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Hair styles

In Egypt women wore their hair long. Men's hair was shorter. Men often shaved their heads, and usually their faces. Sometimes they wore short beards.

Wigs were very popular in Egypt with both men and women. As well as looking good they kept the head cool. There were many types of wig. Two can be seen in the statue above. A real wig found in a New Kingdom tomb is shown to the right. It is in the British Museum.

Wigs were made of human hair, carefully woven, curled or plaited. Poor people sometimes had wigs made of wool.

Head lice were a common problem in Egypt. It was also very hot, and this is why many people shaved their heads. Priests had to shave or pluck every hair on their bodies, to be pure enough to enter the temples. Egyptians thought that foreigners were disgusting, because they did not shave and had long, messy hair.

Egyptians washed and scented their hair. They even worried about baldness and going grey. There were several remedies for baldness. One involved cooking a paste of fenugreek seeds, and taking the oil from the surface of the mixture. This oil could also cure freckles and wrinkles - or so they believed!

Egyptians had hairdressers to make sure their own hair or their wigs were cared for. Various knives and razors have been found, used for cutting hair. Some of these are shown below, including one object that was used both to cut and to curl hair.

Ancient scissors and curling tongs!