Of hair dyes and turbans

Anne here, with a slightly frivolous post.

I pinched this image off the web because not only did it make me laugh, there was a central truth to it — and a truth very much of our times. 

Because of lockdown, and because a number of my dark-haired friends have been getting tired of having to pay to keep restoring their natural hair color, several of them have decided that while they're not going out and not socializing, they're going to just let it happen and see what they think about their new shade of pale. And thus, CoronaLisa.

Of course, people have always dyed their hair and tried to stave off the aging process.  It's generally the dark haired ones who battle with the grey most. We fairer types are lucky in that the grey hairs are fairly easily absorbed and don't stand out as much.

 The Egyptians made lavish use of henna and other products — such as the blood of black animals — to try to stave off the grey. The richer ladies simply wore wigs made from the hair of slaves. The Romans, too, experimented with dyes made from various plants, though they were often toxic and damaged not only the hair, but the person growing it. Eventually they came up with a formula made of fermented leeches — yes, delightful I know.

And unless you were a prostitute, up to this time the color choices were mostly reddish (henna) or black. Prostitutes? you ask. Yes, in Ancient Rome they were required to dye their hair yellow as a sign of their profession and while the more prosperous wore wigs made from hair taken from conquered and enslaved fair-haired Germanic people, some tried various concoctions of herbs and ash and nuts to create the effect. (And no, the image on the right is neither Roman nor Egyptian. You'll discover the connection at the end of this post.)

Meanwhile some of the warlike enemies of the Romans—people like the Gauls and the Saxons — dyed their hair bright colors using red ochre, chalk, beechwood ash and goats’ fat, indigo, alfalfa, spices like turmeric and whatever else they could find. All to add to the savage appearance of their warriors

The trouble is, most natural dyes wash out easily. The same herbs and methods used to dye fabric — boiling for hours and fixing it with urine and other acids — can't exactly be used on human hair.

In the early 1600s, a recipe book of household essentials called "Delights for Ladies" recommended using 'Oyle of Vitrioll' to color black hair chestnut, but advises its readers to avoid it touching the skin. Yikes! A more modern name for 'Oyle of Vitrioll' is sulfuric acid.

Queen Elizabeth 1 used white lead for her complexion — toxic! No idea what she used to keep her hair from going grey in her old age — probably henna though, since she was a natural redhead.

There were lots of plant concoctions that enhanced color — pour lemon juice over your hair and dry it in the sun and light-colored  hair would look lighter. I did that when I was a teen. Didn't notice any difference, but the smell was nice. And things like vinegar (dark for dark hair and white for light) and rosemary enhanced the shine. (Several of my Regency-era heroines have used these.) But it was a long time before reliable dyes were created.

Then in the mid 1800s, English chemist William Henry Perkin made an accidental discovery that changed hair dye forever. Experimenting with coal tar in an attempt to generate a cure for malaria, Perkins created the first synthesized dye in 1863. The color was mauve and appropriately named Mauveine.

Not long after that, his chemistry professor August Hoffman derived a color-changing molecule from Mauveine (called para-phenylenediamine, or PPD), which became the foundation for most permanent hair dyes — and still is today.

In 1907, Eugene Schueller created the first chemical dye for commercial purposes. He called it Aureole (meaning like a halo). It would later be called L’Oréal, as would the company he founded.

By the late 1960s, coloring your hair was commonplace, and 1968 was the last year Americans were asked to state their hair color on passports — the widespread use of hair dye made this information pointless.  (I found most of the information about the history of hair dye from this site, and this, and this. If you're interested, click on the links — it's fascinating. And a little bit gruesome.)

As far as I'm concerned there was a much easier and more fun remedy for hair problems, and it was very fashionable in the late 18th Century and early 19th century. Have you guessed what it is?

Yes, it's a turban. CoronaLisa above could disguise her white strip beautifully with a turban, as would many women going grey against their will, or with badly thinning hair — and why not? Think about it — a turban could cover a multitude of problems. Dirty hair and no time to wash it? Turban. Bad hair day? Turban All your hair fallen out? Turban — and you could buy false curls to have them sewn into the turban. Most turbans were sewn together, so you put it on like a hat. No chance of it unravelling, as has occasionally happened to me.

There are so many beautiful ones and a huge range of styles. I adore the look of turbans, which is why you have so many stunning, gratuitous images of turbans to go with this nominally-about-hair-dye post.

So, what about you? Are you growing a fashionable white stripe during lockdown? Have you experimented with your own herbal hair treatments (as I did as a teen)?  Do you like turbans? Would you wear one? Which turban pictured here is your favorite? And if you wore one, what kind of (imaginary) event would you wear it to? 

Comments

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL about CoronaLisa! This is a very relevant topic for dark haired women of mature years in the Time of Lockdown. Turbans are a great solution! All your turban pics are beautiful, but the last image is particularly glamorous. It's time turbans came back into fashion.

[Kareni]

What a fascinating post, Anne; thank you!

All of the turbans look lovely though I don't know that I have the panache to carry any of them off.

The advantage of never having colored my hair is that my white hairs are already well integrated into what was once dark hair. I think it would be safe to describe my hair color as well salted pepper!

[Pamela DG]

I'm fortunate most of my grey is translucent and blends into my brown hair. I used to dye my hair auburn, but the hubby said he liked it the way it was, sweet man. As for the corona virus, my hair appointment was cancelled the day before when our Governor shut down hair salons. This week I got tired of my hair hanging past my elbows (I was beginning to feel a bit like Cousin It from the Addams Family) and I cut it off with a pair of surgical scissors I own. It turned into a cute bob and feels much more comfortable. Perhaps I'll dig out my turbans from my reenacting days, that is a style I can support.

[theo]

I started having platinum put in my hair almost two years ago, streaking it with a hint of silver to augment the already appearing silver that was coming in by itself. So far, it's very hard to tell where the line of demarcation is ;)

That final picture of a turban though, so art deco, I love it! I think it's too bad women quit wearing any kind of hat in general though. Almost any head covering can conceal a multitude of sins when you're in public.

[Malvina]

Fascinating! Some years ago, at a crucial time in cancer treatment, I lost about half my hair volume but didn’t lose all. The hairdresser suggested I don’t use chemicals on my head because I truly might lose the rest of my hair, and I was too scared to do it after treatment finished. Meanwhile, I went grey! Finally, back in vogue...!

[Mary T]

I love the pictures accompanying this piece - especially last one (early 20th century). I colored my hair for many years. L'Oreal made a lot of money off me.

In my early 20s I developed a beautiful white streak in the front of my hair. It was very dramatic. The introvert in me just loved it. However, by the time I turned 30 the grey was taking over the rest of my hair, so I resorted to artificial means to keep to keep that dramatic look.

After reading your post, I realize how lucky I was to live in these times. Most of the methods listed above sound frightening.

After I retired, I decided to let it all go natural. And it is a beautiful white color that I love. If I had known how good it would look I might have done it a lot earlier.

[Anne Gracie]

Mary Jo, the CoronaLisa pic was what inspired this post — that and seeing some of my friends who are growing out their hair. I think the white stripe looks fab, and rather punky, but I might not think that if I were battling grey. I have silver threads, but they blend in pretty invisibly.

And I think turbans are wonderful. In fact my very first public pic as an author, that was for a RITA final with my first book, shows me in a head scarf that's pretty much a turban.

[Anne Gracie]

Kareni, salt and pepper can look lovely, I think. Neither of my parents went completely grey or white, but were salt and pepper to the end. Mum's hair was a lovely ashy color and I hope I get that too.

[Anne Gracie]

Pamela, I'm seeing a lot of home haircuts on FB these days. My hair is long too, and can I recommend those hair clips that are like bulldog clips -- I just looked them up and they're called hair claws, which is a very good descriptive name. I think long hair is easier to manage than short -- I just twist mine into a knot, and clamp a hair claw over it, and lo! it's done and out of the way.

[Anne Gracie]

That sounds smart, Theo. A friend of mine who went completely white when she was quite young, had black streaks put in her hair, and that looked great.

That art deco pic is gorgeous, isn't it? I started out wanting to write a blog about turbans, but in the end, there wasn't much to write. I have a stack of images of historical turbans, but they wouldn't all fit.

And I'm with you on hats and turbans and all kinds of head coverings. I think since they dropped out of fashion -- and it was several generations ago, really -- we've all become a bit self-conscious about wearing them. I have dim memories of my grandmother wearing a hat to church, and I'm not sure whether Mum did as well. She did have them for weddings, though, but that's all. Nowadays people mainly seem to wear sunhats. Though in properly cold climates women wear hats, mainly of the beanie kind from what I can make out.

[Anne Gracie]

Malvina, that happens to quite a few people. Your hair is a lovely color, I think. I suspect after lockdown finishes, a lot of people might actually embrace the grey. One of my friends who has been going pure white since her early 40's, is going to look lovely. White hair and young, smooth skin is a stunning look, I think..

[Sue McCormick]

Mary T, I had an adult friend (my parent's friend) with a white streak like yours. When she aged, and her hair turned gray, the white streak went dark!

When I began to be pepper and salt, my hair went drab. I didn't mind the gray, but I didn't like drab; so I had my hair reverse died, to increase the salt and stave off the drab. This went on for 2 to 3 years, and finally my hair had enough "salt" that I could stop the reverse dying.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Mary. I started with a stack of gorgeous turban images— I have dozens more, unused — and then realized there really wasn't enough to write about turbans, and the hair dye was a much meatier topic.

My mother had a white streak from the time she was a teenager, and it looked great, although she was more a light browny color. I also have one, but it never really shoed up because my hair was bright blonde for years, and started to darken in my 30's -- when I turned to chemicals to maintain my "natural" color.

Pure white hair is, I think gorgeous. I think two of my friends who have the CoronaLisa look at present, will look lovely if they decide to go all white.

[Vicki L]

I never ended up coloring my hair. I debated the issue for 5 or 6 or 7 years before I said forget it and just let it happen. I lucked out that mine is going silver. Oddly enough the top layer turned before the under layers. I wore my hair pulled back so the under layers somewhat obscured the light layer. Now...it just is!

All 4 of my sister's dyed their hair so it was always interesting to see what it was doing. One did it herself. The other 3 had it professionally done.

Two of them are doing the Skunk Stripe/Corona Stripe right now!

Another reason to war a lace cap - to hide the change in the color and thickness of your hair. I'd never really thought of that.

[Mary M.]

Coronalisa! Oh, I'm dying (dyeing?) here! Oh, my. Loved this colorful post, Anne.

My motto: I wasn't born a redhead, but I'm going to dye one. Looks much better on pale, pale me than white. For those who are natural shades of gray, or who look good in cool colors, more power to ya. I wish!

[Annette N]

You have made me laugh today.

I have a lot of hair and it comes with cowlicks in several places. I am very fair, my natural hair was strawberry blonde and when I began to grey it came in charcoal - dark nearly black.

That dark color made my face disappear. I am not designed to have dark hair.

I am now blonde. I pointed out to my daughter that with no ability to get a hair cut I look as though I am smuggling a bush on my head. It really is not the least bit attractive...but I am gonna be blonde. When I kick off, I will be blonde. It will be ugly as sin because of the bush effect, but it is gonna be ugly blonde.

[Vicki L]

Oh Annette N.....the picture you put in my mind with the blonde bush on your head was too funny. The words you used to describe your "ugly" blonde look were wonderful. Thanks for the laughter. Good luck if you finally break down and decide to start trimming your hair back a bit...

[Anne Gracie]

Sue, that "reverse dyeing" sounds like a great solution.

[Anne Gracie]

It's interesting seeing how different sisters approach things differently. One of my sisters (both older than me) is a brunette the other is a blonde, and I haven't seen a change in either of them yet. I suspect Dye is involved. ;)

And while lace caps are pretty, I'd go for the turban look

[Anne Gracie]

Mary, color me thrilled that you liked it. My day was quite dark and I was feeling blue until you popped in and brightened it. heh heh I'll stop now before the anti-punnists shriek.

I love red hair, and have always envied those who have it -- natural or not. Unfortunately my skin is too pink to work with red hair. The older of my sisters has often reddened up her dark brown hair, but her skin is more olivey than mine, and the red looks great on her.

[Anne Gracie]

Annette, I'm sure it won't be ugly blonde at all. When I was a kid I knew a lot of people who bleached their own hair and that was ugly blonde -- and often ugly yellow straw-textured blonde. These days hairdressers can work miracles. And there will be heaps of people battling thinning hair who will envy you your thick, bushy, gorgeously blonde hair. If you've got it, flaunt it, I say

[Karin]

I'm one of the people whose gray is growing out. I sometimes color my hair at home, but I haven't bothered to go shopping for hair dye since we've been locked down at home. I'm curious to see how much gray I really have, it's been a couple decades since I've seen my natural color!
I used natural henna powder a few times to tint my hair when I was younger. I like the resulting auburn color, but it's a messy process, it dyes everything it touches. Plus it leaves your hair rather dull and dry, and needing oils or conditioner afterwards.

[Elizabeth Rolls]

I stopped colouring my hair Easter last year. I am now rocking what I call the "silver vixen". I knew it was completely grey and wanted to see what it would look like. I promised myself that I'd grow it all the way out and give it six months after that to get used to it if I was undecided. You know what? It suits me a lot better this way. I really like it and I won't be colouring it again. And for the bonus shot? It's saving me over $1000 per year.

[Margot]

I have dark brown hair and my parents did not start getting fray hair till very late in life. My mother still had some color at 94. I have never wanted to dye my hair and now in my 70's it is still all brown. Every now and then I see a few well earned gray hairs but they seem to disappear.
As for the turbans - I am not one who loves hats except when I need to shade my eyes - then I use a cap. I do like the first one and the "Princess Palantine" one as I think they would look good with short hair.
Interesting topic as many of my friends are complaining that they are missing their hair appointments. I grew up cutting my own hair and my husband let me cut his - infact insisted upon it because he could love his barber. So I will survive this.