I have to admit, I’ve never given much thought as to how long hair extensions have been around for. From my experience, they didn’t really gain mass appeal until the 2000’s, before then extensions seemed to be reserved for the uber rich. The main reason they have become available to the mainstream public is that the newer methods are so much easier to apply. This has resulted in many more salons offering an extension service, and also many online sellers offering do-it-yourself type products like clip on extensions. Also, newer methods of application are now much safer and so women aren’t as afraid to add extensions.
Hair extension advertising 100 years ago
A few days ago, I stumbled onto a blog called Sultry Hair. They had posted an interesting print advertisement for hair extensions which dated back to the early 1900’s! Admittedly, I knew wigs had been around for a long time but not hair extensions! Actually, if you replaced the model in the ad with Jessica Simpson, the advert isn’t that different from many hair extension ads you see these days on the web.
Egyptian Hair Extensions?
After further research into hair extension history, I discovered that they were invented long before the early 1900’s. Incredibly, there is documented proof of hair extension use by the Egyptians that dates back to around 3400BC. Although extensions and wigs were very popular across all segments of society back then, it was the middle and upper classes that owned a much larger selection.
Some things never change: As is the case today, back in the Egyptian times prices and quality of extensions varied greatly. The best was made from 100% human hair, with lower quality product having vegetable fibres and sheep wool added! The cheapest product was made 100% from vegetable hair. I guess these extensions were the equivalent of nasty old synthetic hair used in some extensions these days.
Adding hair extensions back in these ancient times certainly wasn’t as simple as the wonderful methods we have at our disposal these days. A common method was braiding, which incorporated complex designs using intricate weaves and knots. It is estimated adding these extensions took at least 15 hours to add. Compare that to adding micro ring extensions in 1-2 hours!
The Victorian Love Of Hair Extensions
After these early Egyptian times, hair extensions lost a lot of their popularity through the centuries. They were actually frowned upon from the early 1800’s. However, from this time onwards, they gradually gained popularity and during the mid Victorian era, they were so incredibly popular that 102 tonnes of hair was sold in France in 1873 alone. Although this is a lot of hair, it pales in comparison with the 79,000 tonnes of hair imported into the US last year.
Through most of the 1900’s hair extensions weren’t hugely popular. A big part of this was due to the cost of hair and the state of economies around the world. Disposable income wasn’t anything like what it has been over the last couple of decades. Speaking from experience, I know my mother would NEVER have considered spending hundreds (let alone thousands) on hair extensions (and we weren’t struggling financially). Priorities change I guess.
What is in store for the next hundred years? It will be interesting to see whether long, voluminous hair remains sort after. I hope so for the sake of the hair extension industry which has grown massively over the past 10 years. Only time will tell, but one thing is certain… hair extensions must be one of the oldest fashion accessories on the planet.
Tags: history
I love this article. It’s amazing how far back hair extensions were worn. I guess long, thick hair has always been in style. It makes sense, as it is associated with beauty and youth and since the beginning of time, people have been searching for that fountain of youth. Love your blog!
Great article.. I never knew hair extensions to the early 1900’s .
You’d think seeing as hair extensions have been around for over 3 thousand years they’d have advanced the application methods a bit more. Some salons still use braiding. And it probably hurts as much these days having them added as it did back then!