Ancient History Blog

Good Hair Days” in Egypt (ca. 2000-1000 BC)

By: The Scribe on Friday, May 11, 2007

Like many people today, the ancient Egyptians were extremely concerned about outward appearance – and in particular, about their hair. From simple styling to elaborate wigs, most Egyptians spared no expense to ensure that their hair was perfect.

In order to avoid the problems of head lice, both Egyptian men and women often shaved their heads – this also made it far easier for a wig to sit on the head comfortably. Of course, not all people would do this, and there are tomb paintings and statues where an artist has actually shown little bits of a person’s natural hair peeking out from behind a wig! Priests were required to shave their heads and bodies of all hair – and would do so about every three days – in order to remain ritually clean.

In most cases, it appears that men’s wigs were actually more elaborate than those of women, who typically used wigs or hair extensions to make their natural hair more luxurious, or to fill out their own hair as it began to thin with age. In order to look more natural on the head, Egyptian wigs and extensions were almost always made with human hair, either bought or traded at the market, or from the shaved locks of the wearer.

False braids and curls were among the most popular hairstyles of ancient Egypt, and both wigs and extensions could be attached right to the wearer’s own hair with various knots or weaves; for those who had shaved their heads, a small amount of beeswax and resin would be applied onto the scalp to hold the wig in place. To gain fullness in the hair, as seen in Egyptian wall paintings, the wigs often had an internal layer of padding, made of date-palm or other vegetable fibers.

The ancient Egyptians, it seems, had such an adversity to grey hair, that they would even dye the hair of corpses after death. Using vegetable henna, the hair would be dyed a dark brown or auburn color; in some cases, the dead were even provided with an extra set of hair extensions in their grave – just in case they needed their hair done in the afterlife.

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Tomorrow: Faces of Boa