A Brief History of Coloring Hair
Haircoloring is an art that has been perfected over the centuries as women have
sought to enhance their natural haircolor or change unflattering colors to
beautiful new shades.
Egyptians used henna and other plants to
color their hair.
In the mid 1800s, a German student
introduced the first synthetic dye formulation, which was used to color fabric
and hair.
In the early 20th century, modern color
formulations incorporated new ingredients to make haircolor look and feel
natural.
In the 1940s, women not only admitted to
coloring their hair, but bragged about it. During this time, haircolor only
darkened hair. Lightening was achieved only by using bleach products.
Do blondes have more fun? A 1950s
breakthrough led to formulations that could lighten and color hair in a single
process. It was now easy to achieve the striking blonde colors worn by movie
stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly. This was the birth of haircolor
as we know it.
And what's going on today? Are a lot of
women coloring their hair? You bet. This year, more than half of adult women
will color their hair and expect to look fabulous.
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