#the Victorians and their long hair

[die-rosastrasse]

My hair is starting to look positively Victorian

February 2025

[fayriequeene]

I finished my Ophelia costume for Halloween in plenty of time. So we went and did a quick photoshoot in the woods 🪷

[petitedeath]

Little drawing I just finished

[sygneth]

game of deduction

[deathlywounded]

The romantic look of a man in love, romantic dinner consequences, strawberry jam, all that.

Texture/coloring/anatomy from memory exercise with the best bb in BG3. Gonna be sharing Athios too because they come in a pack.

[la-belle-histoire]

A Young Woman Reading, Marie Bashkirtseff. 1880.

[fannyrosie]

Blue afternoon

Outfit rundown Jacket: second-hand Mary Magdalene Skirt: second-hand Victorian Maiden Blouse and underskirt: old The Floral Notebook (dead indie brand) Hat: vintage Parasol: Alice and the Pirates Gloves: second-hand Victorian Maiden Shoes: old Hotter Shoes Belt: thrifted Brooches and earrings: vintage

[insleywinsley]

The Perch. 2024. ph. Insley Smullen.

[yappingbitch73]

"some one show me which way to go, I need guiding in my choice, on what to do, someone has to heeelp me"

I think I'm gonna grow my hair long 🙀🤭

[snakerser]

Fixed colors

[winternymphaea]

EDWARDIAN HAIR CARE

REGULAR HAIR CARE

Hair was brushed every morning before dressing it, and should be brushed and put into a loose braid each night. In the summer, two braids was recommended for better ventilation.

Combs and brushes were to be washed after each use.

If one has the time and energy, a massage can be done daily. Many women with long, luscious locks claimed this to be the key to their hair.

Hair tonics were applied usually every other day. These often included oils that we still use for hair today (such as rosemary oil, bergamot oil and castor oil). Some were made for the scalp, other tonics were to be applied to the ends of the hair.

HAIR WASHING

Edwardians believed that shampooing too often would rid the hair of necessary oils, and cause the hair to become dry and fall out. I read some sources that claimed hair should be washed once a month, with some using dry shampoo methods to prolong the time between washes, stretching it out to 5 weeks. If the hair was prone to becoming greasy, you may want to wash it every 7-10 days. Other sources claimed that hair should be washed once a week. It seems women with longer hair agreed that hair should be washed as little as possible.

Shampoos were either made at home, or the hair was washed at a salon. There were many different shampoo recipes, though a very simple one was to mix two raw eggs and two tablespoons of water. A mug would have been used to properly rinse the hair out with clean water, until no particle of shampoo remained. The water would be as cold as they could bare it.

There were a few methods of drying the hair. Patting dry or wringing out hair with a towel, using a palm-leaf fan to fan the hair, sun and air drying. Some used a mixture of these methods. Some Edwardians liked to lay their hair out over a radiator to dry the hair in a much quicker manner, though they knew this would damage the hair, especially after the shampoo removed any protecting hair-oils.

Something to note here is that Edwardians used boar bristle hairbrushes, which distributes the oils of the hair evenly unlike many modern hair brushes. Since they were brushing their hair daily, this is how their hair was able to avoid the greasy look and have a longer time period between washes.

HAIR CUTTING / SINGEING / SPLIT ENDS TREATMENT

The Edwardians used singeing as a means for treating hair that is “impoverished or not in normal condition.” When the ends of one’s hair were dry and split, the hair would be subjected to burning, which was to be done by professionals. “Take strands of hair, twist them tightly — that there will be no draught — and then quickly run over each a lighted taper, that burns the tiny ends sticking out and does not affect the long growth.”

Hair singeing was not to be done more often than once in three months, and sometimes longer.

Many believed the superstition that hair singeing should not be done except when the moon in new.

Some also believed this hair-singeing to be the best method, and that the hair should not be cut with scissors, as it would “make the hair bleed,” (they thought the ‘unsealed’ ends from hair cutting would allow moisture from the hair to drip out, whereas burning would seal the ends).

[fayriequeene]

Last weekend I went to Wightwick manor to see some of the pre raphaelite art, and I sort of dressed up on theme 🌿

[marzipanandminutiae]

i'd love to learn just how victorian rational dress reformists would react at contemporary feminine hairstyles!

...in a similar line of thought do we have any records about their opinions on the Practicality of little girls hair or even the 20's bob (if some lived to see it)?

I'm not sure!

One of their biggest beefs with hair in their own time was often with hairpieces: false buns, curls, bangs/fringes, etc. used to augment one's natural hair. I'm not sure if they felt it weighed the head down or the extra pins were uncomfortable or what, but they didn't like it. false hair still exists, but its popularity has vastly waned. so maybe they'd think we had solved some issues- though long hair worn loose all the time would probably be seen as Hampering to women's daily activity

You do see some advocacy for short hair as an easier and sometimes healthier (??) option, but more often I've seen artistic and/or Dress Reform-oriented women with short hair who said nothing about it. You also have men who are...clearly just into ladies with short hair writing long Ye Olde Thinkpieces about how great it is. I mean, no shame there, I guess- everyone has their Thing. And while short hair on women was unusual, the Victwardians didn't seem to regard it with the same massive distrust and hand-wringing as conservative commentators of the 1920s did. Perhaps because it was less widespread?

The idea that little girls not only could have short hair but should was fairly common throughout the 19th century, obviously with variations. Similar reasoning was in play to that you might expect nowadays: that it was easier to care for, and that an active child wouldn't be hindered by it. there was also an idea, similar to that which led some women's hair to be cut off during serious illness, that short hair kept the head cooler and prevented or lowered fevers. I've actually read an admonition to keep children's hair short for just that reason in a book from the 1830s- The Ladies' Medical Oracle, by Elizabeth Mott. obviously this wasn't universal- see also: the original Alice in Wonderland illustrations, although it's worth noting that the real Alice Liddell had a bob as a child

(yes, little girls were expected to be active to a degree- even more if you're reading a book by someone who has experience with Actual Human Children. some doctors fretted that the uterus would be damaged by too much physical activity, but it seems like in practice, parents' were...again, aware of how real children behave. Longfellow's 1860 poem The Children's Hour describes his daughters storming his office to shower him with affection, quite energetically, and it was a smash hit)

as for how they reacted to 1920s bobs...well, most of the adult adopters thereof had at least lived through part of the Long Hair As Default For Women Edwardian era, and their thoughts ranged greatly on the subject. In fact, essays by Irene Castle (believed to be the originator of the trend in her late 20s c. 1913 or 1914, long before it caught on properly) and Mary Pickford (a late adopter at age 36 c. 1928) on why they had vs. hadn't cut their hair are often paired together as a commentary on how the trend was seen, along with others. sometimes these essays are rather strange- one wonders why these women, who must have lived when adult women all wore their hair up every day, describe the alleged oppression of "long, trailing locks." I guess when what you like has some social unacceptability, you might be inclined to phrase things in black and white thus

Dress reformers of the 1920s were more concerned with the deleterious effects of high-heeled shoes and the general idea that young women were encouraged to be too frivolous- and too loose in their sexual morals, as represented by the "short skirts"- actually about calf-length -and low-backed evening gowns of the era. that sounds kind of weird today, in the era of sex positivity, but earlier dress reform had, with a few exceptions, disavowed ideas of sexual freedom as thoroughly as mainstream society did. and I kind of get it- the notion that they advocated "free love" was often used to discredit genuine women's rights groups. still they weren't totally immune to sexual mores of their time, and some likely genuinely believed what they were saying

and that's not even getting into the Coiffure a la Titus trend of the late 18th-early 19th century, which had advocates claiming it was the best thing ever and detractors insisting it would result in women catching colds all the time. it was ever thus

anyway that's a bit of a long-winded answer, but I hope it helps!

[antiquebee]

1872

[deathlywounded]

Romantic dinner consequences.

Athios and Astarion 🗡️🍒

[savingsallow]

'This is the closest I've been to home in years...'

— Val (sometime during fifth year)