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.
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.
imaginative ladies to create mini-bird cages complete with birds on top of their heads!
Following the decadence of the previous era,
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. 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.
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.
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 beautyHair 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.
1960’s. Complex hair styles were definitely ‘out’. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Facts about hair http://www.ukhairdressers.com/news3.asp
A blonde head of hair has usually much more strands than red or dark hair heads.
Hair consists mainly of keratin, which is also responsible for the elasticity of fingernails.
A single hair has a thickness of 0.02 - 0.04mm, so that 20 - 50 hair strands next to each other make one millimetre.
Hair is strong as a wire of iron. It rips after applying a force equivalent to 60kg, only after it stretched itself for about 70%.
Even on a good hair day, everyone loses at least 40 to 100 strands.
The average scalp has 100,000 strands, or just fewer than 1000 per square inch.
We are born with all our hair follicles. Some are programmed to grow pigmented hair (as on our scalp) up to 3 feet in length.
In America in '96, 38 million men and 19 million women experience common hair loss determined by heredity.
The trait for baldness can be passed down through paternal or maternal genes.
Hormone imbalance and crash dieting can trigger temporary hair loss.
The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery announced its top celeb manes -http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Photos+Best+Hair+Hollywood/3536555/story.html
- Penelope Cruz won the Best Hair vote, followed closely behind by Jennifer Aniston.
- Jennifer Aniston claimed second place in the hair contest, nabbing 40% of the votes.
- 17% of voters thought reality star Kim Kardashian has the best hair.
- Singer Beyonce Knowles drew nine per cent of votes.
- Actor Patrick Dempsey was chosen the male celeb with the manliest mane, with 54 per cent approval.
- Hugh Jackman earned 24 per cent of votes in the hair contest.
- Johnny Depp earned 10 per cent of votes for his shaggy mane.
- 12% of voters thought actor Tom Cruise has the best hair.
