Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Anne]

I would be really interested to hear the result, if you choose this 
approach, because, to be honest, I never had much luck.  My hair is just 
to my waist, and I have found that hairdressers are more practised in 
putting up hair that is to shoulder-blades or shorter.  They don't seem 
to know where to "store" all the length, and weight, before doing fancy 
stuff with the last 8 inches.


Jean

Penny Ladnier wrote:
This is a thought...take an image of what you want and take it to a 
hairdresser that does bridal styles.  Ask them if they can recreate 
the style.  There are hairdressers that specialize in bridal up-dos.


Penny Ladnier (who grew my hair long in the early 1980s to look like 
Laura's hair on General Hospital)

Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
14 websites of fashion, textiles, & costume history

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume


___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Beteena Paradise]

I would expect having the very long hair would be an asset. After all, many of 
the styles use a lot of braids wrapped around creatively. Many people use 
braided hair pieces, but you could use your own hair because you would have the 
length. My problem is not the length but the thickness. I remember when I got 
my hair done for my wedding. They had to pincurl a lot of my hair to my scalp 
underneath my actual "do" because I would have just had too many curls. :p

Personally, I have never had luck with historic hairstyles from people who 
normally do up-dos. They just have a different mindset. (There is one exception 
but that was because she was interested in historic hair.) 





From: Anne 
To: Historical Costume 
Sent: Wed, April 28, 2010 12:32:31 PM
Subject: Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

I would be really interested to hear the result, if you choose this approach, 
because, to be honest, I never had much luck.  My hair is just to my waist, and 
I have found that hairdressers are more practised in putting up hair that is to 
shoulder-blades or shorter.  They don't seem to know where to "store" all the 
length, and weight, before doing fancy stuff with the last 8 inches.

Jean

Penny Ladnier wrote:
> This is a thought...take an image of what you want and take it to a 
> hairdresser that does bridal styles.  Ask them if they can recreate the 
> style.  There are hairdressers that specialize in bridal up-dos.
> 
> Penny Ladnier (who grew my hair long in the early 1980s to look like Laura's 
> hair on General Hospital)
> Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
> www.costumegallery.com
> 14 websites of fashion, textiles, & costume history
> 
> ___
> h-costume mailing list
> h-costume@mail.indra.com
> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
> 
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Chiara Francesca]

Here is something that I threw together decades ago from an old doll pattern, 
hope it helps. :)

http://www.glove.org/costume/hair/

♫
Chiara Francesca
"Which 'Chiara'...?? Nah... wasn't me ;-)"


> -Original Message-
> From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com]
> On Behalf Of ladybeanofbun...@aol.com
> Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 11:08 PM
> To: h-cost...@indra.com
> Subject: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:
> 
> Hello fellow costumers.
> ?
> I wanted to thank those of you who offered your suggestions on mounting
> swags onto my 1880s balldress. Your advice helped immensely in the
> creation process and everything went together mostly as planned. My
> only frustration was that once the decorative parts were?tacked by
> hand?in place, they lost the smoothness upon laying across the edges of
> the bodice as had been when initially pinned in place and puckered in
> some spots.
> ?
> After much effort and little discovery though, arranging my hair in a
> nice period coiffure seems entirely inpossible! Many people I know
> chose to wear wigs or hair pieces when in costume and although this
> looks very nice, I have been painstakingly growing out and caring for
> my own hair for 7 years now solely for the purpose of doing these
> styles naturally. However, I cannot seem to find a way to do it.
> Perhaps because I am not very experienced styling hair?
> ?
> If there is anyone who could and would be interested in training me on
> how to put my hair up in some styles it would be so very appreciated
> and would be willing compensate you for your assistance. My hair is
> currently down to the bottom of my back or longer. I don't know because
> I usually brush it out at the side and put it right back up so I
> haven't measured lately.? Also, I live just outside of Philadelphia PA.
> Thank you so much :)
> ?
> Kindest Regards,
> 
> Delaware Valley Ladies and Gentlemen Society
> lady_of_bris...@yahoo.com
> www.DVLGS.org
> ?
> 
> ___
> h-costume mailing list
> h-costume@mail.indra.com
> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume


___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Sharon Collier]

There are women in the "braiding booth" at Dickens Faire and Ren Faire who
put up long hair beautifully. They do elaborate braids, and then arrange the
braids. Lovely. I don't know if there is a link to them on the Dickens site
(www.dickensfair.com) 
If not, you can contact the Dickens fair folks. They have photos in a book
outside the booth.
-Original Message-
From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On
Behalf Of Anne
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 4:33 AM
To: Historical Costume
Subject: Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

I would be really interested to hear the result, if you choose this
approach, because, to be honest, I never had much luck.  My hair is just to
my waist, and I have found that hairdressers are more practised in putting
up hair that is to shoulder-blades or shorter.  They don't seem to know
where to "store" all the length, and weight, before doing fancy stuff with
the last 8 inches.

Jean

Penny Ladnier wrote:
> This is a thought...take an image of what you want and take it to a 
> hairdresser that does bridal styles.  Ask them if they can recreate 
> the style.  There are hairdressers that specialize in bridal up-dos.
>
> Penny Ladnier (who grew my hair long in the early 1980s to look like 
> Laura's hair on General Hospital)
> Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
> www.costumegallery.com
> 14 websites of fashion, textiles, & costume history
>
> ___
> h-costume mailing list
> h-costume@mail.indra.com
> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
>
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Sharon Collier]

Many people save their hair, the stuff that ends up in their brush, for use
in fancy hair styles. They make a "rat" of it and pin/arrange the rest of
the hair over it. Also, many fancy hairstyles used false pieces. There is a
scene in "Jefferson In Paris", where the daughter is upset, and pulls her
hairstyle down, pulling out the false pieces as she does.
The folks at the Dickens fair, in SF, braid long hair, then arrange the
braids in elaborate styles. 
If you do a Google image search "period hairstyles", the very first picture
(of Gwyneth Paltrow in "Emma"), will take you to an article and if you click
on the "In Timely Fashion" link, it takes you to a site which shows how to
arrange hair into various styles.

-Original Message-
From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On
Behalf Of ladybeanofbun...@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 11:08 PM
To: h-cost...@indra.com
Subject: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

Hello fellow costumers. 
?
I wanted to thank those of you who offered your suggestions on mounting
swags onto my 1880s balldress. Your advice helped immensely in the creation
process and everything went together mostly as planned. My only frustration
was that once the decorative parts were?tacked by hand?in place, they lost
the smoothness upon laying across the edges of the bodice as had been when
initially pinned in place and puckered in some spots. 
?
After much effort and little discovery though, arranging my hair in a nice
period coiffure seems entirely inpossible! Many people I know chose to wear
wigs or hair pieces when in costume and although this looks very nice, I
have been painstakingly growing out and caring for my own hair for 7 years
now solely for the purpose of doing these styles naturally. However, I
cannot seem to find a way to do it. Perhaps because I am not very
experienced styling hair? 
?
If there is anyone who could and would be interested in training me on how
to put my hair up in some styles it would be so very appreciated and would
be willing compensate you for your assistance. My hair is currently down to
the bottom of my back or longer. I don't know because I usually brush it out
at the side and put it right back up so I haven't measured lately.? Also, I
live just outside of Philadelphia PA. 
Thank you so much :)
?
Kindest Regards,

Delaware Valley Ladies and Gentlemen Society lady_of_bris...@yahoo.com
www.DVLGS.org ?

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Robin Netherton]

Sharon Collier wrote:

Many people save their hair, the stuff that ends up in their brush, for use
in fancy hair styles. They make a "rat" of it and pin/arrange the rest of
the hair over it. Also, many fancy hairstyles used false pieces. There is a
scene in "Jefferson In Paris", where the daughter is upset, and pulls her
hairstyle down, pulling out the false pieces as she does. ...


I think the original poster's problem was not that she had too little hair to 
do the styles (something modern hairdressers can be pretty good at 
compensating for, particularly in bridal styling) but rather, she needed help 
dealing with a large quantity of hair, which is in many cases more 
historically accurate. As someone brought up earlier, these days a mainstream 
hairdresser thinks shoulder-length counts as "long," and modern instructions 
for fancy styles are written assuming a shorter-than-period length.


I'm of an age now where I can only look forward to having less hair over time 
rather than more, even though I haven't cut it since I was 17 and don't ever 
intend to. Thanks to the natural effects of aging, my braid has lost a third 
of its length and half its thickness in the last 10 years. But I still have 
enough hair for two or three modern people, I think. One thing I've found 
makes a crucial difference in doing elaborate hairstyles is texture, 
particularly slipperiness. Some people have naturally smooth/straight hair, 
but this becomes even worse to deal with if you use modern hair care products, 
particularly conditioners. Those make your hair smoother, and it will slip 
right out of many arrangements. It's important to remember if you read 
Victorian instructions for hairstyles that the people those instructions were 
written for had, in general, a very different texture to their hair than 
people do now.


One option is to overload the hair with gels, powders, or other additives when 
you do the styling, to make it "stickier," but this can get pretty nasty and 
heavy, and may cause other problems with the styling. Another solution -- but 
this takes a longer-term commitment -- is to adopt a pre-modern hair care 
regimen. That means no shampoo or conditioner at all, just extensive brushing 
in a way that cleans the hair, and periodic rinsing with water or herbal 
infusions. We've had extensive discussions about this on the list periodically 
in the past, but it's been a few years since it's come up.


After we talked about non-modern hair care regimens here in 2000, I tried it 
myself, with great success. Any of you who have met me in the past 10 years 
will know how good my hair looks -- and I haven't used shampoo more than four 
or five times in that period (mostly in cases where I needed to get out 
something like chlorine after swimming). My hair has tremendous body, is not 
oily at all, and if I style it, it stays where I put it.


--Robin

p.s. Here are some recent photos of me dancing, which give a good view of my 
hair in motion: 
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034901&id=1238106328&l=86e96422ff


FB people, please don't friend me at the above page unless you are 
particularly interested in me rattling on about my kids. My costume friends 
are welcome at my *other* FB page -- search on resea...@netherton.net


___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Lavolta Press]

On 4/27/2010 11:08 PM, ladybeanofbun...@aol.com wrote:

Hello fellow costumers.
?
I wanted to thank those of you who offered your suggestions on mounting swags 
onto my 1880s balldress. Your advice helped immensely in the creation process 
and everything went together mostly as planned. My only frustration was that 
once the decorative parts were?tacked by hand?in place, they lost the 
smoothness upon laying across the edges of the bodice as had been when 
initially pinned in place and puckered in some spots.
?
After much effort and little discovery though, arranging my hair in a nice 
period coiffure seems entirely inpossible! Many people I know chose to wear 
wigs or hair pieces when in costume and although this looks very nice, I have 
been painstakingly growing out and caring for my own hair for 7 years now 
solely for the purpose of doing these styles naturally.


For many Victorian hairstyles (although obviously this is a long time 
period and numerous hairstyles were in fashion at different times), 
natural long hair is just insufficient. Even long-haired Victorians 
often wore hair pieces, sometimes several in the same coiffure.
I've grown my hair for years too, so I know where you're coming from. 
But basically, all anyone really _needs_ is enough hair to put the hair 
pieces on. Hair pieces do have the advantage that if you have a cluster 
of curls, or a braid, or whatever, you do not have to keep restyling 
that piece them every single time you do the hairstyle. You just attach 
them. Sure, with long hair you may need one fewer hair piece for a 
style,  but having or not having long hair is mostly a matter for your 
modern daily lifestyle.


Fran
Lavolta Press
Books on historic clothing
www.lavoltapress.com

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Kimiko Small]

May I suggest finding an Asian hairdresser who is used to dealing with Asian 
brides? When I got married I had my hair done at the Luxor hotel in Los Vegas, 
and the woman was very used to working with Asian long hair (mine was waist 
length). She knew exactly how to put most of it up, and then do very pretty 
curls with the ends. Took a ton of bobby pins and nearly an hour of hard work, 
but the final effect was gorgeous for my otherwise simple wedding day.

 Kimiko Small
http://www.kimiko1.com
"Be the change you want to see in the world." ~ Ghandi


The Tudor Lady's Wardrobe pattern
http://www.margospatterns.com/



- Original Message 
> From: Anne 

> I would be really interested to hear the result, if you choose this approach, 
> because, to be honest, I never had much luck.  My hair is just to my waist, 
> and I have found that hairdressers are more practised in putting up hair that 
> is 
> to shoulder-blades or shorter.  They don't seem to know where to "store" 
> all the length, and weight, before doing fancy stuff with the last 8 
> inches.


  
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Lavolta Press]

One option is to overload the hair with gels, powders, or other
additives when you do the styling, to make it "stickier," but this can
get pretty nasty and heavy, and may cause other problems with the
styling. Another solution -- but this takes a longer-term commitment --
is to adopt a pre-modern hair care regimen.


For the 19th century at least, the "they got the texture and body by 
never washing their hair" is a reenactor's myth. In fact, people were 
using the equivalents of modern hair products, whether these came in a 
bottle with a label or not. I know the early 19th century is not the 
same as the later 19th century--though I've done some research on that 
too. But, here is a list of some home recipes from my book on the 1820s, 
_The Lady's Stratagem.


Four kinds of depilatory (most containing quicklime and various forms of 
arsenic). Also, directions for plucking unwanted hairs


Oil for making the hair grow (vegetable oil and spirit of rosemary)

Four kinds of pomatum/pomade (perfumed animal fats)

Ten kinds of "antique" oils (perfumed nut or vegetable oils, sometimes 
with additions such as gum guaiac, which had stiffening properties.
These recipes include the long-popular Macassar oil). Oils would render 
the hair more slippery than most modern conditioners


Two curling fluids (consisting of soap melted with such ingredients as 
alcohol and potash)


About ten vegetable hair dyes

In addition to directions for sponge-washing the hair without immersing 
the whole head--where much of the soap would likely remain in the hair 
after the process is over and therefore stiffen it--there are period 
arguments for and against vigorously immersing and washing the whole 
head full of hair. Arguments against: It causes headaches, earaches, 
toothaches, complaints of the eyes, wrinkles, and head colds.


Arguments for: "Nothing contributes more to prevent these very 
consequences than frequently washing the head with tepid water, that is, 
about milk-warm. When the hair is very long, or when much use is made of 
hair oils and pomatums, I cannot imagine how the hair can be rendered 
comfortable without frequently washing it." And more of same.


I would suggest that for any given historic period, anyone arguing 
either that the hair was never washed or that "hair products" were not 
used to change the texture, look at any available books of beauty 
recipes for that period.


Fran
Lavolta Press
Books on historic clothing
www.lavoltapress.com

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Lavolta Press]

There are also various references to using gum Arabic (glue) to make the 
hair stay in curl.


Fran
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Robin Netherton]

Lavolta Press wrote:

For the 19th century at least, the "they got the texture and body by 
never washing their hair" is a reenactor's myth. In fact, people were
using the equivalents of modern hair products, whether these came in a 
bottle with a label or not. 


You're right about that; it's an oversimplification. That's why I didn't say 
"never washing" -- I said I don't use *modern* shampoo or conditioner, which 
are products that have a very different effect from most of the oils, etc. you 
go on to helpfully describe.


Arguments for: "Nothing contributes more to prevent these very 
consequences than frequently washing the head with tepid water, that is, 
about milk-warm. When the hair is very long, or when much use is made of 
hair oils and pomatums, I cannot imagine how the hair can be rendered 
comfortable without frequently washing it." And more of same.


That pretty much describes what I do -- warm-water rinses. I often use 
rosemary in my rinses, one of the ingredients mentioned in your list. I also 
sometimes do sponge-washing as you describe. The key for me is not using a 
modern shampoo, which is designed to remove the oils -- which I think is what 
most people today would consider "washing."


Most of the products you describe are oils/fats, which are used in a number of 
other cultures, not only Victorian England. I think most people today would be 
horrified at the thought of adding oil to their hair! In my experience, 
though, adding oil does not "render the hair more slippery than most modern 
conditioners" -- there's a difference; conditioners make my hair, at least, 
very slick, and oils (when I need them) do not. Maybe oils are absorbed more, 
or differently, into the hair shaft? Do conditioners include glycerins or 
other ingredients that behave differently from oil? I'm not a chemist.


I think I'll skip the potash and alcohol mixes, though ;-)

Another factor worth considering is frequency of cleaning. Today's typical 
regimen, for many people, assumes daily washing with shampoo, a phenomenon 
that developed within my lifetime. 50 years ago, washing once a week seemed 
more the norm. This difference really has an effect on the oil balance in the 
hair and scalp. I don't know what frequency of washing/rinsing is recommended 
in the Victorian manuals, and I'd be curious to know.


--Robin

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Lavolta Press]

Another factor worth considering is frequency of cleaning. Today's
typical regimen, for many people, assumes daily washing with shampoo, a
phenomenon that developed within my lifetime. 50 years ago, washing once
a week seemed more the norm. This difference really has an effect on the
oil balance in the hair and scalp. I don't know what frequency of
washing/rinsing is recommended in the Victorian manuals, and I'd be
curious to know.



I'd suggest a Google Books search for original manuals as the easiest 
way to start, if not necessarily finish, research on this subject.


Fran
Lavolta Press
www.lavoltapress.com
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[albertcat]

In addition to directions for sponge-washing the hair without immersing the 
whole head--where much of the soap would likely remain in the hair after the 
process is over and therefore stiffen it--there are period arguments for and 
against vigorously immersing and washing the whole head full of hair. Arguments 
against: It causes headaches, earaches, toothaches, complaints of the eyes, 
wrinkles, and head colds. 
 



*


Imagine tons of wet hair in a fireplace or coal stove heated houseon a cold 
day


in a age without antibiotics.




Which puts me in mind of one of my favorite paintings by one of my favorite 
artists:  "Sunday, Women drying their hair" by John Slone.. This is 1912 so 
it's not really Victorian, but...


http://www.metmuseum.org/special/americanstories/objectView.aspx?sid=5&oid=35




Notice the length.




 
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Carol Kocian]

 There are salons that specialize in long hair, conditioning  
rather than cutting. While they may also have modern sensibilities  
regarding styles, they do know how to handle long lengths. The idea  
of bringing a picture or two is a good one.


 The George Michael Salon in New York has affiliates and also  
trains people who might work in a salon or independently in other  
cities.


 Also check discussion forums for long hair enthusiasts. They  
should be able to recommend someone in your area.


 -Carol


On Apr 28, 2010, at 7:32 AM, Anne wrote:

I would be really interested to hear the result, if you choose this  
approach, because, to be honest, I never had much luck.  My hair is  
just to my waist, and I have found that hairdressers are more  
practised in putting up hair that is to shoulder-blades or  
shorter.  They don't seem to know where to "store" all the length,  
and weight, before doing fancy stuff with the last 8 inches.


Jean

Penny Ladnier wrote:
This is a thought...take an image of what you want and take it to  
a hairdresser that does bridal styles.  Ask them if they can  
recreate the style.  There are hairdressers that specialize in  
bridal up-dos.


Penny Ladnier (who grew my hair long in the early 1980s to look  
like Laura's hair on General Hospital)


___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Penny Ladnier]

Carol,

Is the long hair email list that you and I belonged to still around?  I 
offered to pick up the list when they were closing it.  but never heard back 
from the owner.


Penny Ladnier
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
14 websites of fashion, textiles, & costume history 



___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Penny Ladnier]

I collect hair care and style articles.  They are in the subscription area 
of my Library, http://www.pasthairstyles.com/.  I have hair care manuals 
online from 1899 and 1911.  A study in the 1899 manual about women marriage 
success according to their hair color.  It is so funny!  I have several more 
articles to put online.  I recently purchased an 1868 Harper's with 
step-by-step directions for a ladies' hairstyle.  This was accomplished with 
the ladies' own long hair.  It doesn't look difficult to do.


Since the film, The Young Victoria, came out, the Queen's hairstyles have 
become fashionable again in tweens and teenagers.


Penny Ladnier
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
14 websites of fashion, textiles, & costume history 



___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Lavolta Press]

When I was using a run of 1867-1868 _Harper's Bazars_ for 
_Reconstruction Era Fashions_, what struck me were the numerous 
descriptions purchased chignons, a term used to cover a wide variety of 
hair pieces/styles attached more or less to the back of the head. I put 
some of this information in the book.


Fran
Lavolta Press
Books on Historic Clothing
www.lavoltapress.com

I recently purchased an 1868

Harper's with step-by-step directions for a ladies' hairstyle. This was
accomplished with the ladies' own long hair. It doesn't look difficult
to do.

Since the film, The Young Victoria, came out, the Queen's hairstyles
have become fashionable again in tweens and teenagers.

Penny Ladnier
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
14 websites of fashion, textiles, & costume history

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume



___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[ladybeanofbunny1]

 ? "I think most people today would be  horrified at the thought of adding oil 
to their hair!"
Believe it or not, aside from having to full submersion cleanse my hair maybe 
once every week or every other week, part of my regime in doing so involves 
combing in an herbal Indian hair oil I buy at Subzi Mandi nearby. I find this 
to be a much more effective means of pretending tangles and a few days after my 
hair completely dries (I keep it wrapped all the time) it regains all it's 
slipperiness. As you can imagine, by the time wash day comes along for my hair 
it is raring to go in terms of oils and great texture, it's just the my main 
issue is the actual arrangement of my hair pieces into a period hairstyle that 
is the problem. 
I will keep in mind hair dressers for Asian weddings as I have seen what 
gorgeous styles are worn for traditional weddings (not to mention the 
headpieces in Chinese culture). I did try a modern pomade once that I purchased 
from the Afro-American section of the beauty department and it was great! Only 
problem after using it was that I couldn't wash it out because it was so waxy 
and thick, not even Dawn could take it out right away. 

Justine Jackson
DVLGS Organizer 
www.DVLGS.org
 



-Original Message-
From: Lavolta Press 
To: Historical Costume 
Sent: Wed, Apr 28, 2010 9:57 pm
Subject: Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

   When I was using a run of 1867-1868 _Harper's Bazars_ for  _Reconstruction 
Era Fashions_, what struck me were the numerous  descriptions purchased 
chignons, a term used to cover a wide variety of  hair pieces/styles attached 
more or less to the back of the head. I put  some of this information in the 
book.?
?
 Fran?
 Lavolta Press?
 Books on Historic Clothing?
 www.lavoltapress.com?
?
 I recently purchased an 1868?
 > Harper's with step-by-step directions for a ladies' hairstyle. This was?
 > accomplished with the ladies' own long hair. It doesn't look difficult?
 > to do.?
 >?
 > Since the film, The Young Victoria, came out, the Queen's hairstyles?
 > have become fashionable again in tweens and teenagers.?
 >?
 > Penny Ladnier?
 > Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites?
 > www.costumegallery.com?
 > 14 websites of fashion, textiles, & costume history?
 >?
 > ___?
 > h-costume mailing list?
 > h-cost...@mail.indra.com?
 > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume?
 >?
 >?
 ___?
 h-costume mailing list?
 h-cost...@mail.indra.com?
 http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume?
  
  

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[ladybeanofbunny1]

 There is a very good reason why people did not bathe that way until warmer 
weather and it had a lot to do with the simple fact that it was too cold to do 
so in winter. 

 



-Original Message-
From: albert...@aol.com
To: h-cost...@indra.com
Sent: Wed, Apr 28, 2010 3:29 pm
Subject: Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

 
 
 
 
 
In addition to directions for sponge-washing the hair without immersing the  
whole head--where much of the soap would likely remain in the hair after the  
process is over and therefore stiffen it--there are period arguments for and  
against vigorously immersing and washing the whole head full of hair. Arguments 
 
against: It causes headaches, earaches, toothaches, complaints of the eyes,  
wrinkles, and head colds.  
  
 
 
 
* 
 
 
Imagine tons of wet hair in a fireplace or coal stove heated houseon a cold 
 
day 
 
 
in a age without antibiotics. 
 
 
 
 
Which puts me in mind of one of my favorite paintings by one of my favorite  
artists:  "Sunday, Women drying their hair" by John Slone.. This is 1912 so 
it's  
not really Victorian, but... 
 
 
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/americanstories/objectView.aspx?sid=5&oid=35 
 
 
 
 
Notice the length. 
 
 
 
 
  
___ 
h-costume mailing list 
h-costume@mail.indra.com 
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume 
 

  

___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

Re: [h-cost] Victorian Hair:

[Lavolta Press]

On 4/28/2010 7:28 PM, ladybeanofbun...@aol.com wrote:

  There is a very good reason why people did not bathe that way


 until warmer weather and it had a lot to do with the simple fact

 that it was too cold to do so in winter.

The 1820s advice manuals for the middle classes that I used for _The 
Lady's Stratagem_ strongly advised bathing in a tub as "the principal 
means of health and freshness." The routine was "once a week in all 
seasons, and two or even three times in the hottest weather" (when, of 
course, people sweat more). The time dictated for the bath was "at least 
an hour and a half." Also advised (this is explicitly stated as an 
addition to the tub bath routine) was bathing the armpits and feet every 
morning and evening. A daily tub bath was advised for those who wished 
to gain weight.


I grew up in an 1859 farmhouse that was virtually unaltered when my 
parents bought it, and the later improvements in plumbing and heating 
went through long phases of nonfunctionality. I've taken lots of winter 
baths where the water was heated on the stove and poured into the tub. 
The water keeps you warm, so it's not too bad, although getting out of 
the tub into a drafty bathroom is uncomfortable for a few minutes.


Shower baths were considered more uncomfortable (though bracing) but 
they seem to have been taken cold.


Fran
Lavolta Press
www.lavoltapress.com
___
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume