Spending an hour or two being pampered by professionals and leaving the salon knowing that you are looking your very best is a sure-fire mood booster! During the pandemic when hairdressers and beauty parlours were forced to shut their doors, many of us realised just how important a decent haircut or an eyebrow wax is to our sense of wellbeing.

Here’s a look at how the modern beauty industry developed into the sleek and sophisticated salons of today.

The earliest hairdressers can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, where historians believe women used natural henna dyes to colour their hair and cover up grey. They also made conditioning treatments from a mixture of almond and castor oil and scented with frankincense. 

However, it was the Ancient Romans who really laid the foundations from which many hair and beauty traditions began. In early Rome, the majority of people styled their own hair out of necessity, but as the Empire grew, hairstyles became more distinctive among the wealthier classes and were an important part of personal identity, much like they are today. 

In fact, in Roman society, hairstyles were an important indicator of wealth and status. The more elaborate the hairstyle, the more time and money the person had to spend on luxuries. Natural hairstyles were a sign of an uncultured person; the only exception was young girls who were allowed to have loose flowing locks. 

Mature Roman women would often wear their hair parted and braided or wrapped, and would decorate it with floral crowns for special occasions. For men, short, well groomed hair was a sign that they were in possession of slaves to tend to their hair for them. 

Later, barbers set up business within general shops or market stalls. They become popular places not just for grooming, but also as social spaces where men would gather to exchange the latest gossip and news. The Romans are also believed to have developed the first curling tongs, which were hollow metal tubes heated on an open fire. 

During the mediaeval era, the emphasis on personal hygiene and appearance fell away, perhaps because of the devastating effect of the bubonic plague, which was thought to have been spread through water. Therefore, public baths and grooming parlours were uncommon.

By the 18th century, there was renewed interest in fashion and style, and hairdressing started to become a serious business. The world’s first hairdryer was invented in France in 1890, although it was a cumbersome device that could only be used in a salon. However, it gave hairdressers much more control and flexibility over the styles they could create.

During the twentieth century, we have seen the rise of the celebrity hairdresser such as John Freida and Vidal Sassoon. Nowadays, hairstyles are more varied than ever before, with a huge choice of cuts, colours, and styles available.