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EveryHairstyle

History

Styles of the past: the powdered wig, the Gibson girl, the queue. 63 hairstyles on EveryHairstyle so far.

Hairstyles of the past show the tastes, rules and technology of their age. Ancient Egyptians wore wigs over shaved heads; Roman women built crests of curls; European men of the 17th and 18th centuries wore periwigs and women the fontange and the pouf; Qing China imposed the queue; and the 1920s brought the bob and the Eton crop. Many old styles return, renamed, decades later.

Courts and empires

The Fonseca bust in Rome shows the tall crest of curls of a woman of about AD 90 to 100. In 17th-century Europe, men of fashion wore a lovelock, a long tress over the left shoulder, and then periwigs. At Versailles the fontange rose around 1680 and the pouf in the 1770s. In Qing China, from 1645, Han men were made to wear the Manchu queue, a rule lifted only after 1912.

Revolutions in hair

After the French Revolution of 1789, wigs and powder gave way to short natural styles such as the Titus cut, named after the Roman emperor. In the 1920s many women cut their hair into bobs and the even shorter Eton crop, set with marcel waves. In mid-19th-century Scotland women wore their hair in a gathered knot called a cockernonnie. Hairstyles of the past live on in revivals, costume drama and the work of historians who recreate them.

Famous history hairstyles

FontangeThe tall headdress of about 1680 to 1710PoufThe towering style of the 1770sQueueImposed in Qing China from 1645LovelockA tress worn over the heart, late 1500s and 1600sRoman hairstylesCurls and braids of ancient RomeEton cropEton cropThe shortest cut of the 1920sTitus cutA short style after the RevolutionCockernonnieA 19th-century Scottish knot

Further reading

KindCutBraidUpdoPonytailLocsNaturalCurlsShavedFringeStyledWrappedAdorned
Hair typeStraight hairWavy hairCurly hairCoily and kinky hairFine hairThick hairAny hair
Worn byMostly womenMostly menAnyoneChildrenBrides and weddingsFaith and religious ordersUniform and workSubcultures and music
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy length
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBuyao A Chinese hairpin with dangling ornaments that sway when the wearer moves.Adorned · Any hair 🇬🇧 United KingdomSnood A net or cloth bag that holds hair at the back of the head.Wrapped · Any hair · 1590 🇮🇳 IndiaHead shaving in Hinduism A ritual act of head shaving in Hinduism for purification, mourning, and devotion.Shaved · Any hair 🇰🇷 South KoreaGache A heavy traditional Korean wig worn by high-status women and kisaeng.Wrapped · Any hair · 1788 🇪🇬 EgyptNemes Striped head cloth worn by ancient Egyptian pharaohs.Wrapped · Any hair 🇺🇸 United StatesTignon A wrapped cloth headdress worn by Creole women in Louisiana.Wrapped · Any hair · 1786 WorldHair stick A long, thin accessory used to secure hair buns and updos.Adorned · Any hair 🇪🇸 SpainPeineta Large decorative comb worn under a lace veilAdorned · Any hair · 1800 🇮🇳 IndiaTonsure A religious practice of cutting or shaving scalp hair to signal devotion, humility, or clerical status.Shaved · Any hair WorldBangs Strands of hair cut to cover the forehead and fall over the eyebrows.Cut · Any hair · 1880 WorldLong hair Head hair grown to a considerable length, often past the shoulders.Styled · Any hair 🇺🇦 UkraineOseledets Traditional Ukrainian Cossack style with a shaved head and long top lock.Shaved · Any hair WorldBun A hairstyle where hair is gathered and coiled into a circular shape on the head.Updo · Any hair WorldBowl cut A short haircut with a straight fringe and even length around the head.Cut · Any hair · 1400 🇫🇷 France and 2 morePompadour High-volume hair swept up and back from the forehead.Updo · Any hair · 1950 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreUndercut Long top hair with shaved or buzzed sides and back.Cut · Any hair · 1910 🇬🇧 United KingdomQuiff A voluminous front sweep with short sides and back.Styled · Any hair · 1950 🇪🇬 EgyptSidelock of youth Ancient Egyptian braided side hair worn by royal children.Braid · Any hair 🇺🇸 United StatesBeehive A conical updo piled high on the crown.Updo · Any hair · 1960 🇫🇷 France and 2 morePouf An elaborate 18th-century French hairstyle featuring extreme height and decorative ornaments.Styled · Any hair · 1775 Rattail 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreRattail A long strip of hair at the napeCut · Any hair · 1980 🇬🇧 United KingdomLovelock A single long braid worn over the left shoulder by 17th-century Europeans.Braid · Any hair · 1580 🇰🇷 South KoreaSangtu Traditional Korean topknot worn by married men.Updo · Any hair · 57 WorldShort hair A general category for haircuts kept above the shoulders or chin.Cut · Any hair · 1920 WorldMarcelling A heat-styled curl technique from the 1870s.Curls · Any hair · 1872 🇫🇷 FranceTitus cut Short layered cut with curls from late 18th-century FranceCut · Curly hair · 1791 Eton crop 🇬🇧 United KingdomEton crop A very short, slicked-down women's cut from the 1920s.Cut · Any hair · 1920 Historical Christian hairstyle WorldHistorical Christian hairstyles A survey of hair practices in Christianity from antiquity to the early modern period.Shaved · Any hair 🇫🇷 France and 1 moreHigh roll A towering 18th-century hairstyle built with frames and pomatum.Styled · Any hair · 1760 🇷🇺 RussiaRussian braid A traditional long plait from Russia with historic marital meanings.Braid · Any hair 🇬🇧 United KingdomCockernonnie A mid-19th century Scottish updo where hair was gathered into a bun.Updo · Any hair · 1850 🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreWig Artificial head covering made from human, animal or synthetic hair.Wrapped · Any hair Bettie bangs 🇺🇸 United StatesBettie bangs Short, straight-across fringe from the 1950s pinup era.Fringe · Straight hair · 1950 Jjok 🇰🇷 South KoreaJjok A traditional Korean bun for married women in the Joseon era.Updo · Any hair · 1724 Mizura 🇯🇵 JapanMizura Ancient Japanese hairstyle with side locksStyled · Any hair Densinkran 🇬🇭 GhanaDensinkran Short Ashanti mourning cut for royal womenCut · Any hair WorldBraids A hairstyle formed by interlacing three or more strands of hair.Braid · Any hair

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The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the hairstyle of the day, new pages on EveryHairstyle, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.