Nowadays, hair extensions are popular all around the world. And there are so many different types of hair extensions. But where did this trend of wearing other people’s hair come from?
Well, it’s not as recent a trend as you might expect. In fact, extensions have been around for a long time. Below is a potted history of hair extensions for those curious about the origins.
The first hair extensions
The first hair extensions can be traced all the way back to 3400 BC. Ancient remains of women in Egypt have been found with sheep’s wool delicately braided into their hair. In other words, the Ancient Egyptians set the trend.
Throughout the next several millennia, the Egyptians experimented with all kinds of wig and weave methods. Luscious locks were a sign of wealth and status, and both men and women would wear wigs and extensions made of wool, human hair or vegetable fibres. Extensions were either woven in or glued with beeswax (the first glue-in extensions).
Sadly, extensions began to fall out of favour once the Romans occupied Egypt. Much of Ancient Egyptian culture was slowly stripped away with European hairstyles taking over.
The rise of wigs in Europe and America
The popularity of wigs in Europe can be traced back to Ancient Rome, where baldness and hair loss was looked down upon. Right up until the 1600s, wigs were reserved largely for the wealthy. As for hair extensions, only a few examples have been found from the middle ages, suggesting that they existed but weren’t incredibly popular.
It wasn’t until the reign of Louis XIV that wigs began to take off. The long-reigning French king started balding in his 20s and began wearing large ornate powdered wigs to cover this up. These powdered wigs would later be known as ‘perukes’. English king Charles II imitated this style, and before long much of the aristocracy around Europe were wearing big wigs. These were typically made of horse and sheep hair. A common wig hairstyle among women was the beehive and the pompadour.
As the demand for wigs grew, they became cheaper, and soon people of all classes were wearing them. It became fashionable and convenient to shave one’s head and wear a wig instead of growing out one’s hair. This was large to prevent the spread of lice, which were everywhere. Lice could still live inside wigs, but these wigs could be easily boiled in water to kill off the lice.
Around this time, Europe began colonising the world. Rich settlers brought over the trend of wigs to America. Of course, it was still solely western colonists that wore these wigs.
Popularity of clip-in extensions
By the 1800s, wigs were on their way out. Short hair became popular with men again, however, women still favoured long hair, typically formed into elaborate updos or braids.
Only the wealthy could afford the top stylists to help sculpt these elaborate hairdos. This led to the popularity of hair extensions as more people tried to emulate these upper-class hairstyles. The first clip-in extensions – known as ‘switches’ – can be traced back to the mid-1800s. To this day, clip-in extensions remain very popular, however these older clip-in extensions would have been a lot more rudimentary and probably not as comfortable to wear.
The first sew-in extensions
Up until the 1940s, hair extensions were either clipped-in or glued-in. An African American woman named Christina Jenkins is believed to be the populariser of sew-in extensions, which she patented in the 1950s. This enabled hair to be braided in to look much more natural than other extensions of the time.
While technically the Ancient Egyptians were doing this long before, Christina Jenkins helped revive this style of hair extension and apply it in a more intricate and seamless way. Many salons began to soon offer sew-in extensions across America. To this day, such extensions remain popular for those wanting a realistic semi-permanent option.
Late 20th century popularity
The popularity of hair extensions waned slightly in the early 20th century, but became popular again beyond the 1950s. The beehive made a comeback – with the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand being key examples. Many women wanted to imitate these hairstyles and so used extensions to achieve this. Many would have gone to a salon to do this.
At-home hair extensions were available but did not become popular until the 1990s. This coincided with the rise of synthetic hair extensions. Up until this point, only human hair was used, which had a limited supply. Synthetic hair extensions allowed extensions to be mass-produced, which allowed them to be sold at a much cheaper price.
Growing accessibility led to an increase in people wearing extensions – often with no attempt to hide the fact that their hair was fake. This led to celebrities like Victoria Beckham regularly making drastic changes to their hairstyle. Shorter pixie haircuts became more popular as it became easier to switch between short and long hairstyles. Now, people could alternate their hair length every day if they wanted.
Hair extensions today
Hair extensions today are more realistic and more varied than ever before. From wefts to nano tips extensions, there are so many types of extension to play around. There are also so many colour tones, making it possible to find the precise tone to match your hair.
The internet has allowed greater access to hair extension supplies with a greater range now available to order and try. It’s never been easier to find the right weave to meet your hair goals now that there are online stores dedicated to extensions in all styles. Social media and YouTube has also made it easier to seek out tips on cool ways to wear extensions. You don’t need a stylist any more to get that seamless look.
What will hair extensions be like in the future? Will they become even more seamless and varied? We’ll just have to wait to see!
