Hair Maintenance in 18th-century America

Hair and
hairstyles have played an important role in the cultural identification of many
societies throughout time. Some societies, such as the Amish in the United
States and the Himba tribe of northern Namibia, still adhere to traditional
hairstyles that have meaning to them as a group. Outside of cultures that
assign meaning to traditional hairstyles, hair trends in general change over
time. Some are instantly recognizable, such as the ‘Victory rolls’ of the early
1940s.

Hair beauty was
an important societal norm in 18^th-century America; the trend taking
its cues from the royal courts of Europe. In addition to the appearance of
one’s clothing, the social status of people could be ascertained by the
physical appearance of their hair. Many tools were used to create the
appropriate hairstyle, including combs and brushes, wigs and hairpieces, powders,
curling irons, pomades, feathers, pins, jewels, and other objects.

The
comb is one of the oldest hair maintenance tools in the archaeological record. Hair
combs have been used for thousands of years and have been recovered from
ancient Egyptian and Scythian tombs and Chinese palaces. In Pennsylvania, combs
are recovered from Pre-contact American Indian sites and historic sites alike. 

American
Indian hair combs were generally carved from elk or deer antler.  Carved effigy figures depicted on the combs
include birds, humans, and animals, possibly related to their clan or oral traditions
associated with the figure. This bird effigy comb was from Lancaster County
dates to the early Pre-Contact period; unfortunately, only a portion of the
comb was recovered. The State Museum of Pennsylvania’s Archaeology Gallery exhibits
include a variety of decorative hair combs.

Bird effigy hair comb, Lancaster County (From the collections of the PHMC, The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

During the 18^th
century, combs served different purposes. Some combs were used for general hair
maintenance, some for cleaning the hair and removing pests, and some for
decorative reasons. Everyday utilitarian combs would typically have been made
from wood or bone, but decorative combs could be made from almost any material,
including tortoiseshell, ivory, gold or other metals, or animal horn or tusks.

Bone lice comb recovered from Ephrata Cloister (From the collections of the PHMC, The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

Brass wire decorative hair comb (missing its tines) from the French Azilum (36BR0134) site                    (From the collections of the PHMC, The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

The hairbrushes
below were recovered from excavations in downtown Philadelphia. The large,
wooden brush, possibly made from chestnut wood, is very plain. Although it may
have been painted or decorated at one time, the decoration is long gone. The
second brush is very finely made, carved from ivory with a delicate scalloped shell
design on the end. It’s small size and fine craftmanship indicate this brush
may have been a present for a child. All bristles, which would have been stiff hairs
from an animal such as a boar, are missing from both brushes. 

Wooden (top) and ivory (bottom) hairbrushes from excavations in Philadelphia (From the collections of the PHMC, The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

During this period,
hair was not washed as often as today. People used powders, made from corn and
wheat flour, to degrease their hair or massaged oils into the scalp to freshen
it. Other ‘shampoos’ used before this time included clays, plant products,
animal fats, eggs, ashes, alcohol, vinegar, soap, and many other different
natural mixtures. The first modern shampoos only came onto the market in the
early 20th century.

Powdered wigs
became fashionable in the mid-17^th century in the royal court of
France and the trend later spread to the rest of Europe and America. Wigs or
the natural hair were powdered with the above-mentioned powders.

In Colonial
America, wigs were generally worn by wealthy men. Wig-making was time consuming
and expensive, so only elite members of society would have worn wigs – think
Thomas Jefferson and many of the founding fathers. Additionally, maintenance
was required to keep the wig clean, styled, curled, and powdered, so one would
either need to visit a professional hairdresser periodically or would need to
have servants capable of completing this task.

Visit the
Colonial Williamsburg website Historic Trade:Wigmaker (colonialwilliamsburg.org) to view the steps to the making of a
wig and for other information on wigs and wig-making in the 18^th
century.

Another
important hair accessory in the 18^th century was the wig curler. Wig
curlers, sometimes called roulettes or bilboquet, were dumbbell-shaped clay
objects used to set curls in the hair of a wig. Depending upon the size and
tightness of the curl needed, wig curlers came in multiple sizes. These wig
curlers, recovered archaeologically from a site in Philadelphia, will produce
large and small sized curls.

There are many
other interesting facets to hair care in the 18^th century and
throughout history. Hair styles, maintenance and styling products, and societal
norms for both men and women have gone through as many changes as clothing
styles. The websites listed below are only a few of the many highlighting
aspects of hair style and trends throughout history.

We hope you
have enjoyed this blog and will continue to visit us as we highlight the
collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Section of Archaeology. We
invite you to view additional pieces from our collections.

Citations
and Additional Reading:

Boiling,
Baking, and Curling 18th-Century Wigs · George Washington’s Mount
Vernon

Historic Trade:Wigmaker (colonialwilliamsburg.org)

TheHistory Of Plastic Hairbrushes | Beckley Boutique

The Encyclopedia of Diderot &
d’Alembert Collaborative Translation Project (umich.edu)

 http://demodecouture.com/hairstyles-cosmetics-18th-century/

https://thehistoryofthehairsworld.com/hair_18th_century.html