Hairstyles Over Centuries

As long as there have been human beings, the hair on their heads has been cared for and arranged. Hairstyles can tell us something about the personality of a man or a woman. They reveal details about the customs and peculiarities of different peoples and sometimes also about a person's position or profession.

These are the hairstyle periods over the centuries around the world...

1. Antiquity

The Egyptians (4000 - 300 B.C.)
Based on grave finds we know that the Egyptians cared for their hair with knives, hairpins and combs since 4000 B.C. Around 3000 B.C., they wore artistic wigs for important events. At that time, the Egyptians even began to dye their own hair or wigs. Blue, green, blonde and sandy colors, as well as gold dust were most frequently used.

The Greeks (1500 - 150 B.C.)
Between 1500 and 650 B.C., Greek women mostly wore long and curly hair. On frescoes painters often depicted corkscrew curls flowing from in front of the ears down to the chest. A bit later (500 - 300 B.C.), the woman had her hair swept together to a form a knot at the neck; this hairstyle is called "the Greek knot." Artistic knots and buns characterized the hairstyles between 300 and 150 B.C. During those years Greek women, whose hair is dark by nature, tried to lighten their hair with saffron.

2. Middle Ages

The Romans (500 B.C. - 500 A.D.)
The Romans (men and women) had very plain hairstyles. There two main types were the short, curly hairstyles and the plaited hairstyles. The Romans, who were famous for their personal artistic touch, added to their hairstyles various decorations made of gold, silver and ivory. Because Roman women were fascinated by the blonde hair of the Teutons, they often kept Teutonic slaves, whose blonde hair were cut and made into wigs. Besides that, wealthy Roman women sometimes had their hair lightened optically with gold dust.

Romanticism (900 - 1250 A.D.)
In the high Middle Ages, noble ladies and gentlemen enjoyed to wearing their hair in loose curls. Those who by nature had straight hair had it put into waves. Unlike the rich, the ordinary citizens kept their hair in a page-boy style, short or chin-length. Noble women wore flat bonnets that covered the hair of their heads, but showed the plaits decorated with ribbons and gold threads.

Gothic period (1250 - 1500 A.D.)
The church ruled that married women were not allowed to show their hair in public. Therefore, in this period, women wore hats and bonnets that covered their heads partly with veils. Also during that time, a high forehead was considered as very beautiful. Many women shaved their forehead hair to move their hairline upwards.

3. Modern Age

Renaissance (1500 - 1600)
During the Renaissance, harmony and symmetry were at the front of fashionable style. The body (including the hair) was again allowed to be shown. The hairstyles became growing more imaginative, though sometimes they were simply a retake on Roman and Greek hairstyles. Light colors such as blonde and gold were fashionable. People often tried to duplicate those colors with natural dye. The hairstyles were sometimes decorated with precious stones, ribbons and pearls.

Baroque (1600 - 1720)
In the beginning of the Baroque people wore "Spanish costumes" with very high collars, therefore men preferred short hair. Women still had long hair, but they combed it backwards or upwards where it was fixed with a wire frame.
After 1650, such hairstyles disappeared. Women mainly used a cross or a round parting in their hair. At that time, curly or plain fringes covered the forehead. Curly hair and goatees became fashionable. Therefore the French king, Louis the 13th, (who was getting bald very early) had a curly wig made.
At the end of the Baroque period, women combed their hair upwards again, some creating hair styles that reached up to 60 cm tall.

Biedermeier (1789 - 1848)
In the Biedermeier period, wigs disappeared and Roman and Greek hairstyles came to the forefront of fashion again. From 1804 onward, women again used ornamental combs, diadems, bonnets and silk ribbons more often. Mainly T-, V-, Y- or U-shaped partings were fashionable. Ladies were "required" to wear headgear such as bonnets, hats or turbans. These head coverings were often used together with the high hairstyles, which was not really comfortable.

Art Nouveau (1850 - 1914)
From 1850 onward, more and more people could afford to go to a hairdresser. In the beginning of this period, most people had French hairstyles, the typical sign of which was a middle parting. In Austria, Empress Elizabeth (Sissi) hit the headlines when she decorated her long hair with flowers. Around 1870, the hair was once more combed upwards and decorated. In 1872, crimping was invented. Hair was pulled over a hot iron and a wave was produced in that fashion. This hairstyle was called a "turned-up hairstyle." For quite a long time crimping was fashionable. Around 1890, there were hardly any high hairstyles left. Crimping also began to fade away as it became used less often than before. The new hairstyles turned out to be simple and practical.

4. 20th century

Various styles (1914 - today)
An important invention in the beginning of the 20th century was the permanent wave (known as the perm), that made it possible to remodel the hair permanently. The different types of curlers and gadgets that were used for the permanent waves were mostly uncomfortable and too complicated for customers. The hairstyles of the 20th century were influenced in part by technical possibilities; hairstyles were also influenced by the hairstyles of outstanding personalities and celebrities.

1st World War
As the role of women changed more and more, their shifted position in society could also be observed through their new hairstyles. For the first time, a French star hairdresser allowed himself to make a woman happy with a short hairstyle. Bobbed hair then became the fashionable hairstyle.

The Thirties and the 2nd World War
New technical gadgets such as the electric clippers and drying hoods made the hairdresser’s business easier. After the second’s World War women, chose to decorate their faces with chin-length, naturally swinging hairstyles. Permanent waves, which could be applied in a cold form, were still important

Various hairstyle from the sixties until 2000's era

References: www.thinkquest.org ; www.ourvanity.com