The History of Hair Styling Accessories

Today we are going to take you back to your school days. Who remembers history lessons? Learning about changes that have affected our society and different societies around the world. It is not uncommon for switch offs and daydreaming to occur during these lessons but in our lesson today we can garuntee that no one will stich off and start daydreaming about what they are doing later. If only all history lessons were like this! Today we are going to be learning about hair tools and how they have changed our lives for the better! You are now the pupil and we are going to be the teacher! Everyone listening?!

Let's take a look at hair straighteners. Hair straightening is a styling technique  which involves the flattening and straightening of hair in order to give it a smooth and sleek appearance. This process is not permanent and only lasts for a temporary amount of time. The straightened hair will be affected by environmental factors like washing it or getting caught in the rain or humidity. In 1872, Erica Feldman used heated rods to straighten her hair. She would also be willing to straighten the hair of any other brave person who would let her. This changed the lives of women forever when they realised that they did not have to keep mop of hair they were born with.In 1909, Isaac K. Shero patented a hair straightener which was composed of two flat irons that are heated and pressed together. This is the first known "flat iron" to ever be created.Even though this was revolutionary the flat irons that we use today were the baby of Scottish heiress Lady Jennifer Bell Schofield, who refined and combined previous efforts into a hinged, two plated heated iron in 1912. Thank you so much to all of you who have been mentioned. We think you deserve to be in the history books being studied by people all over the world! You single handedly changed the hair world! 

From straight hair to curly hair now. and the curling iron. During Egyptian times curly hair was extremely popular and women would wear curly-haired wigs. Upper-class Roman women would also wear their hair in tight curls. They used an early form of a curling iron. This was heated by an oven and then applied to the hair to create a ringlet effect.Obviously over the years curling irons have been perfected and we no longer have to heat them in a fire to get them hot, hot, hot! Hiram Maxim is known to have obtained the first patent for a curling iron in 1866. However, it is Marcel Grateau who is credited for actually inventing the curling iron in 1890. Whoever, came up with this magnificent hair tool needs a big, fat, kiss!

Now for a style that comes in and out of fashion. We are secret fans of this style and wish we had the courage to carry it off on a daily basis! It's crimping! Hair crimping is a method of styling usually straight, long hair so that it becomes wavy. It's like putting zigzags in your hair. Whats not to love about that?! It can also be called krinkles or deep waves. Hair crimping is usually achieved by treating the hair with heat from a hair crimper  or by braiding the hair, often in multiple strands, then undoing the braids. A crimping iron has two heated plates (just like a straightener) and has a repeated s shaped groove. In 1972, the modern crimping iron was invented by Geri Cusenza who was one of the co-founders of Sebastian Professional.
Crimping became extremely popular during the 1980s and became a must have style. In 2007 at a Chanel runway show crimped hair was shown on a model, and it became popular again throughout late 2007 and 2008. Crimpings popularity seems to return in cycles and we are sure (and hoping) it will be back on our heads soon!

After todays lesson we hope you have learnt a little bit about the everyday hair tools that most girls have. Are you ready for your test? Just kidding, it was all just for fun and just as important as some of the other events in history, well almost!