Roman hairstyles
Encyclopedia
Hairstyle fashion in Rome
was ever changing, and particularly in the Roman Imperial Period
there were a number of different ways to style hair. Much the same with clothes, there were several hairstyles that were limited to certain people in ancient society. Styles are so distinctive they allow scholars today to create a chronology of Roman portraiture and art; we are able to date pictures of the empresses on coins, or identify busts depending on their hairstyles.
Hair was a very erotic area of the female body for the Romans, and attractiveness of a woman was tied to the presentation of her hair. As a result, it was seen as appropriate for a woman to spend time on her hair in order to create a flattering appearance. Lengthy grooming sessions for women were tolerated, despite writers such as Tertullian and Pliny commenting on their abhorrence for time and energy women dedicate to their hair. However, the numerous depictions of women hairdressing and mirror-gazing in tomb reliefs and portraiture is a testament to how much hairdressing was seen as part of the female domain. In more than just attractiveness though, hairstyling was the leisure pursuit of the cultured, elegant female. Hair was seen as much as an indication of wealth and social status as it was of taste and fashion. But unlike modern-day hairstyles, comfort and naturalism for the Romans took a back-seat to hairstyles that displayed the wearer's wealth to a maximum. In other words, having a complex and unnatural hairstyle would be preferred to a simple one, because it would illustrate the wealth of the wearer in being able to afford to take the time to do their hair. A 'natural' style was associated with barbarians, who the Romans believed had neither the money nor the culture to create these styles. And incidentally, the association with barbarians was why Roman men kept their hair cut short. It was the job of slave hairdressers, called Ornatrices, to create their master's hairstyle new each day, and so too of pulling out any grey hairs.
Apart from society, hair was used symbolically to mark rites of passage; for instance loosened hair was common at a funeral, and the seni crines was the hairstyle worn by brides and Vestal Virgin
s; divided and plaited into six braids, and in the case of the bride, it was parted with a spear.
) against solicitations by men. The Palla
was the mark of a married, respectable woman. It was a piece of cloth wrapped around the body with one end over the shoulder. There is significant evidence for the palla being draped over the back of the head as a veil. The palla supposedly signified the dignity and sexual modesty of a married woman, but due to its encumbering nature as a veil, there has been much debate whether it was only worn in public by the aristocracy, or if at all by working women of lower classes. Vittae were woollen fillets that bound a married woman's hair. They were another indication of a wife's modesty and purity and were seen as part of the clothing and presentation of a matron. Vittae could be inset with precious stones, or in the case of the Flaminicae
, they would be purple in colour.
wore a wig, as did Domitian
. Wigs allowed women to better achieve the kind of 'tall' styles that particularly punctuated the Flavian
and Trajanic eras (e.g. the periods of 69-96 and 98-117 CE). In fact, so tall were these hairstyles, that ancient writer Juvenal
likens them to multi-storey buildings.
Wigs were made from human hair; blonde hair from Germany and black from India were particularly prized, especially if the hair came from the head of a person from a conquered civilisation. In the cases where wigs were used to hide baldness, a natural look was preferred supposedly using a wig with a hair colour similar to the user's original. But in instances where a wig was worn for the purpose of showing off, naturalism did not play much of a part. In fact, obviously fake wigs were preferred, sometimes intertwined with two contrasting hair colours.
A main advantage of wigs for the Romans is that they could be directly pinned onto the head of the wearer, meaning that a style could be achieved a lot faster than if it had been done with the sitter's own hair. Further it would lessen the inconvenience of having to grow one's own hair too long. It has been suggested that the necessary length to be able to create these hairstyles daily would be well below the shoulder, perhaps to the waist.
There were two types of wig in Roman times, the full wig, called the capillamentum, and the half wig, called the galerus. The galerus could be in the form of a fillet of woolen hair used as padding to build an elaborate style, or as a toupee on the back or front of the head. Toupees were attached by pins, or by sowing the toupee onto a piece of leather and attaching it as a wig. Further, glue could be used to affix it to the scalp or alternatively, as a bust from the British Museum illustrates, the toupee could be braided into the existing hair.
, a temporary dye, or even animal fat, could be applied to make the hair more manageable. But aside from henna, more common permanent dyes were based on natural substances and perhaps more unothodox mixtures. For example, to dye hair black, Pliny the Elder
suggests applying leeches that have rotten in red wine for 40 days. Dying hair red requires a mixture of animal fat and beechwood ashes whilst dying hair gold required Saffron. Ovid gives plenty more examples for dyes, such as herbs and saffron. Interestingly, to cure diseases such as hair loss, Pliny suggests the application of a sow's gall bladder, mixed with bulls urine, or of the ashes of an ass's genitals, or other mixtures such as a the ashes of a deer's antlers mixed with wine. Further, goat's milk or goat's dung is said to cure head lice.
While gel and henna, as mentioned above, were used to manage hair, hairnets and pins were in common usage too. Poorer women would have used wooden pins, while the aristocracy used gold, ivory, crystal, silver or painted bone. The pins would have been decorated with carvings of the gods, or beads and pendants.
hairstyles.
style, was a hairstyle worn primarily by the materfamilias, the mother of the family. It was a hairstyle that remained in constant use even when fashion changed. To achieve it, the hair was divided and piled high and shaped into a bun. After which it was tied with purple fillets of wool. By the end, the hair would be conical in shape. It was also the hairstyle worn by the flaminicae.
style. Livia
, wife of Augustus
, and Octavia
, sister of Augustus, particularly favoured the nodus style, both continuing to use it well into the Imperial Period.
Other styles in the Julio-Claudian
era were designed to be simple, with hair parted in two and tied in a bun at the back. This was perhaps done in order to juxtapose Roman modesty against Cleopatra and her flamboyance.
and Antonine hairstyles are perhaps the most famous, and extravagant, of Imperial Rome's styles. The styles were lofty, deeply drilled with curls and braids. The high arching crowns on the front were made using fillets of wool and toupets, and could be attached to the back of the head as well as the front. Typically, as in the case of the famous Fonseca Bust (pictured), the hair was combed into two parts; the front section was combed forwards and build with curls, while the back was plaited and coiled into an elaborate bun.
The later Antonine Period saw curls at the front of the head bought to a lower level than the Flavian Period. The braids coiled at the back of the head are bought further forward, instead often resting on the top of the head. Another style of the Antonine period saw the hair separated into rivets and tied at the back
, wife of Septimus Severus, had a particularly notable hairstyle. She wore a heavy, globular wig with simple finger-sized waves with a simple center parting. Julia Domna was from Syria
, and it has been suggested that her style was indicative of her foreign origins. Women from the East were not known to commonly wear wigs, preferring to create elaborate hairstyles from their own hair instead. In fact, foreign women often wore their hair differently to Rome, and women from Palmyra
typically wore their hair waved in a simple center-parting, accompanied by diadems and turbans according to local customs. Julia Domna, despite being from the East, adopted a wig to project a familiar Roman guise and particularly in order to imitate her predecessor, Faustina the Younger. As time progressed, Severan hairstyles switched from the finger-waved center parting style, to one with more curls and ringlets at the front and back of the head, often accompanied by a wig.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
was ever changing, and particularly in the Roman Imperial Period
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
there were a number of different ways to style hair. Much the same with clothes, there were several hairstyles that were limited to certain people in ancient society. Styles are so distinctive they allow scholars today to create a chronology of Roman portraiture and art; we are able to date pictures of the empresses on coins, or identify busts depending on their hairstyles.
Significance
Much like today, hair for the Romans was as much an expression of personal identity as clothes. Hairstyles were determined by a number of factors, namely gender, age, social status, wealth and profession. How one dressed one's hair was an indication of who you were and what your role in society was.Hair was a very erotic area of the female body for the Romans, and attractiveness of a woman was tied to the presentation of her hair. As a result, it was seen as appropriate for a woman to spend time on her hair in order to create a flattering appearance. Lengthy grooming sessions for women were tolerated, despite writers such as Tertullian and Pliny commenting on their abhorrence for time and energy women dedicate to their hair. However, the numerous depictions of women hairdressing and mirror-gazing in tomb reliefs and portraiture is a testament to how much hairdressing was seen as part of the female domain. In more than just attractiveness though, hairstyling was the leisure pursuit of the cultured, elegant female. Hair was seen as much as an indication of wealth and social status as it was of taste and fashion. But unlike modern-day hairstyles, comfort and naturalism for the Romans took a back-seat to hairstyles that displayed the wearer's wealth to a maximum. In other words, having a complex and unnatural hairstyle would be preferred to a simple one, because it would illustrate the wealth of the wearer in being able to afford to take the time to do their hair. A 'natural' style was associated with barbarians, who the Romans believed had neither the money nor the culture to create these styles. And incidentally, the association with barbarians was why Roman men kept their hair cut short. It was the job of slave hairdressers, called Ornatrices, to create their master's hairstyle new each day, and so too of pulling out any grey hairs.
Apart from society, hair was used symbolically to mark rites of passage; for instance loosened hair was common at a funeral, and the seni crines was the hairstyle worn by brides and Vestal Virgin
Vestal Virgin
In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...
s; divided and plaited into six braids, and in the case of the bride, it was parted with a spear.
Headgear
Veils
Perhaps due to its erotic association, hair was often linked with Roman ideas of female modesty and honour. We know what veils were important in this case, as they protected (or encouraged according to Seneca the ElderSeneca the Elder
Lucius or Marcus Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rhetorician , was a Roman rhetorician and writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Cordoba, Hispania...
) against solicitations by men. The Palla
Palla (garment)
Palla is a traditional ancient Roman mantle worn by women, fastened by brooches. It was similar to the pallium that a man would wear. The shape was rectangular instead of semi-circular as with the traditional toga.The Palla was similar to a shawl that a woman of today would wear.The palla would...
was the mark of a married, respectable woman. It was a piece of cloth wrapped around the body with one end over the shoulder. There is significant evidence for the palla being draped over the back of the head as a veil. The palla supposedly signified the dignity and sexual modesty of a married woman, but due to its encumbering nature as a veil, there has been much debate whether it was only worn in public by the aristocracy, or if at all by working women of lower classes. Vittae were woollen fillets that bound a married woman's hair. They were another indication of a wife's modesty and purity and were seen as part of the clothing and presentation of a matron. Vittae could be inset with precious stones, or in the case of the Flaminicae
Flamen Dialis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. There were 15 flamines, of which three were flamines maiores, serving the three gods of the Archaic Triad...
, they would be purple in colour.
Wigs
Due to the nature of hair and the relatively wet climate in the upper reaches of the Empire, there are very few examples of wigs that survive to this day. We do know that women wore wigs whether they were bald or not. So too did men, Emperor OthoOtho
Otho , was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the four emperors.- Birth and lineage :...
wore a wig, as did Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
. Wigs allowed women to better achieve the kind of 'tall' styles that particularly punctuated the Flavian
Flavian
Flavian may refer to:* Any member of the Flavian dynasty of three Roman rulers of the late 1st century CE- Religious leaders:** Flavian of Ricina , bishop in Italy** Bishops or patriarchs in Asia:*** Flavian I of Antioch Flavian may refer to:* Any member of the Flavian dynasty of three Roman rulers...
and Trajanic eras (e.g. the periods of 69-96 and 98-117 CE). In fact, so tall were these hairstyles, that ancient writer Juvenal
Juvenal
The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a...
likens them to multi-storey buildings.
Wigs were made from human hair; blonde hair from Germany and black from India were particularly prized, especially if the hair came from the head of a person from a conquered civilisation. In the cases where wigs were used to hide baldness, a natural look was preferred supposedly using a wig with a hair colour similar to the user's original. But in instances where a wig was worn for the purpose of showing off, naturalism did not play much of a part. In fact, obviously fake wigs were preferred, sometimes intertwined with two contrasting hair colours.
A main advantage of wigs for the Romans is that they could be directly pinned onto the head of the wearer, meaning that a style could be achieved a lot faster than if it had been done with the sitter's own hair. Further it would lessen the inconvenience of having to grow one's own hair too long. It has been suggested that the necessary length to be able to create these hairstyles daily would be well below the shoulder, perhaps to the waist.
There were two types of wig in Roman times, the full wig, called the capillamentum, and the half wig, called the galerus. The galerus could be in the form of a fillet of woolen hair used as padding to build an elaborate style, or as a toupee on the back or front of the head. Toupees were attached by pins, or by sowing the toupee onto a piece of leather and attaching it as a wig. Further, glue could be used to affix it to the scalp or alternatively, as a bust from the British Museum illustrates, the toupee could be braided into the existing hair.
Detachable marble wigs
Busts themselves could have detachable wigs. There have been many suggestions as to why some busts have been created with detachable wigs and some without. Perhaps the main reason was to keep the bust looking up-to-date. It would have been too expensive to commission a new bust every time hair fashion changed, so a mix-and-match bust would have been preferable for women with less money. Perhaps another reason was to accommodate the Syrian ritual of anointing the skull of the bust with oil. Or further, in cases where the bust was a funerary commission, it can be safely assumed that the subject of the bust would not have had an opportunity to sit for another portrait after their death. Hence why a detachable wig for a bust would certainly be useful. Although exactly how these marble wigs were attached is unknown, the likely difficulty of changing the 'wigs' effectively would have probably put many women off choosing a detachable and reattachable bust in the first place.Dyes
Dying hair was popular among women, although the frequency that hair was coloured often made it weaker. Tertullian discusses how hair dye burnt the scalp and was harmful for the head. Artificial dyes could be applied through powders, gels and bleach. HennaHenna
Henna is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes...
, a temporary dye, or even animal fat, could be applied to make the hair more manageable. But aside from henna, more common permanent dyes were based on natural substances and perhaps more unothodox mixtures. For example, to dye hair black, Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
suggests applying leeches that have rotten in red wine for 40 days. Dying hair red requires a mixture of animal fat and beechwood ashes whilst dying hair gold required Saffron. Ovid gives plenty more examples for dyes, such as herbs and saffron. Interestingly, to cure diseases such as hair loss, Pliny suggests the application of a sow's gall bladder, mixed with bulls urine, or of the ashes of an ass's genitals, or other mixtures such as a the ashes of a deer's antlers mixed with wine. Further, goat's milk or goat's dung is said to cure head lice.
Curling irons, pins and hairnets
The calamistrum was the name for the Roman curling iron. It consisted of a hollow metal outer cylinder and a smaller solid cylinder inside it. The hair would be wrapped around the solid cylinder and inserted into the metal outer. The metal outer would be heated in a fire, making the hair curly. It has been reported that because of the frequency and temperature that hair was curled at, thinning and damaged hair was common amongst womenWhile gel and henna, as mentioned above, were used to manage hair, hairnets and pins were in common usage too. Poorer women would have used wooden pins, while the aristocracy used gold, ivory, crystal, silver or painted bone. The pins would have been decorated with carvings of the gods, or beads and pendants.
Styles over time
Roman hairstyles changed, but there were several constant hairstyles that were used continuously, such as the tutulus, or the bun. The beehive, helmet, hairbouquet or pillbox are modern day names given to RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
hairstyles.
The Tutulus
The tutulus, originally an EtruscanEtruscan society
Etruscan society is mainly known through the memorial and achievemental inscriptions on monuments of Etruscan civilization, especially tombs. This information emphasizes family data. Some contractual information is also available from various sources...
style, was a hairstyle worn primarily by the materfamilias, the mother of the family. It was a hairstyle that remained in constant use even when fashion changed. To achieve it, the hair was divided and piled high and shaped into a bun. After which it was tied with purple fillets of wool. By the end, the hair would be conical in shape. It was also the hairstyle worn by the flaminicae.
Republican Period and Augustan era styles
The Republican Period and the nodus style was particularly common. The nodus style saw the hair parted in three, with the hair from the sides of the head tied in a bun at the back while the middle section is looped back on itself, creating an effect not unlike the (comparably modern) PompadourPompadour (hairstyle)
Pompadour is a tall style of men's haircut which takes its name from Madame de Pompadour.There are Latin variants of the hair style more associated with European and Argentine tango fashion trends and occasionally with late 20th century musical genres such as rockabilly and country.The pompadour...
style. Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
, wife of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, and Octavia
Octavia Minor
Octavia the Younger , also known as Octavia Minor or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus , half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and fourth wife of Mark Antony...
, sister of Augustus, particularly favoured the nodus style, both continuing to use it well into the Imperial Period.
Other styles in the Julio-Claudian
Julio-Claudian Dynasty
The Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...
era were designed to be simple, with hair parted in two and tied in a bun at the back. This was perhaps done in order to juxtapose Roman modesty against Cleopatra and her flamboyance.
Flavian and Antonine hairstyles
FlavianFlavian dynasty
The Flavian dynasty was a Roman Imperial Dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96 AD, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian , and his two sons Titus and Domitian . The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
and Antonine hairstyles are perhaps the most famous, and extravagant, of Imperial Rome's styles. The styles were lofty, deeply drilled with curls and braids. The high arching crowns on the front were made using fillets of wool and toupets, and could be attached to the back of the head as well as the front. Typically, as in the case of the famous Fonseca Bust (pictured), the hair was combed into two parts; the front section was combed forwards and build with curls, while the back was plaited and coiled into an elaborate bun.
The later Antonine Period saw curls at the front of the head bought to a lower level than the Flavian Period. The braids coiled at the back of the head are bought further forward, instead often resting on the top of the head. Another style of the Antonine period saw the hair separated into rivets and tied at the back
Severan dynasty
Julia DomnaJulia Domna
Julia Domna was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Geta and Caracalla, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman Empire.- Family background...
, wife of Septimus Severus, had a particularly notable hairstyle. She wore a heavy, globular wig with simple finger-sized waves with a simple center parting. Julia Domna was from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and it has been suggested that her style was indicative of her foreign origins. Women from the East were not known to commonly wear wigs, preferring to create elaborate hairstyles from their own hair instead. In fact, foreign women often wore their hair differently to Rome, and women from Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
typically wore their hair waved in a simple center-parting, accompanied by diadems and turbans according to local customs. Julia Domna, despite being from the East, adopted a wig to project a familiar Roman guise and particularly in order to imitate her predecessor, Faustina the Younger. As time progressed, Severan hairstyles switched from the finger-waved center parting style, to one with more curls and ringlets at the front and back of the head, often accompanied by a wig.
See also
- Clothing in ancient GreeceClothing in ancient GreeceClothing in ancient Greece primarily consisted of the chiton, the peplos, himation, and chlamys.- History and types :While no clothes have survived from this period, descriptions exist from contemporary accounts and artistic depiction. Clothes were mainly homemade, and often served many purposes...
- Clothing in ancient RomeClothing in ancient RomeClothing in ancient Rome generally consisted of the toga, the tunic, the stola, brooches for these, and breeches.-Fibers:The Romans used several different types of [fiber]s. Wool was likely used most often, as it was obtained easily and was rather easy to prepare...
- Women in Ancient Rome
- StolaStolaThe stola was the traditional garment of Roman women, corresponding to the toga, or the pallium, that were worn by men.Originally, women wore togas as well, but after the 2nd century BC, the toga was worn exclusively by men, and women were expected to wear the stola...