The Victorians

Hi there and welcome back to my blog! This week we are going to be focussing on the Victorian period and will be recreating a few of the hairstyles across the era.

Figure 1: Evidence of Victorian clear complexion (RMG, n.d.).

Victorian's believed that obviously using makeup was obscene and was seen as improper. The image of Victorian beauty (clear complexion with stained lips and soft eyelashes) was expected to be natural and was seen as a gift from God. Having a clear complexion was so important to Victorian women as it was a sign of youth, wealth and social standing (Figure 1). Because there was such a lack of makeup within this era, haircare was prioritised. Beauty manuals from the era suggested that brushing hair for at least 10 minutes, 4 times per day was the recommendation. Victorian ladies made their own hair rats by taking the hair from their hairbrushes and combing it out to create hair pieces, which was much cheaper and created a better colour match than buying already hair pieces (Marsh, 2009).

Figure 2: Victorian hairstyle in industry (Fanpop, n.d.).

Figure 2 (above) shows just one example of a Victorian hairstyle done in industry. The Young Victoria (2009) is a British TV period drama based on the early life and reign of Queen Victoria. In this example, a very historically accurate hairstyle is shown, which was worn more in the early Victorian era.

Figure 4: Own version of early Victorian hairstyle 2 (O'Connor, 2021).

Figure 3: Own version of early Victorian hairstyle 1 (O'Connor, 2021).

Figures 3 & 4 show an attempt at this early Victorian hairstyle. This look has been completed to a good standard as it replicates the original style well. There are some stray baby hairs at the nape of the neck on the wig that has been used. This would not be acceptable in industry because it is not a refined look; these hairs would have to be sprayed up with hairspray or be invisibly gripped up somehow.

The plaits are not as tight as they are shown in figure 2, plaits are not a strength of mine, so to improve on this in the future they will be worked on, on all types of hair and different styles of plaits. SweetHearts Hair (Figure 5) on YouTube has many videos on their channel explaining thoroughly how to achieve neat braids, this will be improved on as braided hairstyles will be completed continuously.

Figure 5: Braid Tutorial (SweetHearts Hair, 2019).

The braids are also uneven on each side, which would be obvious to a viewer on a TV programme. Balance is important in hairdressing and, most of the time, when there is dissatisfaction with a hairstyle, it is because the balance is off (Milady, 2011). To improve on this, more care will be taken when creating hairstyles by constantly checking the balance by looking in the mirror and imagining a line down the centre of the face and seeing if the hair sits at the same level on either side.

Figure 6: Victorian Set 1 (O'C

Figure 6: Victorian Set 2 (O'C

Figure 8: Victorian Set 3 (O'C

Figures 6, 7 & 8: Victorian Set Images (O'Connor, 2021).

Figures 6, 7 & 8 above show the roller set that was done for an early Victorian hairstyle. The rollers are in a directional set with each side of rollers going towards the face. The roller set was very neat, which resulted in nice curls for the final images. The rollers have been improved on since last week as a lot of care was taken to get the correct tension when rolling them. There are some loose strands hanging out, however, this is just due to the wig having lots of flyaways which cannot be helped.

Figure 9: Early Victorian Hairstyle (O'Connor, 2021).

Figure 9 shows the final image of the hairstyle before being applied to a model. As you can see the curls have come out very nicely because of the neat roller set. They are soft and bouncy just as they should be. The curls are nice, however, they are quite separated, when they should be more unison.

Figure 10 (below) shows a portrait of Marie-Louise, who was the first Queen of the Belgians. Here, she can be seen sporting the 'sausage' curls hairstyle. As you can see, the curls are not as tight as they should be, which is due to the size of the rollers that were used. To improve on this, a much smaller size roller should be used in order to get the 'sausage' ringlet curls that they achieved in the Victorian period. The hair on the head is also much flatter and smoother than the one created. More time should be taken when smoothing down the hair, with some secret grips added to get the hair as flat as possible. Chapman (2017) says that spraying the wig with hairspray, then using your hand to flatten down the hair will give it a smooth finish.

In the final images (found in the 'Period Hairdressing Portfolio' section of the website), the model had false eyelashes on with her nose piercings still in. This completely ruins the image as it reminds the viewer that they are looking at a modern image, and ruins the effect of it being a period hairstyle. In future, there will be more awareness when taking portfolio images ensuring that all hair, makeup, costume and accessories are as historically accurate as possible.

Figure 10: 'Sausage' Curls (MentalFloss, n.d.).

One final hairstyle was created, which is a late Victorian hairstyle. Below shows Figures 11, 12 & 13 which are the images of the set for the hairstyle.

Figure 11: Late Victorian Set

Figure 12: Late Victorian Set

Figure 13: Late Victorian Set

Figures 11, 12 & 13: Late Victorian Set Images (O'Connor, 2021).

The front section of the hair was in a directional set with a centre parting. Large rollers were used in order to achieve maximum volume. The rest of the hair was put into a ponytail, then large rollers were used to put the ponytail into a set. Once again, lots of attention was put into the rollers meaning they were neat and tight.

Figure 14: Late Victorian 1 (O

Figure 15: Late Victorian 2 (O

Figure 16: Late Victorian 3 (O

Figures 14, 15 & 16: Late Victorian Hair Images (O'Connor, 2021).

Figures 14, 15 and 16 show the final images of the late Victorian hairstyle created. Matthews (2018) says that having healthy hair was not enough for Victorian women, it needed to be twisted or plaited into fashionable hairstyles. Many hairstyles were in a centre parting, with the hair pinned up with twists coming away from the face, which is what the hairstyle created has shown. The twists seem very intricate and difficult to do, however, were not actually too difficult to carry out.

Figure 17: From View of Late Victorian Hairstyle (O'Connor, 2021).

The overall effect of the images from the backs and sides is great as you can tell that it is definitely a Victorian hairstyle. The front view (Figure 17), however, needs work.

The balance is off because the hair is not symmetrical; the right hand side of the twists comes down lower than the left hand side. There are also lots of flyaway hairs, giving a very messy appearance to the overall hairstyle. These issues have already been spoken about with the previous Victorian hairstyles, meaning that extra attention to these problems is needed as they are recurring issues. The hairstyle also looks too loose, and perhaps too voluminous from the front angle. This could be because the hairstyle is still on the block and has not been applied to a model, so in future any wig work should be applied to a model, with makeup or not, just to get some perspective and to see how the hairstyle sits on a person.

Each Victorian hairstyle definitely has their strengths and weaknesses, however, overall a good standard of work has been produced as there have been visible improvements in the roller sets that have been done, which were weaknesses last week.

Thank you for reading this weeks blog. Final images of the wig applied on a model can be found in the Period Hairdressing Portfolio section of the website.

Next week we will be looking at the Edwardians: the era of the suffragettes!

See you then:)

Alysha

Reference List:

Chapman, K. (2017) Hair Secrets [Online]. 2nd ed, Kaycee Energy Publishing. Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Hair_Secrets/c8lDDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 (Accessed 16th January 2022).

Fanpop. (n.d.) The Young Victoria [Online]. Available at: https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-young-victoria/images/27405487/title/young-victoria-photo (Accessed 16th January 2022).

Marsh, M. (2009) Compacts and Cosmetics: Beauty from Victorian Times to the Present Day, Barnsley, Pen & Sword Books Ltd.

Matthews, M. (2018) A Victorian Lady's Guide to Fashion and Beauty, Barnsley, Pen & Sword Books Ltd.

MentalFloss. (n.d.) 15 Delightful Hairdos History Has Forgotten [Online]. Available at: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/58339/15-delightful-hairdos-history-has-forgotten (Accessed 16th January 2022).

Milady. (2011) Milady Standard Cosmetology, United States of America, Engage Learning.

O'Connor, A. (2021) Early Victorian Hairstyle [Own Image]. York College, York.

O'Connor, A. (2021) Front View of Late Victorian Hairstyle [Own Image]. York.

O'Connor, A. (2021) Late Victorian Set Images [Own Images]. York College, York.

O'Connor, A. (2021) Own version of early Victorian hairstyle 1 [Own Image]. York College, York.

O'Connor, A. (2021) Own version of early Victorian hairstyle 2 [Own Image]. York College, York.

O'Connor, A. (2021) Victorian Set Images [Own Images]. York.

RMG. (n.d.) What happened during the Victorian era? [Online]. Available at: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-happened-during-victorian-era (Accessed 16th January 2022).

SweetHearts Hair. (2019) How to do TIGHT Braids by SweetHearts Hair [Online Video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY9cLelbXaI (Accessed 16th January 2022).