JUST HAIRCUT

Story of the Pony tail.

On the path from ancient to modern time

Follow a quick hair-story lesson.

Before the 17th Century

Not knowing the the past, it could appear the semi-bald, semi-ponytail look was inspired by a heavy-metal music fan unable to cope with the ageing process. However pre-17th century in Asia, the male Manchu people of Northeast China let hair on the top of their heads grow long (and sometimes braided it), while the front was shaved. A sort of punk-style put in reverse gear, if you will.

Also known as 'queue' - the French word for 'tail' - this was a traditional hairstyle and often associated with the Manchu people, prior to their forming the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial Chinese Dynasty that ruled from 1644 to 1912.

Yet, the ponytail can be traced even further back to Ancient Greece - appearing in frescoes painted thousands of years ago in Crete, set high on the backs of heads of women. This is described in the Encyclopedia of Hair.

Originally the style was a symbol of submission. Not complying could lead to severe punishment. Manchu people forced the style on Han Chinese men (who along with Han Chinese women, traditionally wore their hair in buns or topknots), during the Manchu conquest of China in the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, it was the mandatory, masculine style for European soldiers and membership symbol of the cultural 'establishment'. French soldiers wore their hair in a queue (no longer than eight inches long), while British soldiers and sailors wore their long hair pulled back into ponytails, not always braided, but often greased and/or powdered or tarred. The hair was tightly secured with ribbon or a strap.

At the start of 1800, the British Army was ordered to cut off its queues, when regulations changed and short hair was deemed smarter and required lower maintenance, although the Navy wore a version, known as a 'pigtail', until about 1820.

Hairstyle for ladies

At the start of the 20th century, the hair style was mainly used by the younger generation. It was considered practical, informal and used by those not bound by traditions. Something for young girls, rather than women.

In the movies of the 1960s, the hair style became a symbol of youth in the pop culture. The ponytail was reinvented into a style that the daring and independant girls wore such as leading movie models like Brigitte Bardot.

Symbol of female empowerment

Madonna's 1990 "Blonde Ambition tour" presented her with a sporting clip-on platinum plaited pony that became as legendary as the conical bra she wore it with. She helped making the ponytail synonymous with female empowerment (as well as other style choices).

Practical and feminine

The recent years the pulled-back pony hair style has become a feminist symbol of 'I'm busy working, and I'm feminine in a practical way'. It's a look that's been popularised by the likes of Beyonce, J-Lo and the Kardashians.

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Haircut through time.

Haircut through time

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Question about style.

Through time, there has been a tremendous change in hair style, styling facilities and for the profession.

Medieval hairstyles were formal with added head-wear in huge range of styles. Upper classes used braids, buns, metallic wires and ribbons to support impressive hairstyles. Women especially used a greater variaty of hairstyles. Long hair provided an opportunity for many different hair styles. Flowers, leaves and silk ribbons were used in compositions characteristic for this period. Long plaits, braids, and up-dos were also important components of medieval women hairstyles. During late middle ages, coiled buns were introduced in arrangements on both side of the head. During this period, it was common to display hair parted from the middle while hiding the remaining hair with a bonnet.

For men, a shaved head was considered a display of humility. Monks shaved their heads from the middle while leaving a narrow strip around it. Usual male hairstyle's was short hair combed toward the front on the forehead without parting them. Monks used a variation with shaving at the middle of the head. Especially the nobility preferred to let hair grow long and sometimes part it from the middle. To summarize, medieval women's hairstyles had a greater variety than for medieval men.
In medieval times, it was widely recognized that it took special tools and a craftsman to fix hair according to the traditional styles.

Modern day hairstyle requires a slightly different setup. A lot happened around First and Second World War. During the first war, women around the world started moving to shorter and more practical hairstyles. By the 1920s women began to use shingle, bob and crop the hair, covering it with small head-hugging cloche hats. They also started using heated scissor irons to create wave structures. Coloring hair became popular and durable permanent waving became a new fashion. This was an expensive, time-demanding and unpleasant process, in which hair was put in curlers and inserted into a dry heat or steam operated machine. In the 1930s women began to wear hair somewhat longer, in pageboys, bobs or waves and curls.

Men on the other hand started to wear hair in ways popularized by leading male movie characters such as Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Rudolph Valentino. Their hair was kept short. It could be parted on the side, parted in the middle or just combed straight back. Supporting products was used such as pomade, creams and tonics to keep the hair in place. Men's haircuts grew even shorter after the start of the Second World War, mimicking the military crewcut.

During the 1920s and 1930s, women in the far east (Japan) started wearing hair in a style called mimi-kakushi (translating to "ear hiding"), where the hair was pulled back to cover the ears and tied into a bun behind the neck. Waved. curled and bobbed hair became increasingly popular for Japanese women, and permanent waves, though controversial, were extremely popular. The new fashions were especially followed by actresses and young Japanese women followed Westernized fashions and lifestyles through this period.

After the Second World War, women started wearing hair in softer, more natural styles. By the start of the 1950s women's hair was generally curled and worn in various styles and lengths. Through the 1950s, high bouffant and beehive styles became popular. This was sometimes nicknamed "B-52s" for their similarity to the nose profile of the B-52 bomber airplane. In this period many women relied increasingly on hair spray products. They washed and set their hair only once a week, and kept it in place by wearing curlers every night and reteasing and respraying it every morning.

Leading female moviestarts continued to have a dominant impact on hair style. Marilyn Monroe, Doris Day, etc. In the 1960s, many women preferred short modern hair cuts such as the pixie cut. By the 1970s, hair tended to be longer and looser. In both the 1960s and 1970s many men and women decided to distance themselves from mainstream society traditions and wore their hair very long and straight. Women would straighten their hair by ironing it or by using chemical products. Some even rolled it up with large empty cans while wet.

In the 1960s and 1970s then African-American men and women abandoned hair-straightening products and started wearing their hair in large Afros. By the end of the 1970s the Afro had fallen out of favour among African-Americans, and was being replaced by other natural hairstyles such as corn rows and dreadlocks. Many men preferred very short hair style or shaving the head - rather than going back to hair-straightening products.

Since the 1970s, women have favored a wide variety of fairly natural hair styles. By the 1980s, women pulled back their hair with stretchy ponytail holders made from cloth over elastic bands. Women also occasionally applied glittery ornaments and claw-style barrettes to secure ponytails and other upswept hairstyles. Currently, women and men can choose from a large variety of hairstyles. Gender norms still apply though: men with long hair and women with ungroomed hair may face discrimination. This may be slightly different for African-American men, who can wear their hair in a variety of styles that overlap with those of African-American women.

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