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Mar 25, 1501
Queen Elizabeth
By the 16th century Queen Elizabeth was the main female icon and set the trends for the era. Her pale complexion and red tresses set women everywhere rushing for copious amounts of white face powder and red wigs. -
Mile-high Coiffures
The 18th century saw the emergence of elaborate wigs, tall coiffures & decorated curls. White powdered wigs with long ringlets were often tied back with a black bow for men or decorated with feathers, bows & garlands for women. Big hair was definitely the ‘in’ thing – the bigger the better. Some immensely tall coiffures took hours to create & were heavily starched and powdered. -
Elegant Era
Hair was supposed to look sleek, shiny & healthy & styles were altogether more elegant. The hair was smoothed down with oils & curled into long ringlets, fringes were short & decoration was more subtle. Hairnets were worn to keep curls back & clipped to the back of the head with a simple ivory comb or black bow. Later in the century hair was often plaited & wound into heavy coils pinned neatly to the nape of the neck. Neatness was the order of the day & ‘loose’ hair would have been vulgar. -
Roaring Twenties
Short, bobbed & waved styles, signifying the new independent, free-spirited, free-woman image of the day. Men’s hair remained short but worn with a center part & slicked back using highly perfumed oils. -
Rising Starlets
Soft curls falling onto the shoulders or long, wavy natural looks were popular. Shampoo & non-essential items were hard to come by. Women wore their hair in a neat roll around the nape & over the ears, often covered with a headscarf knotted at the front leaving only the fringe. Plastic hair rollers were an essential part of styling as was styling lotion to hold the hair in place for as long as possible. -
"Domestic Goddess"
Hair began to suffer abuse & was teased, sculpted, sprayed, permanently waved & forced into perfectly formed curls. Hair often resembled a perfect helmet & women started to visit salons on a weekly basis for the ‘shampoo & set.’ Men of the day were also prepared to spend time copying their idols James Dean & Elvis and greased back hairdo’s were adorned with long, heavy sideburns. -
"All American girl-next-door"
Complex hair styles were ‘out’ in the 60’s. Many favored short, back-combed hairstyles that could be quickly styled & held in place with hair spray, with a long, feminine fringe. Women who left their hair long wore it loose or in a simple ponytail, with flowers or ribbons during the fashionable ‘hippy’ phase. Hair was kept simple, the emphasis being on natural, healthy looks. Blonde was the color & darker hair was often given highlights and the sun-kissed look. -
Long, Free, & Natural
Manes of free-falling curls, soft partings and long fringes mainly inspired by the cult-series ‘Charlies Angels’. Male styling became softer with ‘feathered’ cuts, highlights & soft layers. Use of products was limited as the aim was ‘natural’ looking hair. Towards the end of the era, certain sections rebelled against floral, romantic image. ‘Punk’ briefly pre-vailed. Spiked hair, dyed vivid primary or fluorescent colours, tattooed scalps. -
Age of Excess
The long-bob was highly favored & precisely cut & evenly curled under a good hairdresser was an essential. The rebellious element on the other hand were busy following Madonna’s ever-changing style & were willing to sport unconventional, choppy off-coloured hairdo’s, to match their unconventional, eccentric clothing. -
Time of Constant Change
Hair & 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 & sleek with longer length layers, a ‘grown-out’ fringe & framed with highlights around the face. Also extremely popular were short, choppy styles. Messed-up hair was very much in but whether long or short, but a lot of women went blonde! Men preffered short &/or bald cuts.
