Traditional Hair Styles

**Bugbear** · 10th December 07, 09:40 PM

Just thought I would throw this question out there sense I can't go look at the pictures. What were the traditional or historical men's hair styles like for the kilt wearing Scottish around the time the belted plaid began to be used? Long, short, that type of thing. Thanks.

**TheKiltedWonder** · 10th December 07, 10:09 PM

http://albanach.org/kilt.html
The woodcut halfway down this page dated to 1641 shows four men in belted plaids. All four have long hair. Does that speak for every man in Scotland. Of course not, but I have been googling paintings/drawings of Scottish men from around that time up until the 19th Century and many of them have long hair or seem to have long hair perhaps pulled in a ponytail (I can't tell in Raeburn's painting of Glengarry but I hven't really looked for a high res photo yet either).
I think the long hair makes sense. It just kinda grew and you didn't have to do much with it. If you're a subsistence farmer, hairstyles are the furthest thing from your mind. Also, the real-time documentary, Braveheart provides further evidence for long hair. As I said it's easy to maintain and also provides for more dramatic wind-swept shots.

**Bugbear** · 10th December 07, 10:17 PM

Thanks for describing that. I had a feeling that was the case.

**James MacMillan** · 10th December 07, 10:24 PM

Hair on head? Hair on face - yes!

**Bugbear** · 10th December 07, 10:34 PM

Those long haired Scots!

**Bugbear** · 10th December 07, 11:44 PM

All those SCA people are always talking about their long hair, but I didn't know if that was a SCA thing or a historical thing. Guess that's a little earlier time period though. Wonder what they used for hair ties.

**davim19** · 11th December 07, 01:06 AM

If you want about facial hair this discussion may be of interest to you

http://livinghistory.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11199

**timber** · 11th December 07, 07:49 AM

Hair --- I seem to remember having that once, but I may be mistaken

**Bugbear** · 11th December 07, 09:25 AM

I was only asking about hair on the heads of those wild Highlanders, but I guess they would have facial hair styles from that period as well. It sounds like they shaved, but had long hair in the back.

**Ozman1944** · 11th December 07, 09:37 AM

In battle, hair was often short in front (so enemy couldn't grab it) but long in the back (if you turned and ran instead of fighting, you usually got butchered while fleeing).
Happily I don't have that problem.