History of Hair

Renaissance

14th to the 17th Century

In the 15th century, upper-class ladies of northern Europe painfully plucked their hairline to make their foreheads seem higher, and scraped their hair back under an elaborate headdress. In the warmer climate of Italy, women displayed their hair in plaits and under low, jeweled turbans or caps. Blond hair was considered to be a sign of beauty and high class. As a result, both men and women attempted to turn their hair blond by using bleach, saffron or onion skin dye, or, in the case of Italian women, by sitting for hours in a crownless hat in the sun.

Next Month: Elizabethan 1558 – 1603