Victorian Hairstyles

Key Terms

Apollo Knot - false hair looped, plaited or coiled and looped, and wired to cause the loop to stand erect in the hair dress. Fashionable from 1926.

Marcel Wave - An artificial hair wave formed in the manner of that invented by Marcel Grateau using heated Marcel waving irons.

Gibson Girl Coiffure - A high pompadour with short looped coil hanging down the back of the neck. 1904.

Coiffure - A headdress

Early Victorian Hairstyles - 1830's - 1860's:

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1830's:

Victorian hairstyles would usually consist of a bun at the back which was quite high up. The hair would be centre parted which tended to be neat and sleek. Most of the hairstyles sit at about jaw level. The Apollo knot/bun and plaits were very popular too. 

1840/50's:

Hair slowly starts to get longer, rather than chin length. The curls start going further around the head rather than on the side. Victorians would use really hot metal tongs, similar to what we have now but a lot narrower, which would be heated in an oven and it would fry their hair. Victorians used soap to wash their hair and they also had oils to put in it. 

Mid/Late Victorian Hairstyles - 1860's - 1890's:

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Hair had a lot more volume and more curls. Hair was much more elaborate and the curls moved towards the back of the head. They became much more looser, Marcel Grateau designed the Marcel Wave by turning the tongs over to create a wave. Combs and hair pieces were very popular and used quite a bit in their hair. In the 70's small fringes were seen and the Apollo knots seemed to decrease in popularity, if worn they were much higher on the head.

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How the hairstyles changed as the century progressed

Based on the books I have read and the research I have found in lessons and on the internet I can see the change in Victorian hairstyles over the years. In the early era we can see that buns/chignons were very popular. Victorians tended to have their hair centre parted which which was neat and sleek and a majority of the hair would sit at about jaw level. About 10 or so years later, their hair starts to get longer and curls start going further round the head rather than on the side. More people started to use the metal tongs which were narrow and would fry their hair. In around the 1870's, their hair had a lot more volume and more curls and it was much more elaborate. The curls moved towards the back of the head and were much more looser. The Marcel Wave became very popular and small fringes were seen. The Apollo knots decreased in popularity and if they were worn they were much higher. 

Creating a Victorian Hairstyle:

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Demo:

1) Part the hair down the middle to create a centre parting.

2) Take the front section of the hair and part down past the ear.

3) Tie the remaining hair at the back into a high ponytail and create a bun.

4) Take the front section and using the curling tongs, curl about 3 pieces of the hair and then you have created your Victorian hairstyle.

Above is the hairstyle we created without the accessories, it was just a basic hairstyle to help us understand and get us used to creating Victorian hairstyles. I found it very easy and simple to do, especially as we used the curling tongs in our last project. The only thing that made it quite hard is the that the hair on our Katie heads isn't very long. The Victorians had hair down to their waists so they could create big plaits and buns with lots of volume, so having to work on hair that isn't very long is quite difficult as you can't really create a realistic look. I will continue to practice and develop different Victorian hairstyles.

My Hairstyle: