Elizabethan Hair

Having red or fair hair was very popular in the Elizabethan times as you would be referred to as an upper class women. Sometimes Elizabethan women would dye their hair yellow with saffron, cumin seed, celandine and oil in order to follow fashion. Queen Elizabeth was very lucky that she naturally has red colour hair, although she did have over eighty wigs which she also used and these were known as periwigs. It was very vital for Queen Elizabeth to keep up her image of being a beauty of a 'virgin queen' and she always had a pale complexion with red cheeks and lips to match her required look.

Many Elizabethan hairstyles were created for the upper class fashions and ruffs or ruffles were extremely popular and were built on gauze wings which were raised at the back of the head. Frizzy hairstyles was also another popular style for the women. It was important for the women to always keep their hair looking long because the full natural beauty of this was displayed by the young women. This is because it was a clear sign of a virgin and was the most liked hairstyle for a woman to have on her wedding day and the bride would beautifully decorate her hair with fresh flowers. Once a women did become married she would then sweep her hair back and a lot of the hair would be covered by a form of head covering. Usually long hair would be put back into a bun, although the front and sides of the hair was where most of the hair design was showing, so extra attention was given to these parts.

Hair was always combed back off the forehead as fringes were definitely not in fashion back in the Elizabethan era. Queen Elizabeth's favourite hair was frizzy although it did depend on the type of hat worn to how the hair would be styled.

There were a number of head coverings in which were worn in the Elizabethan era to keep most of the hair covered. Some of which are listed below:

• The Coif which was also known as the 'biggin' and this was worn by all children.
• The French Hood which was a half moon, or crescent, style band or brim coming away from the face. The edges were often decorated with pearls or jewels. 
• The Atifet which is much the same as the French Hood although this is with a heart shaped crescent and were often decorated with lace trimmings.
• The Caul which was the hair net they used to cover all the hair at the back of the head.
• The Pillbox style of hat which had a veil attached to the back of it. 

Source: http://thepragmaticcostumer.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/fashions-least-sexy-accessories-the-coif/

Source: http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-hats.htm

Source: http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-hats.htm

Source: http://www.cardinal-creations.com/joomla/index.php/classes/tudor-lady-class

Source: http://webspace.webring.com/people/lo/oonaghsown/curves/pill_box_hats.htm

It was just as important to have the appropriate hairstyle for men as it was for the women. In the Elizabethan times the fashion began as men having short, cropped hair and gradually became longer later on in the period and it was necessary for men with long hair to have curly and curl it with a hot iron. A long amount of time was taken for men to have their desired look for their hair and they used gum or wax to keep their hair looking immaculate. 

Men also used to have beards during the Elizabethan era as it was very fashionable to do so. The beards were cut into a number of different shapes such as, oblong, round, square or pointed. They didn't require help from a barber due to them being kept long. To keep their beards in place they used starch.

http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-hair.htm

Source Information: www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-hair-styles.htm