Hairstyles from Akhenaten’s Ancient Egyptian City

Anciet Egyptian hair extentions found in Amarna

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—Archaeologist Jolanda Bos of the Armana Project has analyzed a selection of 100 recently excavated skulls from the Armana cemetery. Twenty-eight of those skulls still had hair, including that of one woman who had “a very complex coiffure with approximately 70 extensions fastened in different layers and heights on the head,” Bos wrote in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. She thinks that the hair was probably styled after death, but such elaborate styles, held together with some kind of fat, were also likely a part of daily life. The skulls had hair ranging from very curly black to middle brown straight, which was often styled in rings or coils around the ears. Braided styles were simple, narrow, and made from three strands, and an orange-red color, possibly from henna, was found on one woman’s graying hair. “At present we are analyzing the hairs in order to find out whether or not some kind of coloring was used. On other sites dyed hair was found from ancient Egypt,” Bos told Live Science.

www.archaeology.org...
The ancient gals weren't just wigging it up they went in for the extensions too,the more things change the more they remained the same.

This is awesome! I am extremely interested in everyday life throughout history including clothing, dwellings and appearance. It's amazing how some things change in profound ways yet others continue to stay with us (like hair extensions).

Hair dye is ancient too.

How Nanotechnology Defined Ancient Hair Dye

S + F, this is one of my favorite topics

a reply to: Spider879

Oh cool find OP!!

So hair extensions is NOT a modern phenomenon then, huh?! LOL

Thanks for sharing...

I read about that a few days ago. Amazing isn't it? What I'd like to know as well is whether shoes were being designed for them at the same time. Hey don't laugh. We women want to know!

I wish they'd have some illustrations to look at......

I want to see a rendering of what it looks like since the photo and wording i dont quite understand. Its interesting they had both curly hair and straight. I think they likely had mutiple races of people in egypt.

Mummy ahead!





Another pic

The pieces were elaborate creations, with one recently uncovered in an Egyptian coffin made up of 70 elaborate extensions fastened together.

and source see here



Mainstream depiction of Cleopatra

Some ancient and modern Egyptians did and do have naturally dark red/auburn hair. In pharaonic times it was fashionable to dye one's hair red with henna. The mummy of Ramses the Great had dyed red hair with a little bit of natural white at the roots. Fletcher confirms that red "was a shade favoured by fashionable Alexandrian women, including some in the royal household. Perhaps Cleopatra's own auburn hair had set the trend, maybe enhanced with a vegetable colorant such as henna (Lawsonia inermis)" (Fletcher 238).
Source

The red color found on mummies hair may just be from oxidation(from mummification...), but there's the use of henna more so.


Statues, mummies, etc.






References; image search and source which has a lot of pictures of Ancient Egyptian hairstyles.

originally posted by: Aural
I want to see a rendering of what it looks like since the photo and wording i dont quite understand. Its interesting they had both curly hair and straight. I think they likely had mutiple races of people in egypt.

Well they treat their hair like most of us "moderns" that's for sure I read somewhere that they actually had a bustling hair trade which would make sense since they usually chopped off their own,and while they were multi-ethnic people in Kemet I found their grooming patterns almost mirrored that of modern AAs,from Afros to Dread locs,even the wave,they made use of Afro-pics and they had hot combs and curling Irons used for straightening and curling the hair.

Hot Comb Egyptian
www.perankhgroup.com...



Ivory objects from the Naqada Culture,Egypt 3500 BC Louvre Museum
www.pinterest.com...

This style popular among AA males is achieved using a Du-rag
Although most will never know of any ancient connections like the hot comb above, a modern version was reinvented by madame C.J Walker America's first self-made woman millionaire a founding figure in African American hair products.

a reply to: Spider879

Those Egyptian hair combs are spectacular, there's so much detail, they're just beautiful.

Wish we had some kind of looking glass that would let us look back in to the past. Can you imagine how amazing it would be to see ancient Egypt in all it's glory.

originally posted by: Jennyfrenzy
a reply to: Spider879

Those Egyptian hair combs are spectacular, there's so much detail, they're just beautiful.

Wish we had some kind of looking glass that would let us look back in to the past. Can you imagine how amazing it would be to see ancient Egypt in all it's glory.

Yeah I wished we could see it the way it was as an invisible tourist ,but for all it's glory I still wouldn't want to live there, too spoiled ah guess, I hate warm beer and air condition would be x thousands of yrs away

a reply to: Spider879

Looks a lot like corn rows to me.
The more things change, the more they stay the same!

a reply to: Spider879

I mostly didnt understand the part where it said about wrapping rings or coils around their ears. Im not sure if that means like how Jewish rabais have sideburns or if its like hair buns or what.

Its amusing how cyclical fashion is. These days its a thing for young people to dye their hair and have stretched ears and whatnot. Egyptians did this thousands of years ago.

originally posted by: Aural
a reply to: Spider879

I mostly didnt understand the part where it said about wrapping rings or coils around their ears. Im not sure if that means like how Jewish rabais have sideburns or if its like hair buns or what.

Its amusing how cyclical fashion is. These days its a thing for young people to dye their hair and have stretched ears and whatnot. Egyptians did this thousands of years ago.

Individuals possibly sporting the Fulani sidelocks on the neolithic rock art of Kidal in the Adrar region of Mali. Sidelocks are not commonly seen on Fulani today as they were in the days of colonialist observers.

Furthermore, it was not only the hairstyles, but the complexion, the attire, hats, feathers and designs in their costumes and tattoos, as well, which seemed to link them to certain of the early peoples settled in Libyan oases next to Egypt (in places like Kharga and Dakhla) and Nubia since Neolithic times.
afroasiatics.blogspot.jp...

Kemitian with side loc
In the case of high born preadolescence males there is certainly some resemblance to the Kemitian side loc although I can't rule out early influence going into Hebrew or Jewish rituals/fashion like circumcision,for they lived in Kemet also others such as the early Libyans also made use of the side loc ,the common theme is these group lived in or nearby in Kemet at onetime or another but the practice is found further afield in Africa as far as southern Africa

Youth of Southern Africa sporting side loc

Libyan with side Locs
notice the tribal marking that
reminds one of a Fulani or
Woodabe of northern Nigeria.


Fulani with side loc

Fulani woman with tatoos

Fulani man with tatoos and
Libyan like side Loc
notice the tribal markings

Yemeni Jews with side locs


Middle Eastern and European Jews with side locs

originally posted by: Bluesma
I wish they'd have some illustrations to look at......

You can search for "Egyptian hieroglyphics" and see the pictures they drew of themselves. The most heartbreaking picture for me was seeing a scroll with a picture of the artist drawing that scroll.

Egyptian looks:

Long hair
topwalls.net...
www.hydrophyllum.it...

Graduated bob look:
image.yaymicro.com...

Full story here with lots of photos of the hairstyles they are studying www.dailymail.co.uk... html