Boshell Foundation Lecture on Ancient Roman Hairdressing: Fiction to Fact 

The WSJ is an interesting jumping off point. Wish you had described the article. I came here from Wikipedia. Articles about ancient man, fossils, mummies, and technical re-enactments. Thank you Wikipedia!

Janet talks a lot about imported and false hair, so I'm thinking she just didn't want to add extensions/weaves/hair pieces in the short time she had. She also might not know the methods used to add hair, so she didn't do it since she only uses certain methods.

Did you watch the video? Much of history was written by white guys who brought their prejudices and assumptions made from The Rich White Guy Experience to academics. If you aren’t familiar, maybe go to school, read some books. Oh, and watch the video.

@@elizabethclaiborne6461 Are you talking to me? Because I've watched the video carefully and I think it was great! I just added some information. Oh, and by the way, I'm an Art historian and scholar and I can assure you I have been reading (and writing) books all my life.

They tended to wear hairpieces if their own hair failed. Like there are poems making fun of women who broke off all their hair bleaching it blond.

@@elizabethclaiborne6461 Why don't you go to school and actually read some of the ancient Roman poets who talk about women who use hairpieces?

susanht67 if you watch Janet Stephen's RU-vid channel, she takes her time on the hairstyles as she has no lecture time limit, and they look soooo much neater.

I disagree personally that oils specifically were expensive or rare. Beeswax, probably yes. But we've had apiaries for eeons. But oil was readily available to them for fairly cheap. Especially olive oil.

true! and they probably used olive oil for frizzies. and if they had vinegar that gets residue out right?

Well, the styles Janet showed aren't rocket science - it's very possible that the women of poorer households just helped each other style their hair. It's also a question of practicability; Janet mentions that the braided hairstyles last days, so there is no need to redo them every morning. This is true; I've worn braided hairstyles for historical reenactments for several days, all I had to do to keep them from going ratty was sleep with a scarf wrapped around my head. In a pinch (and if you don't have a lot of flyaways) you can even wash your scalp and keep the hairstyle intact. The whole keep to the house modesty thing pretty much only pertained to upper class women; lower class women often worked jobs or did business outside their homes, so there was less constraint on them. That said, a hairdresser might also visit your house and do your hair there; think the Ancient Roman version of an Avon consultant. There might not be evidence for that, but since this was something pertaining to women it might just not have been written down because (especially lower class) woman-things were rarely ever considered noteworthy.

at 25:50 actually she mentions it!

Nonsense. North Africans weren't black. Why are you distorting history to shore up some sort of absurd lie? Why are you so racist that you think that Africa is all black? And are you now claiming that black women now braid their hair because the Romans and Greeks did? Because the Romans and Greeks developed these styles themselves. They didn't get them from elsewhere.

Excellent observation

Salvatore Escoti sorry this is such a late reply, but she has more hairstyles on her RU-vid channel

Anna Ferrara Lots of women with long hair are out there!

Or any Pentecostal church

+MsNoemik The Christians of the 2nd century AD. And I disagree, I find her humor hilarious.

+MsNoemik As a Christian to who I assume to be a fellow Christian: not every comment about Christians is actually an attack on our faith as a whole. I know ignorant comments can hurt, but... I've heard worse than someone poking fun at 2nd century Christian writers (who aren't in the Bible, I might add), in the context of one very specific research topic/area of life. If it helps understanding a joke a year after misunderstanding it, here's where I think you misunderstood: she's actually using narrative present tense to refer to the past. Here's a thought I feel timid to propose to you but feel I should: Until we've learned to poke fun at ourselves, we probably shouldn't judge other people's humour, either.

You understand that your comment is actually proving her point, right?

*“ not so greatest” that is hilarious! * you absolutely prove her point. Thank you. * “somewhat interesting” I’m sure she’s crushed by your expert , not at all biased opinion. I am a Christian minister, not offended. My skin isn’t tissue thin. Bless your heart.