Category: Hair
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Vidal Sassoon
As a hairdresser, Vidal Sassoon promoted a belief that the structure of the cut should provide the style; this led to the development of his signature wash-and-go geometric cuts of the 1960s. Though all his cuts are visually distinct, he is most often associated with the 5-point cut, a short geometric cut with one point…
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Religion and Beauty
From the annual sales of Easter dresses to the popularity of rhinestone crosses, religion has been marketed for the masses. Nevertheless, religion and the beauty industry have had a contradictory relationship, in part because religion has been both a source of inspiration as well as condemnation. As men and women have fashioned their own identities,…
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Permanents
Although typically associated with blue-haired ladies and mullet-wearing hair bands of the 1970s and 1980s, perms have been a fashion trend that has helped to define the 20th-century beauty industry. Perming hair is a process that has made use of thermal and/or chemical combinations to alter the hair texture and to make it either curly …
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Natural Look
The natural look is a style of cosmetics use made to create the illusion of not wearing any beauty products at all. This style was first popular in the 1970s, when there was a desire articulated across the fashion world to return to a more simple and innocent time, with many designers looking to traditional…
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Hairstyles
Hairstyles are rich with meaning and inextricably bound to a larger political economy that has profoundly shaped the cultural landscape as well the beauty industry. A multitude of industries and institutions are devoted exclusively to hairstyle processes, products, and accessories. Hairstyles have made peoples’ careers, cost them their jobs, and, at times, even threatened their …
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Hair Straightening
In Western culture, long, straight hair has traditionally epitomized both feminine beauty and sexual desirability. This aesthetic continues to shape how women of other cultures process and style their hair. Although concerns related to self-worth, success, and attractiveness affect both genders, women of all backgrounds have felt greater pressure to maintain a socially acceptable appearance.…
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Hair Shows
Hair shows are trade shows that focus on hair design and products and are held regionally, nationally, and internationally. Generally only open to hair professionals (cosmetology students, barbers, hairstylists, and salon professionals), they feature competitions, product and technique demonstrations, business seminars, hair runway shows, sales, and opportunities for professional development. Organized by trade associations and …
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Hairdressers
Hairdressers and stylists, also known as beauticians, beauty operators, barbers, and cosmetologists, tout the creation of style, in contrast to barbers who have traditionally been associated with cutting hair that has grown too long. Hairdressers typically possess high-level skills that include cutting, perking, straightening, coloring, finishing, and sometimes braiding and weaving. In a nod to…
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Hair Care Products
Since ancient times, natural and formulated substances have been used to care for and style hair. Products were designed as cleansers, treatments to regrow or remove hair, styling elements like stiffening agents, or beautifiers imparting shine, curl, or color. From shredded vegetables, to bear grease, to Dippity-do, hair care products run the gamut through shampoos,…
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Male Grooming
The preoccupation with male grooming, most closely associated with the modern phenomenon of the metrosexual and his fastidious rituals of hair and skin care and physical fitness, is not simply the product of late-20th-century consumer culture. Men have been obsessed with their physical appearance for centuries. In the ancient Egyptian world, for example, men practiced…