How Did Georgians Wash Their Hair?
How did Georgians wash their hair? Did they wash it at all? Didn't they just wear wigs, which were full of revolting powder?
Well, it wasn't quite as bad as that. In Culpeper's English Physician; and Complete Herbal, one of the most frequently reprinted herbals of the period, we find this observation: "The hair washed with the lye made of the ashes of the [barberry] tree, and water, will make it turn yellow. " Elsewhere he claims that infusions of the herbs wall-rue and maiden-hair can be used to prevent hair falling out, and also observes of the Southernwood tree that its ashes will, if mixed with old salad-oil and used to wash the hair or scalp, cure baldness. [1]
Whether or not any of these plants will have any effect on hair growth, the recommendation proves that people must have been using herbal infusions as well as lye mixed with ashes to wash their hair, in the absence of anything better.
Why would anyone use ashes to wash their hair? Because the mixture of ashes and animal fat is the basis of a crude home-made soap. People made their own with hardwood ashes, rainwater and cooking fat in a barrel. [2]
Modern soap is made with lanolin or olive oil, and usually scented, but is not that different. If you were stuck forever without any shampoo you might resort to home-made soap rather than nothing at all.
He also advises "To prevent hair from falling out... the Way to prevent it, is to take Myrtle Berries, Galls, and Emblick Myrabolans, of each a like Quantity; boil them in Oil Omphacine, with which anoint the Part; it's an excellent Remedy, though as old as Galen, and for Baldnes; you may consult that Article. There are many other. Things in relation to the Hair, which may be briefly, touched upon; and for those who have a Mind in particular to dye their Hair black, they may do it with the Calx of Lama, made by Spirit of Nitre, mixed with fair Water, with which let them wash the Hair by the Help of a Spunge." [4]
Unappealing as some of these ingredients may appear - particularly quicklime! - this does reveal that some people in the eighteenth century were not averse to occasionally washing their hair with water, herbs or crude soap-like preparations. Some herbal infusions imparted a pleasant scent while others such as rosemary were mildly antiseptic. Ladies' maids were expected to be skilled at making and applying everything that could beautify their employer's hair.
Another factor was the tax placed by the British government on hair powder in 1795. While powder went out, pomade did not, and in 1810 The New Family Receipt Book recommended
"To make Jessamine Butter, or Pomatum. Hog's lard melted, and well washed in fair water, laid an inch thick in a dish, and strewed over with Jessamine flowers..." It gives much advice on dying the hair and suggests that before doing so, you wash it thoroughly with a solution of soda in water. "Its efficacy may be greatly improved by washing the hair before the application of the water, with common water, in which some soda has been dissolved. The proportion may be an ounce and an half of pure soda to a pint of the water...The hair must first be cleaned from powder and pomatum with a small tooth comb, and then washed with the soda and water till all grease, pomatum, &c. be got out; then use the Greek water [dye] in the following manner, first shaking the bottle..."[5]
Well, it wasn't quite as bad as that. In Culpeper's English Physician; and Complete Herbal, one of the most frequently reprinted herbals of the period, we find this observation: "The hair washed with the lye made of the ashes of the [barberry] tree, and water, will make it turn yellow. " Elsewhere he claims that infusions of the herbs wall-rue and maiden-hair can be used to prevent hair falling out, and also observes of the Southernwood tree that its ashes will, if mixed with old salad-oil and used to wash the hair or scalp, cure baldness. [1]
Whether or not any of these plants will have any effect on hair growth, the recommendation proves that people must have been using herbal infusions as well as lye mixed with ashes to wash their hair, in the absence of anything better.
Why would anyone use ashes to wash their hair? Because the mixture of ashes and animal fat is the basis of a crude home-made soap. People made their own with hardwood ashes, rainwater and cooking fat in a barrel. [2]
Modern soap is made with lanolin or olive oil, and usually scented, but is not that different. If you were stuck forever without any shampoo you might resort to home-made soap rather than nothing at all.
Another sort of concoction was a "Lixivium" an alkaline solution obtained by leaching wood ash with water. In 1725, the Dictionaire Oeconomique, Or, The Family Dictionary by Noel Chomel, recommended, "To curl the Hair; wash it very well with a Lixivium of Quick-Lime, then dry it very well, that done, anoint it with Oil of Myrtles, or Oil Omphacine, and powder, it well with fine Powder, putting it up every Night under a Cap; But to make that which curl too much lanker, anoint it thoroughly twice or thrice a Week with Oil of Lilies, Roses, or Marsh-Mallows, and comb it very well after : If you would have the Hair grow long and soft, distil ... Soap, and then make a strong Lye of Ash-Ashes, and wash it all over therewith."
He also advises "To prevent hair from falling out... the Way to prevent it, is to take Myrtle Berries, Galls, and Emblick Myrabolans, of each a like Quantity; boil them in Oil Omphacine, with which anoint the Part; it's an excellent Remedy, though as old as Galen, and for Baldnes; you may consult that Article. There are many other. Things in relation to the Hair, which may be briefly, touched upon; and for those who have a Mind in particular to dye their Hair black, they may do it with the Calx of Lama, made by Spirit of Nitre, mixed with fair Water, with which let them wash the Hair by the Help of a Spunge." [4]
Unappealing as some of these ingredients may appear - particularly quicklime! - this does reveal that some people in the eighteenth century were not averse to occasionally washing their hair with water, herbs or crude soap-like preparations. Some herbal infusions imparted a pleasant scent while others such as rosemary were mildly antiseptic. Ladies' maids were expected to be skilled at making and applying everything that could beautify their employer's hair.
It is true that for the most part, Georgians regarded brushing and combing the hair as the most important part of grooming. A very fine toothcomb would remove any headlice or their eggs, and washing hair with water was done more rarely. There are more recipes in Georgian books for hair-dyes than there are for hair-washes. However as anyone who has tried it knows, brushing your hair vigorously stimulates the scalp to produce more oil and sweat so it is not surprising that so many people resorted to shaving their hair off and wearing a wig.
The origin of hair powder may have been, paradoxically, to keep the hair clean. In 1720, the poet Matthew Prior wrote,
In our fantastic climes the fair
With cleanly powder dry their hair;
And round their lovely breast and head
Fresh flow'rs their mingl'd odours shed. [3]
The word "flow'r" here may be a pun. If hair was very greasy, and you had no soap or water easily available, you could put flour on it, and then when you brushed the flour out you would find that it had absorbed most of the grease. To us it sounds disgusting but when you consider that most of the hair-pomades used by stylists contained hog's grease, in other words, lard, scented with flowers and given fancy names such as "jessamine butter" you start to understand why people resorted to anything to get rid of it.
The origin of hair powder may have been, paradoxically, to keep the hair clean. In 1720, the poet Matthew Prior wrote,
In our fantastic climes the fair
With cleanly powder dry their hair;
And round their lovely breast and head
Fresh flow'rs their mingl'd odours shed. [3]
The word "flow'r" here may be a pun. If hair was very greasy, and you had no soap or water easily available, you could put flour on it, and then when you brushed the flour out you would find that it had absorbed most of the grease. To us it sounds disgusting but when you consider that most of the hair-pomades used by stylists contained hog's grease, in other words, lard, scented with flowers and given fancy names such as "jessamine butter" you start to understand why people resorted to anything to get rid of it.
The flour of course made your hair look white or grey, and this became the fashion. All fashions pass, and so thank goodness did this one. By the end of the century, both hair powder and wigs were rapidly becoming obsolete. One reason was the strong influence of classical ideals, which led men to adopt a "Roman" look, with their natural hair cropped short and exposed. Women copied the hairstyles found on ancient Greek vases, often with a lot of short curls at the front.
It is not until the late Regency period that we start to find references to specific hair-washing preparations. In 1818, The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c advertised
along with " Ladies' wash-leather Drawers for riding, &c.", a new product "For BEAUTIFYING HUMAN HAIR, Also for cleansing and preserving it, EXTRACT OF ROSES, By David Rigge & Son, Cultivators of Flowers, and Distillers to H. R. H. the Prince Regent. This elegant Extract is prepared principally with Roses, from which it derives mild astringent properties, gives strength and beauty to the Hair, and imparts to it the delicate fragrance of those flowers. Hair washed with the Extract soon becomes pleasingly soft, bright, and luxuriant in its growth; and Hair that has been made harsh, and is turning grey by the using of ardent spirits, or other improper preparations to clean it, will soon be restored to its natural colour, brilliancy, and beauty, by a few applications of the Extract of Roses, which is only to be purchased in London of David Rigge and Son, No. 35, New Bond street.— Price 3s. 5s and 10s." [6] The exorbitant price put it out of the reach of all but high society.
For a very long time people went on recommending Rowland's Macassar Oil, the bane of Victorian drawing-rooms, to protect against which the "anti-macassar" was invented. [7] Shampoo did not arrive until the 20th century.
For a very long time people went on recommending Rowland's Macassar Oil, the bane of Victorian drawing-rooms, to protect against which the "anti-macassar" was invented. [7] Shampoo did not arrive until the 20th century.
Often in the Georgian period we come across very sensible advice like this "Clip the hair close, and wash often with a strong lather of soap and warm water..." but, alas, it is alluding only to the care of horses.[8]
To find out more about the Georgian period read
[1] Nicholas Culpeper English Physician; and Complete Herbal, rpt 1798, page 73.
[2] https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-make-soap-from-ashes-zmaz72jfzfre
[3] Poems on Several Occasions. 1720.
[4] Noel Chomel, Dictionaire Oeconomique, Or, The Family Dictionary page 6.
[1] Nicholas Culpeper English Physician; and Complete Herbal, rpt 1798, page 73.
[2] https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-make-soap-from-ashes-zmaz72jfzfre
[3] Poems on Several Occasions. 1720.
[4] Noel Chomel, Dictionaire Oeconomique, Or, The Family Dictionary page 6.
[5] Maria Eliza Rundell, The New Family Receipt-book, 1810, p.335.
[6] The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c - 1818, page 124.
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