Ancient Egypt Women Wigs
In Egypt, males and females followed the latest trends in both hair styles and make-up as well as the most significant of all the so-called fashion accessories was the hairpiece. All of us, through the poor to the pharaohs, had make-up… the main difference being the range and quality of goods used. Concerning hair, rich Egyptians shaved their heads and used wigs to keep up with the best models – these wigs were even manufactured from real hair. Shiny, black hair, perhaps because of its association with youth and vitality, was associated with eroticism, and artificial hair was a simple method to maintain what nature neglected. Wigs served an even more practical function, however. Natural hair that was thick enough to protect the wearer from the direct sun’s rays on a bright summer day or keep the heat in with a cold winter night, was too hot to put on indoors, and a luxuriant hair-do was a breeding ground for lice. The compromise was simple: Egyptians who could afford it cut their hair short and then wore a wig. Unlike many
toupee wearers of today, the Egyptians were quite pleased with their wigs and made no attempt to pretend they were natural.
It’s also quite obvious that women’s hairpieces were greatly much less elaborate than others worn by men and thus appear more natural. The most effective preserved type of the long full style so favoured by New Kingdom women is discovered inside the tall wooden wig box of Meryt in the Deir el-Medina tomb she shared with her husband Kha. In addition to complete wigs, individual braids were employed to create wider and longer dimensions. Paintings and sculpture frequently show a region of natural hair between your forehead and the wig. Whilst priciest hair pieces were made with
real, real hair, the style and structure were so that it would be almost impossible to confuse a wig with the genuine thing. Egyptians were proud of their wigs and could have been distressed at the thought that someone might imagine they were not wearing one—or even worse, could not afford one. Palm fiber was created to generate a skull cap to fit the subject’s head. Human hair, alone or mixed with plant fiber and wool, was twisted, curled, or pleated into slender
braids and connected to the cap with beeswax or resin. Various dyes were used to make the desired black. The fundamental structure remained the same throughout Egyptian history, however, many variations were possible, and the style varied with time with the age, gender, and social class of the wearer.
Old Kingdom women wore wigs with a few lairs of very tight braids throughout the top of the head and down each side and the back. There could or mightn’t have been a part in the middle. Several additional layers were added underneath to make the sides a lot fuller. As well as having or even not having a part in the center, Old Kingdom wigs varied long. Simpler style stopped somewhere between the top of shoulders and simply below the ears, a fuller version of what today will be known as the bob. There have been two extremely popular types along with hair heading down towards the
breasts. The tripartite hairpiece, since the title proposed, was divided into three parts. Two extended behind the ears and along the sides of the face and the front of the body as far as the breasts. One third part went down the back as far as the shoulder area. The enveloping wig was similar in size, but covered the ears and circled from one side, around the back, to the other part in one piece as opposed to three. The size of the braids varied to be able to fall freely to the breasts in the front, to the shoulders at the sides, and on the back in the shoulder blades.
Like modern women, ancient Egyptian women could keep the hairstyle that’s short or long, preferring their head of hair smooth and close with chin length bobs. For longer hair, women of the New Kingdom had wigs, their hair decorated with flowers or ribbons. Even an poorer women can add adornments such as berries and petals, while children’s hair was decorated with amulets, hair-rings and clasps.
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