One option is to overload the hair with gels, powders, or other
additives when you do the styling, to make it "stickier," but this can
get pretty nasty and heavy, and may cause other problems with the
styling. Another solution -- but this takes a longer-term commitment --
is to adopt a pre-modern hair care regimen.
For the 19th century at least, the "they got the texture and body by
never washing their hair" is a reenactor's myth. In fact, people were
using the equivalents of modern hair products, whether these came in a
bottle with a label or not. I know the early 19th century is not the
same as the later 19th century--though I've done some research on that
too. But, here is a list of some home recipes from my book on the 1820s,
_The Lady's Stratagem.
Four kinds of depilatory (most containing quicklime and various forms of
arsenic). Also, directions for plucking unwanted hairs
Oil for making the hair grow (vegetable oil and spirit of rosemary)
Four kinds of pomatum/pomade (perfumed animal fats)
Ten kinds of "antique" oils (perfumed nut or vegetable oils, sometimes
with additions such as gum guaiac, which had stiffening properties.
These recipes include the long-popular Macassar oil). Oils would render
the hair more slippery than most modern conditioners
Two curling fluids (consisting of soap melted with such ingredients as
alcohol and potash)
About ten vegetable hair dyes
In addition to directions for sponge-washing the hair without immersing
the whole head--where much of the soap would likely remain in the hair
after the process is over and therefore stiffen it--there are period
arguments for and against vigorously immersing and washing the whole
head full of hair. Arguments against: It causes headaches, earaches,
toothaches, complaints of the eyes, wrinkles, and head colds.
Arguments for: "Nothing contributes more to prevent these very
consequences than frequently washing the head with tepid water, that is,
about milk-warm. When the hair is very long, or when much use is made of
hair oils and pomatums, I cannot imagine how the hair can be rendered
comfortable without frequently washing it." And more of same.
I would suggest that for any given historic period, anyone arguing
either that the hair was never washed or that "hair products" were not
used to change the texture, look at any available books of beauty
recipes for that period.
Fran
Lavolta Press
Books on historic clothing
www.lavoltapress.com
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
