Roman Hair and Shaving

[Lost_Warrior]

I can just imagine a Roman knight's typical day, which must have included several hours of grooming, done at the bath house and performed by slaves who were ultra specialized in what they did - one for the nostrils, one for the feet, another for the hands, then the shave, the massage with perfumed oils, followed by some time in the steam room and then the hot and cold dips .....

 

Personally I would get bored with all those hours of grooming.

 

Ah... I guess those were the days, especially if you were born right. If you were born a slave, you would be the one plucking nostrils for a living.

 

Is there actually any record of someone who's job was *specifically* to pluck nostrils? I would have thought that would be done by the barber (if it was done at all).

[Nephele]

Is there actually any record of someone who's job was *specifically* to pluck nostrils? I would have thought that would be done by the barber (if it was done at all).

 

I think you may be right, LW. According to Le

[Vibius Tiberius Costa]

A bizzare question, even 4 me.

 

Did Roman men have long hair (both in and out of the army) or was it short?

 

What fashions were there (beard fashions also apply if they had them)?

 

Female fashions?

 

The timespan can be broad but 2nd century bc would be fantastic

 

vtc

[Nephele]

I know that ancient Roman fashion in hair styles for women were prone to change so that sculptors would carve the busts of wealthy ladies with detachable headpieces. That the busts might be updated with the latest hairstyle.

 

-- Nephele

[Klingan]

The female fashion was rapidly changing. You can see this on the many busts of the rich mens wifes. (As most of the time we're talking upper classes, there's not many remains of low class peoples hair.) Here's an example:

 

It's from 120 AD and show us that times popular hair style for rich women.

 

Haircuts were important to men to, Pompey tried to make himself look like Alexander the great by using his lion style haircut. For more examples on male haircuts look at busts and statues from 150-0 ish BC, when it was customary to make the portraits very realistic.

 

Here's Pompey:

[WotWotius]

On the subject of beards, Pliny reports:

 

'The next agreement between the two races [Greek and Roman] was in the area of barbers, but it came later to the Romans. They came to Italy from Sicily in the 454th year after the City's foundation, brought by Publius Titinius Mena, as Varro says. Before that the Romans were unshaven. Africanus the Younger first started the custom of being shaved daily. The deified Augustus always used razors.' - Pliny, Natural Histories, book 7, LIX.

 

This fashion stayed present among the Roman elite for over two centuries until the accession of Hadrian. Being a philhellenic, Hadrian adopted the Greek fashion of the beard, and this was quickly adopted by his court, as seen on the bust of his successor, Antonius Pius, below:

 

 

Being unshaven in appearance gradually lost favour in the 3rd Century, when military crew cuts were adopted within the Imperial court as a result of the great wave of soldier emperors present at that time.

[Lost_Warrior]

I'm pretty sure men kept their hair close cropped most of the time. Women's hairstyles changed rapidly (and sometimes ridiculously...but then I've dyed my purple so "ridiculous" is clearly subjective) but were always or almost always long.

 

I've read that women favored dying their hair in different colors as well.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Here's an interesting piece I found on Roman hairstyles.

 

 

 

 

 

Women's Hair & Hair Coloring

 

As today, women's hairstyles could be simple or elaborate. Hairstyles varied according to a women's social status and age. During the Republican era, a popular conservative style involved tying the hair back into a bun and fixing it with a pin. Other more elaborate hairstyles involved puffs, waves, and curls--sometimes alone, sometimes in combination. In addition, hairpieces were sometimes used to complete a particular hairstyle.

 

Some women dyed their hair--blonde and red were particularly popular hair colors. Something called Batavian foam was used to produce blonde hair; fat and ashes were used to produce red. Wigs made from the hair of Germans captured in battle were very popular because of their natural blondness.

 

Women regarded body hair as undesirable; so they removed such with pumice stone (ouch!). Facial hair was removed with resin and pitch.

 

 

 

 

Men's Hair

 

A man might get his hair curled or have his hair cut. If he were experiencing severe hair loss, he might wear a wig to cover up the problem. Then, as now, some men looked for ways to conquer the hair loss problem. During the Republic, grease and oil were thought to make hair grow.

 

Beards were out-of-fashion among the aristocracy of the Late Republic; and didn't come back into vogue until the first century CE. So men shaved or used the pitch-and-resin-facial-hair-removal technique to ensure they remained clean-shaven. If a man were in mourning, though, his hair and beard were permitted to grow as a sign of his sorrow. The poor often ignored fashion since it was thought impossible for a man to shave himself and they could ill afford the expense of a daily barbering. Sometimes young men would wear beards just to draw reactions from their elders (sound familiar?).

 

As we do today, a man went to a barbershop where the barber (tonsor)--either male or female--would cut their hair or remove it.

 

 

 

 

Children's Hair

 

Children were allowed to grow their hair long, often down to the shoulders. Young girls usually wore their hair knotted at the back of the neck or in a ponytail, but some had curls or bangs, which could be either straight or curled.

 

Boys didn't shave until they achieved their majority and could wear the toga. When they did, the downy remnants of their first shaving were often preserved in a small box and offered as a sacrifice to one of the Roman gods.

 

 

 

 

Tools

 

A calmistrum, a hollow iron instrument in the shape of a rod, was used to obtain lasting curls. Combs were made of ivory, wood, tortoiseshell or sometimes gold. Hairpins, ribbons, nets, and tiny combs were used to hold hair in place. Razors were made of bronze or iron and weren't very sharp. Mirrors were made of polished bronze or silver.

Edited August 17, 2007 by Gaius Paulinus Maximus

[Pertinax]

I thought we could usefully integrate "hair care" threads.The earlier posts reference shaving in particular.

Pompey Magnus looks almost benign in his portrait bust, but as the eyes (as mirror to the soul) are absent I may well be mistaken.

[Lost_Warrior]

Very interesting Gaius!

 

Some women dyed their hair--blonde and red were particularly popular hair colors. Something called Batavian foam was used to produce blonde hair; fat and ashes were used to produce red. Wigs made from the hair of Germans captured in battle were very popular because of their natural blondness.

 

Does anyone know the make up of this so called Batavian foam?

 

Also, what was the reason that fat and ashes produced red color? What exactly were the ashes *of* that they could produce red? I would expect ash to give a...well...ashy color!

[Pertinax]

Fat and ash together make soap or rather a soapy gelatinous mass, perhaps we have the medium for an iron rich ( red) earth dye, that shouldnt be too difficult to mix into a gelatinous medium? Hydrogen peroxide is the modern whitener of hair, but chamomille would lighten the hair to a degree . I note with some horror that black was produced by pulverising the anerobically decayed remains of leeches, the deep red of blood decaying to a deeper reddish black.

[Lost_Warrior]

You have a point about the iron. That's very possible; I wonder if they did mix something else with the fat and ash.

 

As for the leeches...OMG EWWW. I'll take the Clarol, thanks!

[docoflove1974]

The affinity for red hair surprises me. I was told by my maternal grandmother (and the rest of the Italian side of the family) that red hair was bad luck...it meant that the person was a witch! Oh how times have changed!

 

Then again, if everyone you know has brown/black hair, and someone comes by with blonde or red...well, we all want to stand out!

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

The affinity for red hair surprises me

No doubt Docoflove, especially when you consider red hair usually associated with the Northern Barbarian tribes such as Celts and Germans. Makes me think Roman men might have had a fetish for Northern European women.

[Vibius Tiberius Costa]

I apologise if this has already been touched upon, i have a habit of not reading things through.

But did soldiers need a certain haircut, because i see (in the background of Rome) some have long hair, some in ponytails and others the popular short and no beard.

Any thoughts

cheers

 

vtc