Hairstyle fashion in Rome was ever changing, and particularly in the Roman Imperial Period there were a number of different ways to style hair. As 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.
Barbery was introduced to Rome by Publius Titinius Menas, who, in 209 or 300 BCE, brought a barber from the Greek colonies in Sicily. During earlier parts of Roman history, most people acted as their own barber. Due to the difficulty in handling the tools of barbery the craft became a profession. This profession prospered most during the Imperial period.
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. A woman's hairstyle expressed her individuality in the ancient Roman World. How one dressed one's hair was an indication of a person's status and role in society.
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. Hairdressing and its necessary accompaniment, mirror gazing, were seen as distinctly feminine activities. 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.Tertullian., De Culti Feminarum,2:7 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.Kampman (1981), 149–52
For more than just attractiveness, hairstyling was the leisure pursuit of the cultured, elegant woman. 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 style their hair.Bartman (2001), 6 For women to have a fashionable hairstyle showed they were part of the elegant Roman culture.
A 'natural' style was associated with barbarians, who the Romans believed had neither the money nor the culture to create these styles. "Natural" showed a lack of culture, and grooming of the hair went hand-in-hand with being part of a sophisticated civilization. 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, as well as pulling out any grey hairs.Carcopino (1973), 167
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 Virgins; divided and plaited into six braids, and in the case of the bride, it was parted with a spear.Bartman (2001), 4 A bride's hair was parted with a hasta recurva or hasta caelibaris, a bent iron spearhead and crowned with flowers. In addition to ceremonies hairstyle defined the age of a woman. There was a marked difference in hair acceptable for preadolescent girls and sexually mature women. Preadolescent girls would often have long hair cascading down the back where as women would have equally long hair but it would be controlled through wrapping and braiding.
Medical and religious It was common for sailors to shave their eyebrows and dedicate the hair to the gods, to earn their protection. The Vestal virgins would hang leftover hair on trees as a religious service and to consecrate a person. In Martial's Epigrams a character named Encolpus dedicates his hair to a character named Phoebus.Martialis, Marcus Valerius. Epigrams. The Romans also believed that shaving one's head was necessary for diagnosing certain illnesses. Pliny the Elder suggested many possible cures and remedies for balding hair.Pliny the Elder. Natural History. It was a popular custom to dedicate the hair from someone's first haircut to the gods. Usually, the time a Roman would perform this act was when they reached the age of 20 or donned the toga virillis.Kaufman, David B (March 21, 1932). "Roman Barbers". The Classical Weekly. No. 25. JSTOR 4339078.
Headgear
Veils
Perhaps due to its erotic association, hair was often linked with Roman ideas of female modesty and honour. We know that veils were important in this case, as they protected against (or encouraged, according to Seneca the Elder) solicitations by men.Seneca the Elder., Controversiae 2.7.6 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.Olson (2008), 33
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.Fantham (2008), 166-7; Olsen (2008), 33-6 both offer discussion on this 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.Olson (2008), 36 Vittae could be inset with precious stones, or in the case of the Flaminicae, they would be purple in colour.
Wigs
Due to the nature of hair and the relatively wet climate in the upper reaches of the Roman Empire, there are very few examples of wigs that survive to this day. Women wore wigs whether they were bald or not. So too did men; Emperor Otho wore a wig, as did Domitian.Suetonius, Life of Otho, 12 ; Morgan (1997), 214 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 AD). 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.Ovid, Amores, 1:14:45-6 ; Bartman (2001), 14 The blond hair of various Germanic peoples symbolized the spoils of war. In cases where wigs were used to hide baldness, a natural look was preferred, therefore a wig with a hair colour similar to the wearer's original was worn. But in instances where a wig was worn for the purpose of showing off, naturalism did not play much of a part. Obviously fake wigs were preferred, sometimes intertwined with two contrasting hair colours with blonde hair from Germany and black from India.Bartman (2001), 14 Gold dust also gave the appearance of blond hair and enhanced already blond hair. Emperor Lucius Verus (r. 161 – 169 AD), who had natural blond hair, was said to sprinkle gold dust on his head to make himself even blonder.Michael Grant (1994). The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition. London & New York: Routledge. , pp 27-28.
A convenience of wigs used by Romans is that they could be directly pinned onto the head of the wearer, meaning a style could be achieved much faster than if it had been done with the wearer'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.Olson (2008), 71; Bartman (2001), 10
There were two types of wig in Roman times: the full wig, called the capillamentum, and the half wig, called the galerus.Olson (2008), 74 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 sewing it 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.Bust of Matidia, London, The British Museum 1805.7-3.96; Bartman (2001), 10
Janet Stephens is an amateur archaeologist and hairdresser who has reconstructed some of the hairstyles of ancient Rome, attempting to prove that they were not done with wigs, as commonly believed, but with the person's own 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.Kleiner and Matheson (1996), 174 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.Fittschen and Zanker (1983), 105 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.Bartman (2001), 19
Profession
Dyes
Dyeing hair was popular among women, although frequent dyeing often made it weaker. Tertullian discusses a hair dye that burnt the scalp and was harmful for the head.Tertullian, De Culti Feminarum, 2:6 Artificial colors were applied as powders and gels. Henna or animal fat could be applied to make the hair more manageable.Bartman (2001), 12 Hair and the Artifice of Roman Female Adornment; Allason-Jones (1989), 133-7 To prevent graying, some Romans wore a paste at night made from herbs and earthworms; in addition, pigeon dung was used to lighten hair. In order to dye hair black, Pliny the Elder suggests applying leeches that have rotted in red wine for 40 days.Pliny the Elder., Natural History, 32:23
Dyeing hair red involved a mixture of animal fat and beechwood ashesPliny the Elder., Natural History, 28:51 whilst saffron was used for golden tones.Tertullian, De Culti Feminarum, 2:6:1 Ovid mentions several vegetable dyes.Ovid., Ars Amatoria, 3:158-64 To cure diseases such as hair loss, Pliny suggests the application of a sow's gall bladder, mixed with bull's urine, or the ashes of an ass's genitals, or other mixtures such as the ashes of a deer's antlers mixed with wine. Further, goat's milk or goat's dung is said to cure head lice.Pliny the Elder., Natural History, 28:46
Suetonius, in his The Twelve Caesars states:Suetonius Tranquillus, Gaius. The Twelve Caesars
Roman prostitutes dyed their hair yellow to indicate their profession. Usually, they would just wear a wig dyed yellow. To dye their hair yellow they used a mixture of the ashes of burnt nuts or plants. Romans would make a black dye by fermenting leeches in a lead vessel.Kenny, Erin; Ph.D, Elizabeth Gackstetter Nichols (2017-06-22). Beauty around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. .
Curling irons, pins and hairnets