa Fuqi means a wife and husband who
married when they were young.

Girls would not be allowed to coil up their hair with hairpins unless they were married, if she did
so her husband and parents-in-law would look down upon her because she hadn't followed the
rules for women's behavior.

Imperial women always guided hair-style fashion in ancient China and there were many
professional hair dressers serving in the palace, creating many different hair styles patterns, using
beautiful gold, jade or pearl hairpins.

People valued their hair highly and seldom cut it short unless there was something really
important happening.

The best-known story involving hair-cutting is set in the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280) when
Cao Cao, the famous politician, strategist, led an army out to battle. Cao commanded that the
soldiers should keep their horses off farmer's crops and anybody daring to break the rule would
be killed.

Unfortunately Cao carelessly let his own horse step into a field of crops. The commander tried to
commit suicide but was stopped by his followers. Finally Cao decided to cut his hair as a
penance.

Chinese women in ancient China were not supposed to go out and be seen in public. They
usually cut off a lock of their hair and sent it away with lovers or husbands who were going to
leave them for imperial examinations or other business. The hair would remind the men that
somebody was waiting for them at home and they should hurry back quickly.

Cutting hair short was also a way of marking prisoners in ancient China. Even after they had
been released from prison, people would continue to classify them as bad people upon seeing
their short hair, which would become a long-term sign of their criminality.

Monks and nuns however believed that hair was a source of troubles. They shaved off their hair
upon deciding to devote their life to Buddhism, symbolically announcing their liberation from all
attachment to mundane reality.

Roman Hairstyles
Hairstyle fashion in Rome was ever changing, and particularly in the Roman Imperial Period
there were a number of different ways to style hair. Much the same with clothes, there were
several hairstyles that were limited to certain people in ancient society. Styles are so distinctive
they allow scholars today to create a chronology of Roman portraiture and art; we are able to
date pictures of the empresses on coins, or identify busts depending on their hairstyles.
The styles in Rome set the fasion for the provinces, although the provinces were certainly behind
the times, due to the delay in communication. One wonders how such information was
transmitted, whether by dressing dolls as was done in later times, by word of mouth, or by
sending slaves trained in the latest arts to the remote corners of the Empire.
Examples:
For earlier times you can put your hair in a chignon or bun at the back of your head. If you dont'
have a lot of hair, you can purchase a false hair piece for very little. You can dress it up by
braiding the hair before making the bun, or you could surround the bun with a separate braid.
The hair should be parted in the middle, and small tendrils can be pulled out around the face and
curled (figure 1). This type of style was widely worn in later times as well, as long as you don't
profess to be a lady of wealth.

Cypriote curls were the fashion during the late 1rst century a.d. They were piled high around the
face on special frames that could either be invisible or decorative (figure 2). The easiest way to
achieve this style is to fake it. Use a plastic eyeshade* and cover it with metallic material, paint
or leaf. Place it on the head as shown in figure 2a. Attach the curls securely to the front (or glue
the hairpiece to the shade first and then place it on your head). The hair in the back is worn in a
bun. Use a fake piece again if your hair is lacking in length. Another similar sytle drapes the
front hair over the support as shown in figure 3. Again, cover the support and glue false hair to it.
The back hair, in this example, is knotted and then curled. Figure 4 shows yet another variation.
*(Editor's note)Plastic Eyeshade: popular in the early 1980's. Also known as a (sun) visor,
rather like a rigid hair band with the bill of a baseball cap attached. Look for them in thrift
shops, they are usually about 50¢.
Young girls apparently wore their hair in long curls in back with various treatments to the front
and sides, such as waves, twists and more curls (figure 5).

A 2nd century style has the front hair parted in the middle and waved, with the back hair braided
and pinned to the top of the head. This would be a good style for someone with short hair. Get a
braided swatch and fold it in half. Place the fold on top of the head and pin down all the way to
the back, securing the ends of your hair underneath. (figure 6)
A third century style for someone with naturally long hair has the hair parted down the middle,
then from side to side. (figure 7). The front sections are braided to below the ears and then
french-braided into the hair at the back. This is for someone who also has patience and a good
friend who knows how to french-braid.

Remember that when out of doors, a married woman would cover her hair with a palla or
veil.,/p> These are just a few examples of the variety of Roman styles. Look for busts and statues
of Roman women and examine their hairstyles, with an eye toward replicating.

Wigs
Due to the nature of hair and the relatively wet climate in the upper reaches of the Empire, there
are very few examples of wigs that survive to this day. We do know that women wore wigs
whether they were bald or not. So too did men, Emperor Otho wore a wig, as did Domitian.[10]
Wigs allowed women to better achieve the kind of 'tall' styles that particularly punctuated the
Flavian and Trajanic eras (e.g. the periods of 69-96 and 98-117 CE). In fact, so tall were these
hairstyles, that ancient writer Juvenal likens them to multi-storey buildings.
So important is the business of beautification; so numerous are the tiers and storeys piled
one upon another on her head!
—Juvenal, Satires[11]
Wigs were made from human hair; blonde hair from Germany and black from India were
particularly prized, especially if the hair came from the head of a person from a conquered
civilisation.[12] In the cases where wigs were used to hide baldness, a natural look was preferred
supposedly using a wig with a hair colour similar to the user's original. But in instances where a
wig was worn for the purpose of showing off, naturalism did not play much of a part. In fact,
obviously fake wigs were preferred, sometimes intertwined with two contrasting hair colours.
[13]
A main advantage of wigs for the Romans is that they could be directly pinned onto the head of
the wearer, meaning that a style could be achieved a lot faster than if it had been done with the
sitter's own hair. Further it would lessen the inconvenience of having to grow one's own hair too
long. It has been suggested that the necessary length to be able to create these hairstyles daily
would be well below the shoulder, perhaps to the waist.[14]
There were two types of wig in Roman times, the full wig, called the capillamentum, and the half
wig, called the galerus.[15] The galerus could be in the form of a fillet of woolen hair used as
padding to build an elaborate style, or as a toupee on the back or front of the head. Toupees were
attached by pins, or by sowing the toupee onto a piece of leather and attaching it as a wig.
Further, glue could be used to affix it to the scalp or alternatively, as a bust from the British
Museum illustrates, the toupee could be braided into the existing hair.[16]
[edit] Detachable marble wigs
Busts themselves could have detachable wigs. There have been many suggestions as to why
some busts have been created with detachable wigs and some without. Perhaps the main reason
was to keep the bust looking up-to-date. It would have been too expensive to commission a new
bust every time hair fashion changed, so a mix-and-match bust would have been preferable for
women with less money.[17] Perhaps another reason was to accommodate the Syrian ritual of
anointing the skull of the bust with oil.[17] Or further, in cases where the bust was a funerary
commission, it can be safely assumed that the subject of the bust would not have had an
opportunity to sit for another portrait after their death.[18] Hence why a detachable wig for a
bust would certainly be useful. Although exactly how these marble wigs were attached is
unknown, the likely difficulty of changing the 'wigs' effectively would have probably put many
women off choosing a detachable and reattachable bust in the first place.[19]

[edit] Tools of the trade

[edit] Dyes
Dying hair was popular among women, although the frequency that hair was coloured often
made it weaker. Tertullian discusses how hair dye burnt the scalp and was harmful for the head.
[20] Artificial dyes could be applied through powders, gels and bleach. Henna, a temporary dye,
or even animal fat, could be applied to make the hair more manageable.[21] But aside from
henna, more common permanent dyes were based on natural substances and perhaps more
unothodox mixtures. For example, to dye hair black, Pliny the Elder suggests applying leeches
that have rotten in red wine for 40 days.[22] Dying hair red requires a mixture of animal fat and
beechwood ashes[23] whilst dying hair gold required Saffron.[24] Ovid gives plenty more
examples for dyes, such as herbs and saffron.[25] Interestingly, to cure diseases such as hair loss,
Pliny suggests the application of a sow's gall bladder, mixed with bulls urine, or of the ashes of
an ass's genitals, or other mixtures such as a the ashes of a deer's antlers mixed with wine.
Further, goat's milk or goat's dung is said to cure head lice.[26]

/wiki/File:Goldhairnet.jpg /wiki/File:Goldhairnet.jpg

/wiki/File:Goldhairnet.jpg /wiki/File:Goldhairnet.jpgGold Hairnet, Imperial period.

Rome, Museo Massimo
[edit] Curling irons, pins and hairnets
The calamistrum was the name for the Roman curling iron. It consisted of a hollow metal outer
cylinder and a smaller solid cylinder inside it. The hair would be wrapped around the solid
cylinder and inserted into the metal outer. The metal outer would be heated in a fire, making the
hair curly. It has been reported that because of the frequency and temperature that hair was
curled at, thinning and damaged hair was common amongst women[27] While gel and henna, as
mentioned above, were used to manage hair, hairnets and pins were in common usage too.
Poorer women would have used wooden pins, while the aristocracy used gold, ivory, crystal,
silver or painted bone. The pins would have been decorated with carvings of the gods, or beads
and pendants

1200 - 1300 AD

Headdresses and hairstyles

Individuality in women's costume was expressed through their hair and headdress. One
distinctive part of thirteenth-century women's headwear was the barbette, a chin band to which a
hat or various other headdress might be attached. This hats might be a "woman's coif", which
more nearly resembled a pillbox hat, severely plain or fluted. The hair was often confined by a
net called a crespine or crespinette, visible only at the back. Later in the century the barbette and
coif were reduced to narrow strips of cloth, and the entire hairdress might be covered with the
crespine, the hair fashionable bulky over the ears. Coif and barbette were white, while the
crespine might be colored or gold. The wimple and veil of the twelfth century (still seen on nuns
today) was still worn, mainly by older women and widows. [3]

Hairstyles and headgear

/wiki/File:Portrait_of_a_lady.jpg
/wiki/File:Portrait_of_a_lady.jpg

/wiki/File:Portrait_of_a_lady.jpg /wiki/File:Portrait_of_a_lady.jpgMiniature
portrait of a Russian lady, Russian school, c. 1800

/wiki/File:Caroline_Murat_by_Vigee-Lebrun.jpg
/wiki/File:Caroline_Murat_by_Vigee-Lebrun.jpg

/wiki/File:Caroline_Murat_by_Vigee-Lebrun.jpg
/wiki/File:Caroline_Murat_by_Vigee-Lebrun.jpgPortrait of Caroline Murat and her
daughter Letizia, painted in 1807 by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Madame Murat wears the formal
red train of court dress over her high-waisted gown.
During this period, the classical influence extended to hairstyles. Often masses of curls were
worn over the forehead and ears, with the longer back hair drawn up into loose buns or Psyche
knots influenced by Greek and Roman styles. By the later 1810s, front hair was parted in the
center and worn in tight ringlets over the ears.[1] A few adventurous women like Lady Caroline
Lamb wore short cropped hairstyles.
In the Mirror of Graces, a Lady of Distinction writes,
Now, easy tresses, the shining braid, the flowing ringlet confined by the antique comb, or
bodkin, give graceful specimens of the simple taste of modern beauty. Nothing can
correspond more elegantly with the untrammeled drapery of our newly-adopted classic
raiment than this undecorated coiffure of nature.[3]
Conservative married women continued to wear linen mob caps, which now had wider brims at
the sides to cover the ears. Fashionable women wore similar caps for morning (at home undress)
wear.[4]
No respectable woman would leave the house without a hat or bonnet. The antique head-dress, or
Queen Mary coif, Chinese hat, Oriental inspired turban, and Highland helmet were popular. As
for bonnets, their crowns and brims were adorned with increasingly elaborate ornamentations,
such as feathers and ribbons.[5] In fact, ladies of the day embellished their hats frequently,
replacing old decorations with new trims or feathers.

The range of hair styles available to women began to expand as the world entered a new century
in 1900. The Victorian Age was drawing to a close, the automobile was emerging, giving people
much more mobility, and a general sense of unlimited possibilities pervaded society. All of this
gave a new impetus to creating hairstyles that expressed a more open and optimistic feeling.

1900-1910 Hairstyles Time of Transition

This decade saw a transition in hairstyles, from the more confined styles of the Victorian era to
looser, fuller hairstyles. Curiously, both long and short styles were popular, with longer, free-
flowing hair slowly gaining more converts as the decade progressed. Volume was the theme that
ran through most of the popular hairstyles, regardless of hair length. Longer hairstyles featured
hair parted in the middle (with a noticeable part), and long wavy tresses hanging below the
shoulders. Shorter hairstyles generally began around the ears and poofed' up over the head in
several updo styles, often held in place with barrettes and adorned with bows, or large, wide hats.

1910-1920 Hairstyles Waves & Accessories

As the 1900s moved into the 1910s, hairstyles started off with an emphasis on long hair that was
either pinned up in elaborate updos, or made wavy and flowing. Hats and bows were
increasingly popular accessories. Nevertheless, in the mid-1910's, a sea change occurred that
would affect women's hairstyles for years to come. This was the short bob haircut.

As these very short styles caught on and swept America, the range of elegant hairstyles for
formal events and nights out on the town diminished. The focus shifted to what women put in
their hair. The most popular accessory was a headband, often adorned with fancy beads and
stitch-work designs. One hairstyle that gained a lot of popularity (and some notoriety) was called
"curtain hair." This entailed parting short hairstyles down the middle, then letting the hair fall
across a headband worn around the middle of the head, just above the ears. For more elegant
hairstyles, women often constructed ringlet curls all along the headband, or added jeweled pins.

1920-1930 Hairstyles Footloose & Fancy Free

The 1920s was a decade of huge societal changes in America. Women got the right to vote, a
world war had just ended, hard liquor was banned, and the economy was booming as industry
titans emerged. A unique time in the history of hairstyles, the 1920s saw the birth of the Flapper'
era, highlighted by women with very short hair, bold new fashions, and a carefree attitude.

First noticed on famous ballroom dancer, Irene Castle, the Castle bob' swept the nation in the late
1910s and early 20s. Variations sprang up as the 1920s progressed, a result of women who began
feeling their wild oats and experimenting with newfound freedoms of expression.
Formal hairstyles in the 1920s were often limited by the extremely short styles that were so
popular then. To make up for this limitation, many women chose to wear wide-brimmed hats
with elegant designs and bands. They wore their hair in very simple styles as a result. When a hat
was not practical for a particular formal event, women often used curls and mini-updos to
accentuate hairstyles that were crafted from rather plain-looking everyday styles.

The times always have an effect on fashions and hairstyles, regardless of the era. In just three
decades, from 1900-1930, America went from very conservative styles as the Victorian era was
ending, to the wild-eyed, carefree days of short Flapper hairstyles. All of which proves that it's
impossible to look at current hairstyles and fashion trends and make anything more than a wild
guess as to where things will be in a few years. We'll just have to wait and watch.
Cinema had become an important pastime during the late thirties and forties. Many women
would want their hair to be styled like their screen idols. Hair was longer, falling around the
shoulders in waves. But of course, there was a war on so practicality took over. Hair would be
pinned into a neat roll at the nape of the neck and often covered with a headscarf knotted in the
front. Shampoo was hard to come by, plastic rollers and setting lotion was used to keep the style
in place for longer.
With war out of the way and life becoming more ‘normal’ the ladies of the day wanted to look
well groomed. Many ladies started to visit a Salons every week for a ‘shampoo and set’. Hair
was becoming more sculpted. The French pleat became popular. Permanent waving was
introduced. Hair often resembled a tight curly helmet!
During the 60’s a revolution was taking place. Many women worked and needed styles that were
quick and easy to keep in place. A lot of ladies favoured the short, back-combed styles that could
be quickly done and held in place with hairspray. Later in the 60’s the hippy movement started
more carefree styles, long hair left loose adorned with flowers or ribbons and beads.
During the 70’s, big hair was the must have. Long layered hair that was curled on big rollers was
the fashion of the day. It carried on the freedom of the 60’s but certainly made a statement about
the ladies ‘crowning glory’.
Towards the end of the 70’s ‘Punk’ emerged. Hair was strikingly different with spiky styles and
vivid colours. The ‘Mohican’ arrived with its stand up hair, dyed and spiked, down the middle of
the scalp and the sides shaved. This style was usually sported by young men and was only worn
by the few.
The 80’s saw more freedom and individuality. The big hair of the 70’s still remained but more
ladies were having their hair cut shorter. When Prince Charles and Lady Diana married everyone
wanted a ‘Lady Di’ haircut based on a bob. As women got more powerful jobs they wanted
hairstyles to match their ‘power dressing’. The long bob was very popular with its precision
cutting.
During the 90’s hair was very relaxed. Nearly anything goes and there were many styles. Long
hair was favoured by many with the ‘Rachel’ (from the TV series Friends) cut being a big hit.
Messed up hair became very popular and possible with all the new hair products like hair wax
and putty.

From 1901 until 2000, transformations of costumes were of an astonishing variation, covering
almost all the possible options: from the classic Victorian elegance, to the long-haired hippies of
the 60's, until all the possibilities that our imagination could embrace: punk, rastafari, skinheads,
etc. The industrial and technological achievements, not seen before in History, so fast and with
no interruption, were reflected in different hairstyles along the century.
But, first of all, it's important to remark that in the 20th century -and until today-, who arbitrate
the mode, the "fashion" symbols, are not more the princes or the nobility, the aristocracy. The
new phenomenon, the cinematograph, first the silent movies and later the talking movies,
created, in its massive and popular penetration, new patterns: the movie artists. From now on
then, they will be the ones who will dictate the fashion tendencies; people will copy them in their
hairstyles, clothes and even their manners and behavior.
THE INVENTION OF PERM :

At the first years of the

century , women's hair was still relatively long and usually waved. The best method to wave the
hair was the one invented by Marcel Grateau, with a hot curly iron which only worked on long
hairs. As women started soon to use shorter hairstyles, a new method was necessary to wave the
hair. The first method for a permanent wave was the one created by the German hairstylist Karl
Nessler (later Charles Nestle), in 1905. He patented in 1906 the system in Germany, which
consisted in a group of rollers in which the hair was wrapped and curled, connected to a machine
what heated them by means of an electrical resistance. Hot rollers were kept far from the scalp
by a complex of countering weights. In the first step was applied sodium hydroxide (caustic
soda) and the hair was heated for several hours. All the process took 6 hours to be completed.
Nessler tried in a first instance his method in Paris with a woman, Katharina Laible, to whom he
burnt the hair and the scalp twice. After that, he married with her. In 1915 Nessler traveled to
United States, discovering hundreds of falsifications of his patent on there. Then, he opened
beauty salons in New York, patenting the system again, improved, and under the American laws.
During the first decade of the century, hairstyles were pretty similar to those of the former
century: were still in use the "Marcel Wave" and the "Gibson Girl" hairstyle. The hair's
revolution arrived after the First World War. Women started to use short hair, about the earlobes-
length, which was a real innovation. This style reflected the "New American Woman": a busy,
active woman, more independent, and liberated of old social structures. This hairstyle was called

This hairstyle had several variations: with the hair cut straight around the head, with wavy hair,
and with bangs or an exposed forehead. Some women added spit curls in front of the ears, or a
single curl on the forehead.
Irene Castle Mary Pickford Alice Day Louise Brooks

In the first years of the century, men still were using moustaches, but usually with short hair.
Since 1920 the style was a clean shaven face and short hair, flat-combed.

1911, Gaston Briand 1925, Rodolfo Valentino 1928, Konrad Veidt 1930, Fred Astaire

The decade of 1920-1930 brought two technological advances: the first handheld blow dryer and
sustancial improvements in the perm machines.
Anyway, the first handheld blow dryers had some inconveniences: they were heavy, around 2lbs
of weight, made of steel and zinc, and they were only capable of using 100 watts, so it took a
long time to dry hair. In addition, they also were dangerous because of the risk of electrocution
in contact with water. But later they were evolving, becoming more powerful and safer. Actually
they had a sensor which automatically interrupts the current circuit when it detects that the dryer
is overheated, and they can use up to 2,000 watts of heat.
 Perm machines were improved in this decade by the Swiss Eugene
Suter and the Spanish Isidoro Calvete.
They developed a tubular system in which were inserted two windings into an aluminum tube.
The hair was wrapped in spiral around the tube, allowing that the hair close to the root, thicker,
received more hot than the thinner hair at the tips. Later there were variations and improvements
in the system, like that one of the Czech hairstylist Josef Mayer in 1924, and the Afro-American
Marjorie Joyner in 1928, who patented a machine in which the hair was rolled in cylinders.
Isidoro Calvete’s company, ICall, created in 1934 a system in which the tubes were unplugged of
the electric current before applying to the hair, which was called “the fallen heat method”. The
heat began to cool as soon as applied and was controlled by a thermostat. In 1938, Arnold F.
Willat invented the “cold wave’, which was the beginning of the system currently in use today.
The system is based in rolling the hair on rods applying a reduction lotion of ammonium
thioglycolate, which breaks the protein structure in the keratin, giving the hair more flexibility.
Later an oxidation lotion of hydrogen peroxide is applied, forcing the hair to adopt the rod’s
shape.
 In 1935 a show of perm hairstyles was
performed in London, the Hairdressing
Fashion Show, and the First Prize was a perm
made with an ICall Machine of that time. It
shows a very short hair, bicolor tincture, and
an elegant design with a typical art-deco
style.

During the 1930s and 1940s, after the Great Depression which affected the economy all over the
world in 1929, women hairstyles were a little more natural, although with a tendency of using
perms. Hair was worn longer, about a neck-length, and the new fashion was the platinum blonde
actresses, like Jean Harlow. Men were still using short hair, and generally fixed with ointments.
After the 2nd World War (1939-1945), there were important sociological changes, based in the
never seen before experience of the atomic bombs blowing up on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and
devastating whole cities. The existentialist philosophy appears in the scene; a tendency which
shows the absurdity of an existence that could disappear in any unexpected moment, a general
feeling of vulnerability and a lack of sense of the established moral values. The existentialism is
expressed in literature and, in general in every artistic manifestation. And, of course, this
expression is also transferred to fashion and costumes, which always have been an expression of
the social way of thinking. In France, Juliette Greco and other artists proposed a new way of
dressing and hairstyle; in the London “caves”, the "beatnik" musical groups also represented a

way of disconformities:
longer hairs, bangs, sideburns...the initial look of The Beatles at the 60’s. Hairstyles were then
more open and liberal: everything manifested a huge disagreement with the politeness of former
generations. James Dean, in his movies East of Eden and Rebel without a cause (1955) set up a
hairstyle copied by thousands of youths at that time. Other hairstyles were famous: for instance,
that of Marilyn Monroe, the unarguable diva of the 50’s. In 1955, Gina Lollobrigida is The Most
Beautiful Woman in the World, as the title of her famous film said. Other women wore a very
short hair, like Audrey Hepburn, who, on the other hand, kept her dark brown hair color and
always refused to dye it.
 At the end of the 50’s
and at the beginning of the 60’s, Elvis Presley hairstyle, with sideburns and the hair combed
backward forming a mound of hair above the forehead, and a ducktail, is a furor and it’s adopted
by millions of males around the world. In 1958, Elvis’ hair was so important, that, thousands of
fans made public protests when the singer went to the military service and the army cut his hair.
By then, the television started to gain popularity and its images became strongly influential
amongst the people. But, unlike the cinema, the images of TV speakers were still conservative
and polite. Soon, the style of the common people, more informal, being the most popular, was
also installed in the TV images. At the start of the 60’s Anthony Perkins is proclaimed the sexiest
man, wearing an intentionally unarranged hairstyle.
 At the end of the 1960s another revolution in mode
and costumes showed up with an amazing energy. Under slogans like "forbidden to forbid" and
“power to the imagination", thousands of young men and woman protested around the world
against values, moral and ethics inherited from former generations. Hairstyles and dresses
became more liberal and bold. In that moment a counter cultural movement appeared: the
hippies; they were liberal, pacifists, opposed to the Vietnam War and to nuclear weapons. "Peace
and love" was the slogan of their philosophy. Their dresses and hairstyles became so popular,
that, finally they were worn even by all of who did not share their principles. Near 1968, an
English "super-model" set up another feminine hairstyle: Twiggy, with her short hair -parted in
one side and slicked back behind her ears-, looking a stylized and slim figure. In 1967 the first
opera-rock is presented in an off-Broadway stage: the musical Hair, which clearly showed all the
hippies hairstyles and also another one which at that time started to be popular: the afro hairstyle.

In this rock musical, hair was the

main way of protest and rebellion against traditional values. Since all those cultural
transformations, the people’s look will be open to infinite variations, and all the possible
hairstyles will be accepted. Along the 1950s and the 1960s Brigitte Bardot was appearing in
French movies, captivating the attention of male audiences with her long and sensual hair. That
decade of the sixties, and especially its last years, marked an inflexion in costumes and a cultural
opening, unknown in former years. In some way, all the generalized patterns until that moment
were broken and dismissed; every social sector, or every individual, decided to adapt their
dresses or their hairstyles at the way they thought they should be worn, without social directions.
The Beatles changed their look and in their last discographic works they appeared with very long
hair, bangs and huge beards.
Along the 1970s, the liberty of using long hair, or either using it in the best way according to
everyone’s personality, was total. The Jamaican music, with Bob Marley as its main figure,
brought a new fashion, inspired in the look of the Rastafarian religion. Bo Derek, in her movie
"10", looked a similar hairstyle, with blond hair. In general, in that decade, men worn the hair
long, with ample sideburns, in some cases beards, and women a very long hair, or very straight
perms, as helmets. Farrah Fawcett also made popular her feathered hairstyle.

During the decade of the 1980s, all these hairstyles were still in use, and one more was added;
the "yuppie" ("young urban professional") hairstyle. It was a stylistic reaction of conservative
youths aligned with the establishment’s values who did not share liberal ideas. They were, in
general, young entrepreneurs, Wall Street staff, etc., with a more polite and conservative style.
At the 80’s, women worn a big hair, almost always groomed with gel or mousse, and dyes were
of more unusual colors, like blue or bright red tonalities. Simultaneously, different urban groups
wore their own hairstyles, and consequently, were in fashion more unseen hairstyles, like the
skinhead, punk, or the gothic hairstyle. The skinhead was a close-cropped or shaven head
hairstyle, originated between the working class young people in London in the1960s as an
opposite reaction against the long hair of other liberal movements. Later the movement was
politicized, mainly to the far right and the neo-Nazism, and finally the hairstyle was in fashion
for everybody who wanted to use it. The punk sub-culture was born near the middle of the 70’s
and was strongly expanded on the 80’s. It was a reactionary sub-culture against the society
values, with tendencies to the leftism and liberalism; they were anti-fashion, anti-capitalist, anti-
racist, anti-militarist, anarchic and vegetarians. The punk tends to impress with abundant tattoos,
and a dramatic use of clothes, jewels and weird hairstyles. One of the most popular is the hair
completely shaven at the nape and at either side of the head and a strip of long hair at the top of
the head, like the Mohawk style. The English soccer-player David Beckham used that hairstyle
for a long time. During the 1980s the skinheads, at the top of their revival, were strongly
influenced by the punk hairstyle. After the 1980s all these hairstyles became too popular, loosing
the original power of their social and political messages, being transformed in only simple
fashions, used by anybody, no matters what ideology they had.
At the 90’s more unisex styles were popularized. In fact, beauty salons since several years ago
already showed the tendency of being open for both sexes. One of the most popular hairstyles at
that time was the grunge hairstyle, being its maximum exponent Kurt Cobain, the leader of the
musical group Nirvana. The hair was left stringy, fibrous and disordered, and needed to remain
unwashed; those who preferred to wash it, had to apply pomades to look like unwashed. Another
style, more for women, which was used by Kate Moss, for instance, was the heroin chic, which
consisted in the hair stringy and many times punctuated with seaweeds or other unusual
materials. This look was completed with a very thin body, pale skin and dark circles below the
eyes, having a tendency to be an androgyny style. In1994 Jennifer Aniston performed the
character of Rachel in the weekly TV series "Friends" appearing with a hairstyle which later
would be very popular, the "Rachel" hairstyle. Men started to cut their hair short at either side of
the head and the hair spiked upwards in the center, fixed with gel, and slight beards. Never as in
the 1990s were dyes so used. One of the fashions of the 90’s was to dye the hair of light colors,
leaving 1 or more inch of dark roots.

At the beginning of the second millennium, and until today, the variation of styles is as wide as
the freedom of using anyone of them. Today there's no more uniformed values, only subtle
general trends. Actually, advertisements for hair products tend to emphasize individuality and
personal choices. At this time, almost everything is allowed: since being "retro", or simply
"classic", until the total boldness.
FAMOUS HAIRSTYLISTS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY:

The decade of 1920-30 had an unarguable super-star: Antek Cierplikowski (1885-1976), better
know as Monsieur Antoine, a Polish-born immigrated to New York, who founded the famous
salon Antoine de Paris in the 5th Avenue. He was credited with the beginning of the short hair
fashion, around 1910, and he was creator of the "shingle" hairstyle in 1920. Antoine used to dye
his own hair and his dog’s hair of lilac or light blue color. He also introduced the idea of drawing
blond streaks between dark colors. In 1930 Antoine was the most important hairstylist in the
world. From his salon were generated several generations of hairstylists. One of them was
Sidney Guilaroff, (1907- ) who assisted the most important Hollywood stars at that time, like
Clark Gable, Lucille Ball, Tyrone Power, Katharine Hepburn, etc.

An unforgettable name in the hair's history in the 20th century is Louis Alexandre Raimon
(1922-2008), better known as Alexandre de Paris. Famous by his design of Liz Taylor's hair in
Cleopatra, he owned a first level salon in Paris and several resorts in other French cities where
the rich and the famous were to spend their vacations. He was the hair designer of the Dukes of
Windsor, and he worked along 40 years with the best companies of haute-couture: Christian
Dior, Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. His personal friend Jean Cocteau designed his logo,
baptizing it the "Sphynx de la Coiffure".
In the 40's , Maria and Rosy Carita opened a distinguished salon in Paris, at the Boulevard
Saint-Honoré. They created a line of wigs and hairpieces used by the aristocracy of the epoch,
and started using their own brand in hair products.

Raymond Bessone, an Englishmen better known as Mr. Teasy Weasy, was one of the most
famous stylists of the 50's and 60's. Also known as Raymond of Mayfair, for his salon in the
elegant London neighborhood, he created the popular "bouffant" hairstyle, which was worn by
many movie actresses, like Diana Dors. At that time he had a TV show and was dedicated to the
racehorses. His horses wore permed hair.
Vidal Sassoon (1928) born British and nationalized Israeli, was trained in Raymond Bessone's
salons and in the 1960s he became a celebrity. He created original styles of geometric haircuts,
which, without any kind of hair spray, remained in shape with the natural hair. He had his own
line of hair care products and nowadays his hair design schools are prestigious in all the world
over.
The Mascolo Brothers (Toni & Guy), were famous in Great Britain in the 1970s. The four
brothers opened their first salon in 1963, receiving several awards and administrating their own
line of beauty products. Guy Mascolo died in May 2009.
Joshua Galvin worked in Vidal Sassoon from 1961 until 1975 and later he opened his own
salon. Amongst his clients were Madonna and Princess Diana. He created a famous line of
products called "Serum Solutions".

The French hairstylist Charlie, who initially worked with the Carita Sisters in
Paris, became famous when in 1992 she was required by Elle magazine to make a hair design for
Catherine Deneuve. After years of being working with Alexandre de Paris, she opened her own
salon, where they actually offer a complete "re-looking".
Nicky Clarke, with her TV show This Morning, and her famous haircuts, won several times the
award British Hairdresser of the Year.
Louis Licari is known as one of the best experts in color in United States.
THE INDUSTRY OF HAIR PRODUCTS IN THE 20TH CENTURY:

1) SCHWARZKOPF: THE FIRST HAIR

SHAMPOO:
In 1903, Hans Schwarzkopf (1874-1921) launched to the market the first shampoo in powder for
hair washing. Until then, people used to wash hair with regular soap in bars. The product was
initially called "SCHAUMPON", and was patented with its characteristic black profile logo.
Schwarzkopf was later one the major companies of beauty products in the world.
2) L'OREAL:
In 1907, Eugène Schueller, a young French chemist started to make in Paris a dye for hair with
the name "Auréole", made and bottled by himself and distributed also by himself among the
Paris beauty salons. In 1909 he founded his company Société Française de Teintures
Inoffensives pour Cheveux. In 1920 it was a still a small business, but around 1950 he had 100
chemists employed in his factory. In 1966 the company expanded to United States and was
selling 14 millions dollars yearly.
3) CLAIROL:
This company started his activities in 1931 with a young American chemist and his wife,
Lawrence and Joan Gelb, who chose that name regarding a line of products for hair coloring that
they found in France, acquiring their rights of commercialization. Joan Gelb offered his products
in person to the beauty salon, and thanks to their good quality they could compete with the most
important brand at that time, Roux. In 2004 the company had commercialized products by 1,600
millions dollars.
4) REVLON:
With an initial investment of 300 dollars, in 1932 the brothers Charles and Joseph Revson and
their partner Charles Lachman, -who had created a formula for waxing the nails which promised
long time of permanence-, founded the company Revlon. In 1940 they were also selling lipsticks,
and in 1960 they were between the top cosmetic companies in the world.

what is hair

THE HAIR IS THE VESTMENT OF OUR HEADS.

Since the beginning of recorded history , the concept of beauty and personal appearance has been
a key concern for human beings. Throughout centuries people have been spending time, money
and energy washing, cutting, coloring, combing, brushing and decorating their hair. The way in
which the hair is presented before the others has deep sociologic roots. Hair is a message. It's the
message we give to the others about our personality. Its natural function is to protect our heads
against the hot or the cold weather, producing thermal insulation and conditioning. But
throughout the History it became an appearance with intentional expression.

Every human hair has the structural form of a plant, with root and stem.
 The stem is the visible part, just the object of our
concerns. The invisible part, below the skin, is a root inserted in a bulb; this bulb is the means of
nutrition for the follicle. The hair follicle is the generator of stem cells that make hair grow, and
is one of the most dynamic and active organisms in our body. This follicle is fed with sebum,
produced by sebaceous glands, located at its sides, which gives the hair elasticity and flexibility.
There are about 100,000 to 150,000 hairs on the human scalp, and each one is composed by 10%
of water, lipids, trace elements like iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, manganese and pigments such as
melanin, -which is a polymer that gives the hair its color-, and 90% proteins. These proteins are
called keratins (Greek κερατίνη, meaning "horn") and are distributed in 6 or 8 layers like
wrapped fibrous layers, spiraling to the left on the inner bark. The outermost of these layers is
called the cuticle; it prevents drying, and influences their brightness and color. The human hair
keratin is of the type alpha keratin. It is also found in nails and animal

horns. Composed by a large amount of sulfur, this type of

keratin is very tough, because its fibrous layers are bound together by ties or sulfur bridges; they
do not dissolve in water or saline solutions, and are elastic and resistant to breakage, heat, acidity
changes and putrefaction, giving the compound a strong structural strength and long life time.
The cuticle surrounds the middle part, the cortex, which holds the melanin, which produces the
hair color, and a bone in the center of the hair shaft that is responsible for the hair texture and
which provides the nutrients from the bulb.
The hair on the human head grows about one-half inch per month. What should be around 6
inches per year. Or what would also say, a millimeter every two days and eight or nine hours. It
grows faster between the adolescence and 30 years of age, and in women more rapidly than in
men. And it grows faster in summer than in winter.
The hair's shape is determined by the position in which it emerges from the scalp, and it depends
on the follicle position below the scalp: upright, gives straight hair, and at an angle or curved,
wavy hair.
Among the barbers' tasks were always to wave the hair or to make it straight or smooth,
depending on their customers' preferences.
The hair may be normal, with a balance in the emulsion of sebum, and in this case is bright and
smooth, or oily, when the emulsion is rich in fatty acids. And it's bright and sticky, or dry, when
the emulsion is low in fat and has little water; in this case the hair is rough and brittle.
Hair color is determined by the melanin housed in the hair follicle. Melanin is a polymer that
gives hair, skin and retina their color, and it's also a protection against UV radiation from the
sun.
Human hair contains two types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin, the most
abundant in human hair, has two colors: black or brown. The pheomelanin has a reddish hue.
Black or dark brown hair has a high concentration of black eumelanin. In the lighter brown,
brown predominates. In the gray hair there’s a low concentration of black eumelanin and other
pigments. In blond hair melanin is brown with the absence of other pigments. Redheads have a
high concentration of pheomelanin. The read hairs are uncommon: only between 1% and 5% of
Caucasian populations or leucodermics. The total absence of both melanins is albinism.
People with blond hair tend to have weak hair, but more of: about 150,000 in the scalp. At the
other extreme, redheads have less hair: about 90,000, but thicker. And as an average, the most
common people's hair is black or brown.
HAIR AND ETHNIC GROUPS -
The shape of the hair varies among different human ethnic groups. However, this is a pretty
outdated statement, due to the increasing mix of ethnic groups with each other in the world. Two
hundred years ago the differences were much more pronounced. Today, forms of hair are more
diverse than those outlined below, which are basic:
The Caucasian type (leucodermics) has, in general, less production of melanin pigmentation, not
only in hair but in the whole skin, and much variation in color: blond types, red-haired and
brown, dark and light, and black hair. In them, the follicle is circular and it's vertically
positioned, resulting straight or slightly wavy hair. They have less segregation of sebum, which
offers normal to dry hair. Hair becomes gray faster than among other groups.
The African phenotype (melanoderma) has elliptical follicles, oriented at an angle almost parallel
to the skin, causing very curly hair. They also have a high production of sebum, which makes it
brilliant and unctuous. Their follicles have a high production of black melanin, which gives dark
hair. Pigmentation preserved longer, and grays later. Native groups in Australia (Melanesians)
also have this type of hair.
The Oriental phenotype (xanthoderma) presents what is called lissothricic hairs that are straight
but tend to be more straight and stiff. The follicle is circular and forms a right angle to the skin.
The black melanin production is high and presents black or dark hair, and sebum production is
also abundant (bright and sticky). In this group, the hair grays later than the other two groups.
Among this group are also natives of Polynesia, Eskimos and Native Americans.
Just as it grows, the hair also drops out. It's common to lose between 50 and 100 hairs per day.
This is because its growth has well-defined cycles. There are three levels: the first one is a
growing phase, that lasts about 3 or 4 years. It is followed by a degeneration phase of three
weeks, and finally it's followed by a resting phase of three months, in which it drops out. Then,
the follicle begins to produce new cells and the growing cycle starts again. In general, 85% of
hair in the scalp is in growing phase and 15% in resting phase. The greater or lesser duration of
these periods varies from one person to another.
Our body is completely covered with hair, except the palms of the hands and feet, navel and
mucous membranes. We have about 5 million hairs in the body. But the hair that humans have in
their bodies now, is very few compared to what it was in prehistory.
21st century

Hairstyles
In the early 2000s womens hair was long and straight. Later natural wavy hair and shorter styles
like the bob cut and pixie cut made a comeback. During the mid-2000s, feathered curls that were
once a popular style worn by Farrah Fawcett during the 1970s[14] made a return as numerous
television and movie stars wore them. For black women cornrows, dreadlocks, a tamed-down
version of the Afro and Jheri curl were popular in the late 2000s, replacing the earlier
straightened hair.
For men over 25, short hair has been the norm since the mid 1990s. In the early 2000s this
usually took the form of a quiff although collar-length centrally parted curtained hair (as worn by
Tom Cruise) was also briefly popular in the US and remains so in Japan. Other popular haircuts
include spiky hair, buzzcut, flat top and fauxhawk. In the late 2000s beards, moustaches, stubble
and the goatee became popular in reaction to the effeminate metrosexual look.[15] This was due to
the success of Movember, a charitable event to support prostate cancer victims
For teenagers short hair like the buzzcut was popular in the early 2000s.[16] In the mid 2000s
longer hair became popular, including the wings (haircut) inspired by surfers and British indie
pop stars.[17] In the late 2000s the androgynous Harajuku inspired scene hairstyles (often dyed
bright colors) and eyeliner have become popular among girls and boys alike.[18] As an alternative
to the scene hairstyles, teenage girls opted for a preppy hairstyle that involved long, straight hair,
side-swept bangs and a side part, while boys wore side-swept surfer hair.

http://thehistoryofthehairsworld.com/end.html