Hair In The Elizabethan Era

In the “Elizabethan Era” most people cared about their appearance. They would carry mirrors, combs, ear scoops, and bone manicure sets. Pale skin and dark eyebrows were a big part of the bizarre trend in the Elizabethan Era. Women would do anything to achieve pale skin. Not only was pale skin popular so was having long fair colored hair. They wore extravagant makeup and even though they put harmful things on their face they took very good care of it at the end of the day. Few of the trends they used back then are still around.

Hair was their most prized possession. Women and men 's hairstyles were kept simple in comparison to their makeup, way of dressing, and everything else in the Baroque Era. For the women hair was kept fairly simple.

Extravagant dyes such as Cochineal would be used to redden up the cheeks and lips. Other substances such as madder and vermilion were also used to achieve this effect. For them to darken their eyelashes and eyebrows they would use Khol. Upper class women, the Nobility, of the Elizabethan Era wore makeup. Queen Elizabeth I set the fashion standards. As she grew older she would wear more elaborate makeup which was useful to cover up wrinkles and other significant signs of ageing. At a point in her life she had contracted smallpox which caused scarring on her face. The heavy white makeup used also helped hide the scarring and maintain her illusion of beauty. The white makeup was also a useful aid to hiding the signs of aging. The white makeup substance was achieved with a mixture of vinegar and white lead. A safer alternative was a face paint made from plant roots and leaves. In Europe only the aristocracy used cosmetics. Sometimes arsenic was used in the white makeup instead of lead. The Elizabethan beauty standard was light hair and a Snow White complexion with red cheeks and red lips, only achieved by the upper class. Lower class women had to work outside therefore they acquired a suntan. The pale complexion showed a sign of wealth, nobility and delicacy. It was an immediate identification for a person from the upper classes. The alabaster complexion therefore also required by Elizabethan