What's The Origin Of Wig - History Of Wig And Wig Making
Wigs have become more and more important in everyone’s life. We use a human hair wig to disguise ourselves, to deal with hair loss, to bring us confidence after chemotherapy, we also use it to look fabulous and stunning. But do you know when was the first wig made and who started wearing the wig first? Everything has a history: countries, professions, and wigs. Today we're going to look at the history and origin of wigs, as well as how Syphilis changed them.
What's The History Of Wigs
Wigs have been around for thousands of years. In Ancient Egypt both men and women wore them. They were mostly used for practical reasons, like protection from lice (and thereby disease). To protect themselves from the heat of the sun. Wigs did become a symbol of social status, where the most intricate and decorative wigs pointed toward the highest rank. The wigs of the time were made by: human hair, wool, and fiber from plants and vegetables.
There's plenty of other civilizations from the ancient world that used wigs. These civilizations include The Assyrians, The Greeks, The Jewish people of Israel, The Phoenicians - the seafaring salesmen that sold purple. Ancient Rome also adopted the practice of wearing wigs. They got the hair from slaves, war and trading with India. Because of their struggle with the Germanic "barbarians" to the north, they viewed blond hair as something inferior, and the prostitutes of Rome were required by law to wear blond hair. After the fall of The Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Europe and its use of wigs fell into the dark ages. They would not return until the 16th century when an epidemic hit Europe.
This is the point in time when syphilis makes its mark on history. It's unclear how the STD came to Europe, but it's speculated that Christopher Columbus brought it back from The Americas. This would be a great example of poetic justice, considering that European diseases like smallpox killed 90% of The Native American population. Anyways, the common man and royal families both fall victim to Syphilis. And Within 10 Years the disease has spread all across Europe and into Asia, reaching as far as Japan. It became the worst Epidemic to hit Europe since The Black Death.
What's The Link Between Syphilis And Wigs?
To answer that, we must look at the symptoms. Open sores, rashes, brain damage, arthritis, deafness, blindness, dementia, paralysis, death and hair loss. The infected wanted to hide their baldness and sores, so they turned to wig-making. This time around it was made of horsehair, goat hair and human hair. The perukes, as they were called, were cowered with powder, and scented with lavender and orange.
When Louis XIV of France started balding at the age of 17, he hired 48 wigmakers to save his reputation. Long hair was fashionable for men in those days, and the aristocracy of Versailles cared more for superficial beauty than for the needs of its people. This would eventually backfire when the social movement is known as"#PeasantLivesMatter" went viral. Not long after Louis XIV became king of France, did his cousin, the exiled king of England, Charles II, return to his throne. Inspired by Louis, the new king of England wore wigs to hide his greying hair. It's highly likely that both of these kings had Syphilis!
The aristocrats of England and France jumped on this trend, and soon the upper-middle-class joined the bandwagon. Europe was wearing wigs again. The periwigs became a new way to flex your wealth as only the richest could afford the biggest wigs. This is the origins of the word "Bigwig", meaning "A Person of Importance." Another word that came out of this period is "Nitpicking", which figuratively means "To point out small flaws or errors". Literally, it means "To remove lice and lice-eggs from hair", which became a lot easier now that you could just send it into a wigmaker who would then boil it to remove the lice infestation.
Wig making became a very respectable profession and an elaborate art form in and of itself. Wigmakers guilds were established across the continent. Several professions adopted wigs in their official costumes. Bishops, Lawyers, and Judges are in this group. In England and Hong Kong, and perhaps some African nations, they still use these traditional wigs in court.
The peak of wig fashion can be contributed to Marie Antoinette, The Austrian-born arch-duchess who became the Queen of France. Although infamous for her reckless spending and debauchery, she's also known for her magnificent and downright ridiculous hairdos. She popularized The Pouf, in which the height of the hair was between 30-90cm. The wigs were often decorated with ribbons, flowers, jewels and contemporary figurines. Then came the days of The French Revolution, also known as #PeasantLivesMatter. The royal family was swiftly executed, and Marie Antoinette no longer wore any wigs after she was beheaded. Almost no one did. The common folk hated the overindulgence of the over-class, wigs included. Natural hair regained its popularity.
In the last 100 years, wigs have made a small comeback. The fashion industry was growing and models started to wear wigs on fashion shows. In the 60’s the invention of modacrylic wigs made it much easier to produce and buy cheap wigs. In today’s society, we use wigs for theatre and film, for convenience, for parties on Halloween. If you need cheap human hair wigs, hair bundles, closure and frontals, honesthairfactory.com is the best wholesale hair vendor in China!