Victorian Hairstyles

Throughout the Victorian Era, hairstyles changed significantly. Women's hair was long, and very rarely cut, and was usually worn in a bun, called an 'Apollo's Knot'. There was little detail in the hair in the beginning of the Victorian age, apart from tight curls running to the chin, with a middle parting.    Sausage curls framing the face that would lie on the cheeks or cheekbones of the woman were the most popular hairstyle in the early Victorian years,  or plaiting/twisting the hair around the ear as decoration, with the rest of the hair pulls back into a mid bun. 

Victorian Hairstyles through the Period.
http://individual.utoronto.ca/beaujot/web2/bib.html

Victorian Woman with typical short, tight curls. Early Victorian Era.
http://www.victoriana.com/Jewelry/victorian-hair-jewelry.html

This period was all about simple hairstyles, and as the age went on, hairstyles became more ornate and demure, the attitudes change, and therefore so did the style. Around the 1840's, buns became higher, and curls became looser. The styles were much more romantic than they had been throughout Victoria's reign, not as sleek and tidy. The curls moved from the sides of the face to the back of the head, and the parting disappeared to create a full fringe, which would be pin-curled. Hair would have been styled with tongs in all different widths, and heated up in an oven or fire. Padding was used more as well as hair accessories and fake hair to make the style more elaborate.

Hairstyle used for the late Victorian Era.
 http://bizlocallistings.com/junytd/victorian-hairstyles-for-little-girls

Drawing of Hair accessories and fake hair used in the Victorian Era.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/j1sRNMTyF8k/maxresdefault.jpg

The hair was considered the woman's 'crowning glory', and was looked after. The excess hair from brushes would be kept in a hair receiver, and used to create padding, or even create jewelerry. Soap was used to wash the hair once a month, the upper class women more regularly than the lower class. The Parisian hairdresser Marcel Grateau began the look of looser waves, when he used the curling iron upside down. This resulted in the wave being less severe, and very natural looking. The relentless use of hot irons damaged the hair to unbelievable extents, as the tongs are not like what we use nowadays. Metal rods would be heated in an oven, then once the rod had met very, very, high temperatures, the hair would be wrapped around. Ladies would sometimes even do this more than once a day, if their curls became too loose. Therefore, more and more padding was used to create volume, like the Elizabethan Era. Curled hair was a signal of a 'sweeter temperament', whilst straight haired girls were considered 'awkward'. Combs were used to decorate and help support the hair, much alike this one seen below. 

Faux Tortoiseshell Comb.
http://www.hairarchives.com/private/victorian1new.htm

Small sketch showing the change in hairstyles.
http://www.fashion-era.com/images/HairHats/original_hathair_images/5hair1872-79.jpg

(Michael Warner, 'Victorian Hair' (online) [viewed 30th January 2015] available from: http://www.hairarchives.com/private/victorian1new.htm)