Early Victorian hair

‘The typical early Victorian era hairstyle was parted down the middle and tied back, often with ringlets or braids at the sides. A woman’s hair was her “crowning glory” and cherished by poor and wealthy alike; only illness would usually force a haircut, but a tiny fraction would be trimmed or singed off monthly to encourage growth.

Washing hair was infrequent, due to the harshness of the soaps, so constant brushing cleaned the long tresses and distributed naturally occurring oil, along with the application of other oils/perfumes. Women also put puffs under their hair at the sides to give it more volume. This was to create an illusion that their waists were roughly the same size as their heads. Artists made a point of painting their subjects with these proportions. Women also had hair pieces crafted to be fastened to their heads. In the 1870’s curled hair became very popular, because the curling iron was introduced (first patented in 1866) and more elaborate hair styles were expected. Previous to this curling papers or rags would be worn at night (by men too) achieving limited success. Women with straight hair who desired waves or curls could achieve excellent results with this new curling iron invention, but the heat was damaging to their tresses and sometimes burned their hair, so the reasonable alternative consisted of a hairpiece with curls and plaiting, creating the illusion of spending hours on their coiffures. This fad boomed from the late 1860’s to about 1875.

Throughout the 1800’s women bleached their hair with various mixtures. The main ingredients diluted barium, potassium hypochlorite, and lemon juice. Blonde hair was very popular, because it gave young ladies an angelic aura, going nicely with the high moral standards. Brunettes who tried bleaching sometimes ended up with startling shades of red and dry brittle hair. Dying was achieved to limited degrees using organic compounds like henna, but in 1856 the first synthetic dyes were produced from coal tar. This led to cheaper, stable, enduring, and far more varied colours for fabrics, and long lasting black and brownish options for hair through the 1860’s and on. Silver nitrate was utilized to darken hair, and excessive use created a purple shade. It was generally ladies who wanted to hide grey hair who tried the dyes that were available. Bleaching continued with stronger and stronger chemical concoctions. Most of the solutions used for either dying or bleaching were harmful to the scalp, and ingredients included; lead, magnesium, sulphur, iron, glycerine and oxalic acid.

Note: the word shampoo was used throughout the 1800’s. It came from India, as a word for massage. It originally meant to wash and massage the body. By the late 1840’s it can be found included as a sort of scalp treatment, with a vigorous washing and exfoliating. Scurf was a common word for dead skin and dandruff, which would be washed or combed out using oils. By the late 1860’s, shampoo could mean to thoroughly wash with soap and water, and included the hair and scalp, with oils or grease worked in as well, and people would shampoo their teeth with charcoal tooth powder. ‘Hair wash’ was the term used for what we would consider shampoo today, marketed from the late 1830’s onward, to clean hair and remove dandruff.’

Fleming, R.S. (2013) Kate Tattersall adventures. Available at:
http://www.katetattersall.com/victorian-feminine-ideal-the-perfect-silhouette-hygiene-grooming-body-sculpting/ (Accessed: 30 March 2016).

Example of an early Victorian hairstyle

America, F.A. (2012) Victorian Hairstyles. Available at:
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/400538960580782401/ (Accessed: 30 March 2016).

In our first practical lesson with Helen, we did an early Victorian hairstyle. Below is a step by step guide on how to achieve this look:

Required equipment: Katy head, pin tail comb, grips, pins, paddle brush, hairband and sectioning clips.

Step-by-Step guide:

1. Brush the hair using a paddle brush to get rid of any knots.

2. You must section the hair into two parts. The first section will be at the front, till about behind the ears. Secure this with a sectioning clip.

3. The remaining hair from the crown downwards can be put into a plait or wrap bun. I chose to do a plait bun. In order to do this, I firstly tied this section of the hair with a hairband and plaited it (a basic plait). I then twisted the plait around in a circular shape. Finally using bobby pins, I tucked in the end of the hair to hold it in place. 

4. Moving onto the front section of the hair, I created a centre parting using a pin tail comb. I then plaited both sides of the hair (left and right) from about mid-section (right next to the ears) and incorporated this into to the plait bun I made earlier.

5. This sort of creates two loops on both sides of the head. Alternatively, you can put curls in (sausage shaped ones). The curls must be coming towards the face (about 2 or 3 rolls). Ensure to keep the tong straight. You can also decide to just leave the hair as it is and incorporate it into the bun to create that loop shape.

Refection:

Overall I enjoyed doing this hairstyle as you can kind of do your own thing with it. It’s very simple, quick and looks great. My chosen book is set in the 1840’s and my character is also female. For my timed assessment I think I will be doing a similar hairstyle to this, maybe with sausage rolls. If I was to redo this hairstyle, I’d probably wash the hair beforehand and roller set the hair just to give it a natural wave and soft texture. I felt like my Katy head had too much product in her hair, therefore my overall design didn’t come out exactly how I wished it to.

Key notes (taken in class):

• Coconut oil was highly used during this era.
• This was a moralistic and religious era. 
• Centre parting was hard, usually smooth till mid head. 
• Magazine plates are great to look at for inspiration. 
• Sewing machines were invented in the second half of the era. 
• Having baths and washing the hair became more accessible. 
• Men also had curly hair. 
• Moustaches were very popular for men.