The 19th and 20th century saw a number of new inventions which were designed to make hair styling more natural looking, longer lasting and more importantly effective.  It was as far back as 1866 when Hiram Maxim first invented a curling iron.

In 1900 curling tongs were invented that provided deep and long-lasting Marcel curls and waves. It was in 1920 when a French hairdresser by the name of, Alexandre F. Godefroy, invented the hair dryer which was made from the bonnet that is often seen attached to the old flexible chimney that was used as a gas stove.

Meanwhile during 1905 Sarah Walker had created a cosmetic empire in Indiana, and was to become the world’s first female African-American millionaire in the U.S. through her invention of hair straightening by using hot combs and an emollient cream.

In 1906, a German hairdresser known by the name of Charles L. Nessler was working in London and experimented by applying an iron with borax paste to curl hair which was to become the first permanent wave (or perm) as we know it now, though at the time it was an expensive procedure that could take up to 12 hours.

Probably the most significant hair care breakthrough was in 1945, when Eugene Schueller a French Chemist working at L’Oréal decided to combine the action of hydrogen peroxide and thioglycolic acid and produced the first cold permanent wave process which was cheaper and faster than previously. Eugene found that by relaxing the bonds in hair protein, the chemical process completely changed the configuration of a person’s hair structure and reset it to a more curled form through oxidation.

During the turn of the century ladies buffed their nails with paste, powder or cake.  There was a product during the 1900’s that promised brilliant shine and was waterproof, known as Hyglo Nail Polish.

1920 The look was pixie and childlike and screen stars wore short hair and had slender figures.  Nails at this time were mainly unpolished.

1921 The National Hairdressers Association was founded and later became known as theNational Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association, and later known as the National Cosmetology Association.

1924 The non-profit organization, the Association of Accredited Cosmetology Schools known as AACS was founded to bring all facets of the industry of cosmetology and was also set up to further education in the arts and sciences of cosmetology as an industry.

1925 Enter nail varnish – the only colour at this time was a sheer rosy red and was applied to the centre of the nail only which meant missing the moon and free edge of nails with colour leaving them clear.

Beatrice Kaye who was the manicurist at MGM dubbed this period the ‘moon manicure.’  The cuticles were cut well back and the free edges were filed to a point. Etiquette books at the time still warned women not to paint their nails in “garish colours.”

1927 The famous Max Factor brand introduced a product known as Society Nail Tint. This was sold in a porcelain pot which contained a rose-coloured cream. When the product was put onto the nail and buffed down it gave the nail a very natural looking rose colour.

Nail Whites then became popular and came in a chalky white liquid which was packed in a tube and applied underneath the tips of nails and resembled the modern day French manicure.  Max Factor went on to launch cuticle remover and cuticle cream.

1929 Perfume was put into nail varnish and introduced to the market but it didn’t take off.

Great nail care products can now be found from;  Gale Hayman, Sally Hansen, W7, Opal Crafts, Body Collection and Skin Benefits. Technic has some great coloured varnishes and tend to provide their products in larger colour sets that give you a wide choice depending upon your mood.

Our modern hair care is now a blend of marketing and advanced science with many companies offering thousands of hair products that will provide every possible need.

In previous years people would use simple soap and water for their basic hair cleaning.

However, over the last hundred years the products that have come mainly into fashion are those designed to condition and clean hair. The word ‘Shampoo’ is a word that was derived from a Hindi word means ‘massage’ and the meaning dates back to 1877 at a time when English hairdressers used soda water and boiled soap whilst adding herbs to aid manageability, fragrance and health.

Over the previous 20 years, shampoos have developed with science and become increasingly complicated and contain many ingredients.

The original soap materials used were replaced in the whole with synthetic surfactants which are capable of achieving a more effective and gentle variety of cleansing abilities depending upon hair type. During 1970 Proctor and Gamble changed the hair care industry forever when it introduced two-in-one shampoo/conditioner. Many other brands followed and in 1997 the 2 in 1 products were 20% of the shampoo market alone.

Originally, in Victorian times, natural oils were used for conditioning and during the later era, macassar oil which came from Indonesia was commonly used for conditioning the hair of men.  Macassar oil is a very greasy substance and sparked the British need for having an antimacassar, which was a crocheted doily that was often seen pinned to the back of armchairs which absorbed the excess oils the hair was producing. The Paris Exposition in 1900 saw Pinaud advertise a brand new brilliantine which was formulated to soften all hair including beards, and moustaches.

Some of the best hair care brands on the market today are Tigi and Fudge who not only provide great conditioners and shampoos for all hair types but also fantastic and funky styling aids in putty’s, wax, mousse, gel and hairsprays.

Japan

In Japan, men used to wear long ponytails at the back and shaved the front of their heads. In the medieval times women wore their hair long and loose but when the 17th century came in hair was swept up from the nape of the neck and became more styled and adorned with jewelry and fancy combs and pins.

Africa

There were a huge range of hair styles because of all the diverse and different tribes which deemed a person’s hair style as significant to their status and tribe.

The better known tribes such as the Masai warriors would allow the back of their hair to grow but tied the front sections into small braids.  Women and men deemed as ‘non warriors’ had shaven heads.  There were many tribes that would dye their hair with red earth and some of them even used animal dung to style it.
Mangbetu women would plait their hair very thinly and tightly using cone shaped frames to design it and using bone needles to dress it.

America

The Native American Indians were also divided with their hairstyles.  Plains Indians wore long braids with feathers, whereas the South East Coast saw their Indians with entirely shaven heads except for a ridge of hair long the crown.  Southern Incas had black head bands worn over fairly short bobbed hair and the Aztec women would plait their hair and entwine coloured cloth around their heads.

Mayan Nobility wore large and high feathered ornate head dresses over shaven heads.

The Western World

During the Renaissance period of the 15th century, upper class women plucked and plucked, they would pluck their entire front hairlines completely away to give them a more fashionable high forehead. The remainder of their hair would be scraped back and an elaborate head dress was worn. The same was happening in Europe although the only difference was with upper class Italian ladies who covered their hairline and wore jeweled turbans and low pretty caps.

Many saw blonde as a fashionable colour and bleach made of saffron or onion skins was developed.

Paloma Picasso is a French born and very high-end fashion designer and business woman who led the designer market throughout France and Spain from the 60’s; she was born on 19th April 1949.  She is the daughter of Francoise Gilot and Pablo Picasso the famous French artists. Paloma lives in Lausanne in Switzerland.

From a very early age Miss Picasso became the primary subject of many of her father’s artistic works of art which included the well-known painting “Paloma with an Orange and Paloma in Blue.”

Eventually Paloma changed her focus to the fashion design field, and created and launched her own brand and company which included a line of evening wear and a fabulous first perform which was her eponymous perfume.

Paloma Picasso was a regular celebrity at the world famous discotheque Studio 54 and she started making jewellery designs for the prestigious Tiffany & Co.

Making a notorious appearance Paloma was the Countess Erzsébet Báthory in a Polish film produced by Walerian Borowczyk which was an erotic film and formed part of the episodes of Immoral Tales in 1974.
One of the most famous fragrances launched by this brand is the Paloma Picasso Eau de Toilette.

The oldest hair products used for keeping the hair tidy are the comb and brush.

Lydia O Newman was the first person to create a hairbrush during 1865.

After this initial invention, hair care products (HCP) have been expanding to include all sorts of products from hairspray to hair dye and hair loss products.  It is clear from statistics that women tend to use far more hair care products than men, this being the case the market is virtually completely targeted at females.

Madame C. J. Walker was an inventor and entrepreneur in the field of hair care products and was the person who pioneered products for hair loss and hair care generally after she started to experience hair loss herself.
Years before this she worked as a sales agent for a ‘hair’ company that didn’t have particularly good products and whilst she was doing this, realized there was potential to introduce her own products to the market and particularly for black women.

Madame C. J. Walker was able to promote her new hair care products for the people she had already been talking to in her previous job.  She often gave free demonstrations and samples to women so they could enjoy the products as much as she did.

Expanding her HCP range she also opened Lelia College in 1908 which is dedicated to the ongoing researching of HCP products. When she died she left her legacy for HCP product development which is constantly being improved by technology and the younger generation.

Many people keep theirs in the fridge as it is rumoured to make it last longer.

Nail varnish has been around far longer than you might think and is thought to have been used as far back as 3000 BC.

Originating from China, its original mixture was made up of a whole range of ingredients from gelatin, bees’ wax and egg whites.  There was also an ingredient in it called Gum Arabic which was found in a certain type of African tree which is of the genus Acacia. For smell and stain the Chinese added the petals of roses, alum and orchids to their polish.

Around the same time the more upper class people of Ancient Egypt wore polish on their nails that was of a similar texture to lacquered paint, which was meant to symbolize money and prosperity.

Around 600 BC during the Chou Dynasty, nail colours were metallic silver and gold and as such the choice for royal nail varnish which was always the same colour. Whatever the Chou Dynasty colour was it was mirrored by the Chinese upper class that followed suit with their own Dynasty matching nail colours and all these varnishes were coloured with natural pigments.

The more modern nail polish was founded by Michelle Menard in 1920. Hollywood starlets and the then known ‘flapper’ girls  wore bright red colours and pin-ups like Lara Turner always had red lips and red nails for red carpet events and photo shoots.