Hairstyles among affluent Roman women

[guy]

 

Numerous earlier posts have highlighted the impressive research by Janet Stephens, a professional hairdresser and history lover, on Ancient Roman hairstyles (see below). This article discusses her work and discoveries.

Modern research shows that ancient Roman women’s famously elaborate hairstyles were not held together with pins—they were sewn into place with needle and thread.

Hairstylist‑researcher Janet Stephens began investigating Roman portrait busts and noticed something unusual. Despite the complexity of the hairstyles, there were no pinholes or other physical evidence of pins holding the hair together. This absence suggested that the traditional assumption—that Romans used hairpins—was incorrect.

Stephens turned to Latin texts and hands‑on experimentation. While studying ancient sources (with the help of Google Translate), she focused on the Latin word “acus.” Scholars had long translated acus as “hairpin,” but the term could also mean needle, curling iron, or needle‑and‑thread, depending on context. Stephens hypothesized that in hairstyling passages, acus referred not to pins but to actual sewing tools.

To test this, she recreated hairstyles from Roman busts and sewed them into place with a needle and thread. The results were remarkable: the styles held securely, matched the sculpted forms precisely, and required neither hidden pins nor expensive false hair. Her 2008 study in the Journal of Roman Archaeology concluded that sewing offered a simple, economical, and historically accurate method for creating these ornate looks.

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a73229483/ancient-romans-beauty-secret/

 

 

 

Edited 20 hours ago by guy