Throughout history, the styling of hair and adornments for the hair have generally tended to alternate between the prettily decorative and the purely practical. Among the ornaments to be worn in the hair, one could number hairpins as well as combs which, until well into the 19th century, were used in the service of hair hygiene.
The technical advances that characterise the first years of the 20th century also affected the styling of hair. At first, hair was given artificial curls. For this purpose, heated curling irons were pressed into the hair. The resulting curls lasted only until the hair was next washed. Only after the hair had been pre-treated with alkali solutions did it prove possible to obtain permanent curls. Technical advances also made life easier with respect to the drying of hair. The first hair-drier still involved the burning of methylated spirits. The first electric hair-drier came onto the market in about 1910. |
