Methods of hairdressing illustrated by Romano-Egyptian portrait models in the Myers Collection, Eton College Museum.
(Photographs by Wilfred Mark Webb.)
PLATE VII.
The inhabitants of England at the time of the Roman invasion either did not shave at all or wore only a moustache. The Romans often cut their beards (see Plate [VII], Figure F.), and the Saxons parted their beards into double locks or neatly trimmed them. When the Normans came into this country they were closely shaved, but afterwards they went to the opposite extreme.
In the fourteenth century old men wore beards and the younger generation shaved. Edward III had a long beard, Edward II two small tufts on his chin, and in Edward IV’s time the beard was closely shaven. Afterwards we find that a tax was put on beards, and once more, in Elizabeth’s and the following reigns, we have a number of extraordinary fashions in connection with the hair on the chin. When we get to 1798, among the upper classes beards were again no longer worn, and there have been several changes since that time.
Apart from the prevailing fashion, there is, under the conditions which we have seen to govern the matter, considerable scope for the indulgence of individual taste, and often an effect is produced which is much more striking than otherwise would be the case. A man may choose, for instance, to grow a large pair of bushy whiskers, and he may thereby give character and importance to his face, which without them would be very insignificant. Curly hair is effective and has its advantages, therefore we find that it is carefully imitated both in the case of real hair and of wigs. The effect is now usually produced artificially only in connection with ladies’ hair. When dealing with this branch of the subject, once more we might allude to the monstrous toilets which have been built up in defiance of all laws of proportion and, we might add, of comfort and cleanliness also.
To utilize the hair from the heads of others is an ancient practice still to be met with, and all sorts of means for making the most of one’s own hair in the shape of pads and so on are still adopted.