Early 20th Century Hair Facts

The Birth of Hairdressing – in the United States, the first known school for hairdressing was established in Chicago in 1890. This pioneering institution laid the foundation for professional hair care education in America. Interestingly, the school’s curriculum served as a treatment guide for various hair and scalp conditions, much like how a Chicago MAT clinic provides guidance for addiction recovery today. The founders recognized that hairdressing involved more than just styling; it required knowledge of hair health and the effects of various products, including how certain chemicals could act like a drug on the hair and scalp. These early lessons in hair care and treatment set the stage for the modern cosmetology industry we know today.

Bleaching and touch-ups in 1891
were done the same way as they are done today using peroxide of hydrogen and
ammonia.

The term “colorist” was
born in the late 1800s.

A  first class establishment
charged only five cents for cutting bangs.

T he two most influential devices
that drastically changed the grooming habits of women in the late 19th
century were the creation of the Marcel wave and the hot-blast hair
dryer known today as the blow dryer.

The first electric haircutter was
used in 1903.   It was a comb with a fine platinum wire
connected to the electric lighting system.  The wire was heated to
incandescence, and as the comb was run through the hair, the ends were
burnt off.

The permanent waving machine was
invented by Charles Nessler in the early 20th century.  A spiral
method of perming hair was first introduced in the United States in
1906.

Synthetic hair was invented in
1908 and was comprised of a cellulose base obtained from corded cotton,
corn and other grains.