Hair: Illustrated History

Hair is perhaps the most striking example of a dual body position in culture: it is a biological matter, which has certain physical properties, but at the same time a social attribute, the most important part of a person’s identity. Susan Vincent explores the complex interweaving of meanings associated with this part of the human body, traces universal grounds and specific techniques for hair care in Western culture of the XVII-XX centuries, the formation and transformation of professions related to this subject, political aspects of hairstyles and the all-converging power of social norms in relation to appearance.
Susan J. Vincent - cultural historian, researcher at the Renaissance Center and Early Art Nouveau of the University of York