Hair Care: Its Origin and History

Hair Care: Its Origin and History

Posted By Vien
I'm sure that you have heard that it is important to take care of your hair, but what exactly does this mean? What exactly is hair? How did the idea of hair care originate? And why should we be concerned about taking care of our hair when there are so many other things we could be doing with our time? The answers to these questions are rooted in human history and culture. This article will explore how people have taken care of their hair through the ages and how contemporary products can help us maximize its beauty potential.


What is Hair?
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial that grows from hair follicles found in the dermis. It is made of keratin, a protein. Hair consists of three layers: root, cortex, and cuticle. The thickness of each layer differs among various types of hair.


Brief History of Hair Care
There is no denying the fact that hair care products have been around for a long time. However, it's difficult to say exactly when people started using them. One thing is for sure: there were people who back then or even earlier had beautiful hair and knew how to take care of it.


The Ancient Times



Source: Wall painting from the tomb of Menna
Hair care has been around for thousands of years. It's a big part of our culture, and it is important to us as humans. In fact, it can be said that hair care is one of the oldest forms of art and expression in all of human history.

To preserve their hair from the scorching temperature, ancient Egyptian women opted for lotions made of both animal and plant fats (such as castor and almond oil), while the men decided to shave their heads. According to the discovery of mummies buried with curling tongs, good hair care items were apparently so vital that they were even brought to the afterlife.

Ancient Greeks used olive oil to maintain their hair in addition to using it in cooking. In addition, bee wax, lotions, and ointments were used to make the hair more brilliant.

The first known treatment for hair loss was a baldness remedy from 4000 BC. As a result, the mother of King Serti suggested a combination of dates, dog paws, and donkey hooves. Everything was cooked in oil and used regionally.

Around 1500 BC, Assyrian monarchs and nobility favored curly hair. They started a fashion that is still popular today, albeit a little more safely, by having their hair curled with iron bars cooked in a fire to accomplish the effect.


11th - 18th Century Period



Source: Lady by unknown artist, 18th Century 
To make hair gel, lizard tallow—which is made from animal fat—was combined with swallow droppings around the year 1300. Olive oil was also used by women to boil dead lizards in order to condition their hair.

Women used fat to set their hair in the 1600s. This may not sound too horrible, but the fragrance attracted rats at night, forcing women to sleep with nightcaps or even cages over their heads to safeguard their locks. Women in the US preferred to use oil and eggs combined.

During the Age of Enlightenment, lice were a major issue during this time, which is why men shaved their heads and donned wigs. The most popular hue was white; the wealthy kept their wigs white with starch and oils like lavender while the impoverished relied on putting a lot of flour on their wigs.

Hair care products during the Victorian and Edwardian eras were mostly utilized to address baldness and graying. These items were typically constructed of hemoglobin, a substance found in the blood of bulls.


Coming of Age Hair Care 1900s

German scientist Hans Schwarzkopf produced the first actual commercial shampoo in 1898. His water-soluble powder shampoo was an immediate hit, and other different liquid shampoos quickly followed. Bathing had established itself as a fundamental component of personal hygiene by the turn of the century, and shampoos had begun to proliferate.

Since commonly used shampoos were known to dry out and damage hair, it was often advised to shampoo as frequently as every two weeks (ideally using castile soap or tar soap), or even every four to six weeks, if the hair was in good condition. 1950 saw the release of the first synthetic shampoos, while 1963 saw the debut of the first anti-dandruff shampoo.





Most women of the 1900s did not use many hair care products. They relied more on natural methods to keep their hair healthy, like using hair oil and hairpins. Hair curlers were also used to curl their hair as they slept at night.



Conclusion
Although hair care products are expensive, they are worth it because your hair is important to how you look. Hair, although it's often something we take for granted, is a vital part of how you feel about yourself. It's something that can easily make or break your appearance, and therefore how you feel about yourself (and others).

Hair is also important for health reasons. The scalp needs to breathe in order for hair growth to occur properly; thus, washing your hair regularly with products like shampoo helps keep the scalp clean and healthy.

I hope this post has helped you learn more about the history of hair care. It is interesting to see how our ancestors took such great care of their hair, especially since today most people don’t even think about it until something goes wrong with their own locks.


 

 

 

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