Gothic Horror: Victorian Hairstyles

The Early Victorian hairstyles (1830's - 1860's

1830

Here is an image on google that I have found, outlining Victorian Hairstyles in the 1830's. The woman has a defined middle part in followed by tight curls that have been curled into the face for a more defined look. At the back of her hair is a Apollo knot which was also very popular in the 1830's.

1840
In 1840, the hairstyles were still the same but on this portrait looks like they were more focused on the curls instead of the bun as it is a full central head shot.

1860
The 1860's hairstyle was a bit more jazzled up with flowers and ribbon that they would put into their hair for decoration or wear hats. The hairstyle still has the classic straight to the head middle part in and looks like some sort of bun/curls and the back middle of her head but followed by ringlet curls

Mid to late Victorian Hairstyles (1860's- 1880's)

1880

These are the different 1800's hair styles and mainly start with a middle part in unless the hair has a more softer look with tight curls on the top of the head but is always followed by a bun, with or without plaits. As the Victorians had extremely long hair and never cut their hair.

How has the Victorian Hairstyles changed in the 1800's

Well firstly, the main instruction of a Victorian hair style is the scraped to the head middle part in, followed by tight ringlet curls moving towards and at the side of the face. The hair styles are also followed by either an Apollo bun or knot. Then plaits came into season, coming from the face (where the curls would normally be) coming under the ears and tied around bun or knot. Also, after that the part in got less and less out of the middle and more to the side introducing little tight curls on the top of the head making a curled fringe.

Researching and practising a typical Victorian Hairstyle

Image

Practice

Equipment

Tailcomb

Partition clips

Brush

Tonges

Hair grips

Bobble (option)

Step 1

Part the hair to middle of the head using middle partin and seperate both sides.

Step 2

With the rest of the hair, seperate in to 2 parts and twist then twist up into a bun at the middle of the head, avoiding the 'doughnut' look.

Step 3

Using one side of the head, seperate the hair into equal parts (depending on how much hair you have) and with each part, using tonges, curl the hair into ringlets but remember it's a more flattering look to curl into the face.

Step 4

Repeat on opposite side so it looks like this.

End Look

Looking at my finished look now, I should of made the part in more flat so the curls start a bit further down. But it was my first practice, so I will take note and do it better on my second attempt.

Plaiting the front of the Hair

We then practised plaiting the front of the hair and pulling back into the bun. If you had more hair to work with then it would wrap around the bun. Make sure the plait starts further down than you normally would and it feels strange but then it curls under the ear so that you can see it rather than hiding.