History of Hairdressing
Many early customs of hairdressing were based on tradition and ceremonial practices. In some primitive tribes, for example, men fastened trophies in their hair as symbols of their bravery. Disordered hair, strewed with ashes, is an ancient sign of mourning.
The ancient Egyptians and Persians shaved their hair and covered their heads with wigs. The first people to have professional hairdressers were probably the Greeks, and there was a flourishing curler industry in Athens. Some Greek hairstyles, such as the Grecian knot, are occasionally revived in modern times. The ancient Romans were accomplished at dyeing hair and often bleached their dark hair blonde. As a bleaching agent, they used a mixture of goat’s fat and ashes.
From the fall of the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages it was customary for women to cover their heads with veils. The display of hair was considered unbecoming and immodest for a lady. In the 14th century, women began to decorate their veils and to arrange them so that some hair was visible at the sides of the head. By the 16th century the veil concealing the hair had been discarded.
In the 16th century the practice of powdering hair came into vogue, and it remained popular throughout the 17th century and most of the 18th century. When King Louis XIV of France began to wear towering wigs to add to his height, courtiers and noblemen, first in France and later in England, followed his example.
Women soon imitated the elaborate hairstyles of the men. They powdered their lofty wigs, often used wire and flour paste to keep them in place, and curled the hair at the temples. After the French Revolution these elaborate hairdressings went out of fashion.
In the early part of the 20th century, women revolutionized female hairdressing by bobbing, or cropping, their hair short. Although innumerable variations have become popular since then, there were no drastic changes in hairstyles until the 1960′s, when it once again became fashionable for women to wear wigs.