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How did women Pre-1900...

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I know that in african cultures women cared for their hair by using plant extracts and oils from various nuts and other fruits. They also put mud/clay in their hair to protect it from the sun and form different styles. In Native American cultures they also used plant extracts and oils to cleanse their hair. I'm not entirely sure what Caucasians did, though. I read that in Britain during the 16th and 17th century it was popular not to shower much at all. They did so on a monthly basis--if not longer. But this is all just stuff I heard, lol.
 
Mahalialee4 said:
Some of my people were using lard, bear grease, a type of glover's mange and honey did it smell strong but I have to tell you, talk about THICK THICK THICK hair, you have not seen THICK HAIR YET! as some of the Aunties and Nanas had. They used to take turns parting and scratching each other's hair and applying some kind of thing to it and just left it alone. As for washing, it was not a frequent thing, but they only used rainwater ( I have been asking some of my relatives about all our hair secrets), They always wore protective styling. Because they were farmers, they ate really healthy and got a lot of exercise doing chores on the farms. They tied their hair up at night after putting it generally in 2 braids and used some really big combs (not afro picks) but big heavy combs. I wish I could find some like that today. I have seen them at relatives. They never trimmed their hair and never even thought about if they even had heard of "split ends". This is a joke to them. They did not have any dry ends and only pressed it for a very special occasion. Most of them wore their braids like a coronet or in large buns with nets because it was so thick and could not be bothered with dealing with it on a daily basis as there was too much work to do. If you remember what Den's hair was like natural when she had it down, that is generally what it looked like and some had it to their waists but no one was actually trying to get long hair, they just took it in stride. It was not worn out long publicly. You got to see it out, around bedtimes when it was being braided for the night or at wash time or when the women got together to mess with each other's hair when someone would say "Gal, my head is itchIN!!! come on ovah here and scratch it fo me..."....and someone might reply...I ain't got time to go thru all that head o hair today." Bonjour
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This post had me cracking up.............GREAT
 
All the "usual suspects" are up in this thread! ;) LOL...that's great. One thing I find very interesting in looking at the pictures of pre WW1 women, is just at how long and thick their buns were. To even have a chance at a serious bun like they did...pompadour and all, you had to have major hair. Even if you faked da funk w/ a "rat", you had to have enough hair to hide the stuffing.

I guess I've been surprised at the "will our hair grow" threads of late...the pics back then says yes. Why are people STILL so unconvinced?
 
Different culture, but still interesting....Did anyone see the part in "Memoirs of a Geisha" when they were styling the hair? They used a metal comb of some sort and dipped it in boiling hot water and combed the roots of the hair so it would stay in place.
 
aja1121 said:
Different culture, but still interesting....Did anyone see the part in "Memoirs of a Geisha" when they were styling the hair? They used a metal comb of some sort and dipped it in boiling hot water and combed the roots of the hair so it would stay in place.
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yeah the scrubbed the crap out of their scalp cause geishas got terrible dandruff, and they didnt wash their hair that often, so on top of dandruff they got funky hair and tried to use perfumed oils. then the stylist would use....i dont know if it was an iron or something but they did something and then used a bar of wax to hold the hair into place. the process was a pain in the butt and their scalp was all sore from the vigorous scrubbing.
 
phynestone said:
I heard that sometimes women would use dirty water from cleaning their dishes, curl their hair using strips of paper and fabric as well as whatever oils were available to them.
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A variation of this was still in practice during the Depression. My mother's family would let dishwater get cold and skim the grease residue for use as hair/scalp grease. Sure didn't seem to do any of their MBL and longer selves any harm! :lachen:
 
If you go back to Europe post-1800s, they only bathed once a year. If they were rich, twice a year. If you read Shakespeare, you'll often hear "stinkard" used (at least, I think that's the word). That was used to describe the once-a-year folks. Europeans were often confused at other peoples who bathed regularly.
 
Rosie8604 said:
If you go back to Europe post-1800s, they only bathed once a year. If they were rich, twice a year. If you read Shakespeare, you'll often hear "stinkard" used (at least, I think that's the word). That was used to describe the once-a-year folks. Europeans were often confused at other peoples who bathed regularly.
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wow, thats interesting
 
My high school History teacher ( a "European") loved talking about the traditions of those of the Elizabethan Era and so on. The way she taught was interesting and easy to follow. She got so caught up one day while talking about their grooming habits, that she told us that she only bathed about twice a week.

We were all engaged until she said that. Imagine a whole class full of black teens yelling, ewwwww you nasty!!! She was so embarassed and tried to fix it up saying, "No, I mean in the winter time because you dry your skin out bathing every night....." It was too late. We were through! :lachen:
 
Mahalialee4 said:
I have some information for the adventurous and if you are in the waistlength and beyond challenges and if you have natural hair: re: recipes that you may be interested in. PM me if you are interested in a Vintage Hair Care and Growth Challenge. Bonjour
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sounds soo intriguing
 
that_1_grrrl said:
If you go back to Europe post-1800s, they only bathed once a year. If they were rich, twice a year. If you read Shakespeare, you'll often hear "stinkard" used (at least, I think that's the word). That was used to describe the once-a-year folks. Europeans were often confused at other peoples who bathed regularly.
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also the saying "throw the baby out with the bathwater" came about because the men of the family bathed first, then women then children ... yes, the same tub of water :look:

and also why weddings were traditionally in june july because usually the yearly bath was around this time .... and who wuddnt want to smell fresh for their wedding LOL

think I also read once that the bouquet of flowers was sometimes carried to decrease stinkyness :lachen:
 
SimJam said:
also the saying "throw the baby out with the bathwater" came about because the men of the family bathed first, then women then children ... yes, the same tub of water :look:

and also why weddings were traditionally in june july because usually the yearly bath was around this time .... and who wuddnt want to smell fresh for their wedding LOL

think I also read once that the bouquet of flowers was sometimes carried to decrease stinkyness :lachen:
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Ewwww ewww SUPER EWWWWW!!! :barf: :nono:

I can't imagine bathing in someone else's DIRTY bath water.....let alone someone who hasn't bathed in almost half a year. UGHGH! :barf:

Can you imagine just what kind of dirt must have been floating around in that water?? Then for you to go dip your body in it and bathe in it too? :confused: Eyeeee yiiii yiiiiii!!!! :nono:
 
dender said:
In the part of Nigeria im from....Black Soap, Shea Butter and Palm Oil, Braiding
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well I can attest that since switching from regular soap and lotion to black soap and shea butter, my skin is now much much more supple since Im prone to dry skin:yep:

use both in my hair too
 
My mother's parents died when she was young so she learned many things from her grandmother. They would keep the beef tallow from cooked meat and use it on their skin and hair. She learned how to make lye soap too. My mom has beautiful skin even at 71 years old.
 
I read an article years ago about how black women would use chicken fat on their scalp.
*Checking to see if I can possibly find it on Google*
 
Very interesting thread. I was wondering about Ancient Egypt since body care was such a huge component of their culture and I found something. Nefertiti and Cleopatra used henna: Cleopatra used it along with rose water and indigo... Apparently Egyptians are the inventors of hair design and protective wigs as well. Women used filling extensions knotted to their own hair with beeswax and resin, as well as perfumed oils on their scalp for scent. They knew almond and moringa oils as well, and I must have read somewhere about Cleopatra using black cumin seed oil...
 
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RE infrequent bathing: not sure how clean I would be if I had to cut the wood, build the fire, and then draw all the water for a bath in an unheated house. My grandparents and great-aunties were all born in the 19th century. They grew up bathing once a week in the summertime. Winter, I don't know.

They used lard for their skin and hair. They wore cornrows or plaits and kept their heads covered most of the time.

Heard a talk about grooming at a living history farm museum in Virginia. They said all ladies used sheep tallow (same as lanolin?) as a hair dress. Black ladies would get a wool carder, a type of wide-tooth paddle brush with stiff spines used on the spinning wool, and keep one for themselves to use on their hair. Kind of the same concept as a Denman, seemed like.
 
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