Historical Haircare Part 1: 19th Century Hair Styling

Introducing a new series! I was recently inspired by a post on Makeup Mania called "Scandinavian Hairstyle". It prompted readers to take hairstyle inspiration from cultures all over the world. Quite neat, I think! My own spin on this will be taking inspiration from different epochs of "my own" culture. I've done a bit of reading on Viking hairdos, but that whole topic is quite a labyrinth, so I'll have to put some more effort into it before I post on that topic. But, it will be on here, in the near future!

In the meantime, I've browsed through quite a few portraits of queens from days of yore (i.e the 19th century)!

First, a couple of queens with similar hairstyles. Queen Lovisa of Sweden, circa 1865 and Queen Sofia of Sweden, circa 1872.

What's going on here? Well, a nice length of those 19th century rag curls, and a poofy top with a (flower) crown! Now, I'm not about to start wearing a crown (flowers or no flowers!) and those rag curls are a bit too high maintenance for me, BUT I can appreciate the extremely styled aesthetic. Though, again, too much effort for me - and with my particular brand of hair it wouldn't hold more than an hour or two anyway. So what can I actually take from these portraits? Personally, I've somewhat wavy but mostly straight hair. With a bit of gentle combing I can get it pretty straight without any damage. So, a half-up with straight lengths down my back is entirely doable with little effort. The key, I think, would be to not leave any hair hanging in front of my ears, like a lot of contemporary stylish half-ups seem to do. Now, as for the poofy top... I think two or even three french braids are actually my solution. In my hair, french braids tend to look less like braids and more like poof on the crown on my head. My hair is kind of slippy and doesn't like to stay in place. With a bit of gentle tugging on the braids I think I could work up some good volume.

Now, the second hairstyle for this post, is a particularly interesting updo sported by Queen Josephine of Sweden & Norway, 1837. 

Why particularly interesting, you ask? I'm not sure it's particularly unique for the time period (I've no idea, actually) but I've a secret (or not so secret) love for braids. Woe is me, because my slippy hair doesn't like to be contained in braids. Numerous little braids are particularly enchanting to me, because I can't really sport it without somehow feeling like someone is going to think that I'm appropriating Afro culture. And I've no intention on starting up a debate on that topic here and now, I'm just mentioning it because this portrait gave me an idea. See, I'm not all that into this braided Princess Leia buns vibe that Queen Josephine has going on, but I'm imagining perhaps one bun, on the top of my head? First the hair is pulled into a high ponytail with a nice non-damaging hair ties - off-brand invisibobbles are my go-to - then the tail is braided into numerous little braids and secured with small elastics. Then, the braids are swirled into a bun and secured with a weapon of your choice - I like scrunchies, but I could totally imagine a regular elastic (if you're not worried about mechanical damage) or even a hair stick or hair fork. I'm not sure if hair pins would work, but perhaps someone else can come up with a trick for that? I would feel comfortable and non-appropriative in that sort of hairstyle, as it would have a different aesthetic than what I, at least, associate with Afro culture.

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