According to mediaeval history, folks in the middle ages typically presumed baths to be an unhealthy practice and rarely preferred it. However, they used a mixture of burnt barley bread, salt, and bear fat to help their hair grow, and elm bark, willow root, red root, and goat milk tea to wash their hair.
Women were advised to dilute pure ammonia in warm water and then massage it through the scalp and hair, like modern shampoo. Men were also counseled to take great care when selecting a lifelong mate.
Rome: Drench hair in hot or cold water at a public bath (and then maybe apply and scrape away some oil) Who needs soap when you've got some of the world's first publicly available bathing facilities? Considering that it was the first century BC, the baths were a pretty sweet deal.
Before shampoo, hair was washed with water, and for the more well-off, a mixture of ashes and egg whites was used, along with herbs and flowers for a nice smell. Men also tended to wear their hair long, especially those of the noble classes, for whom it was a sign of social distinction.
Shampoo as we know it today has only existed for about 100 years. Prior to 1903, the act of hair washing ranged from a head massage with fragrant oils to boiling pieces of “shaved soap” bars in water.
While modern shampoo was not available during the Viking Age, the Norse people had their methods of cleaning and caring for their hair. Viking hair care practices included using a type of soap made from wood ash, which they lathered into their scalp and hair to clean it.
In 1500 B.C., Egyptian cosmeticians harvested plants like lotus flowers for their essential oils, and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like material for treating and washing skin.
Shampoo was usually homemade in the Victorian and Edwardian era. So there were many homemade shampoo recipes: Some use castile soap as basis, some use natural cleansers, such as egg, wheat bran or salt, and some use saponin-containing plants, such as quillaia bark.
Therefore, while women continued most of their daily work, they avoided activities they believed could halt the flow. The most salient precaution was avoiding getting chilled, whether by bathing, doing the wash in cold water, or working outside in cold, damp weather.
In the Victorian era, ladies with excess facial or body hair didn't have the luxury of making an appointment at their local salon. Instead, women employed various methods of hair removal at home. There was shaving and tweezing, of course, but there were also more dangerous methods.
FERMENTED RICE WATER
Chinese princesses have been washing their hair with rice water since the old imperial dynasties. And the Huangluo women still rely on it today for keeping their locks lush, glossy, and astonishingly long!
To get beautiful and luxuriant hair, Victorian and Edwardian ladies followed a night-time hair routine: After brushing out tangles and massaging the scalp with oil or hair tonic, they braided their long hair to protect it at night.
The Victorians encased their baths and basins in wood to make them items of furniture. There were no mixer taps and showers were uncommon and certainly a separate shower enclosure did not exist. A Victorian bathroom was a luxury enjoyed by only the wealthiest and would not be considered to be energy or water efficient!
RENAISSANCE ERA.
Around the year 1300, lizard tallow (which is rendered from the fat of animals) was blended with swallow droppings to create hair gel. Women also conditioned their hair by boiling dead lizards in olive oil.
Not even the Greeks and Romans, who pioneered running water and public baths, used soap to clean their bodies. Instead, men and women immersed themselves in water baths and then smeared their bodies with scented olive oils. They used a metal or reed scraper called a strigil to remove any remaining oil or grime.
Sake Dean Mahomed, a Bengali traveller, surgeon, and entrepreneur, is credited with introducing the practice of shampoo or "shampooing" to Britain. In 1814, Mahomed, with his Irish wife Jane Daly, opened the first commercial "shampooing" vapour masseur bath in England, in Brighton.
Many Vikings used picks to clean the gaps between their teeth, and some historian believes they may have also used fibrous hazel twigs and similar tools as a kind of brush. The Viking skeletons discovered over the decades have usually had relatively strong teeth too.
Even though the Anglo-Saxons might not bathe often, they were familiar with a huge range of plants and herbs - like Rosemary and Lavender which have strong aromas and could be used when washing one's hair, clothes or hands or just around the house to fragrance it.
Vikings were extremely clean and regularly bathed and groomed themselves. They were known to bathe weekly, which was more frequently than most people, particularly Europeans, at the time. Their grooming tools were often made of animal bones and included items such as combs, razors, and ear cleaners.
Shampoo and Greasy Hair
Once you stop using shampoo on a regular basis, as the theory goes, oil production slows down and you naturally produce less. (You may experience a few greasy days or weeks of "transition period," proponents say, but eventually, your body finds balance again.)
For most people, shampooing the hair is not necessary for good health. Just rinsing the hair with water a few times a week will remove most visible dirt and debris. The decision about how frequently to wash the hair is a cosmetic one based on personal preference.
Washing your hair with only water is a natural alternative to shampoos. Frequent washing of hair with shampoos can strip off the natural scalp oils and lead to product build-up. Water-only washing eliminates the use of sulfates in shampoos that otherwise make your hair brittle and dry.
In the Victorian era the public would typically fall asleep at 7pm when the sun disappeared, however this dramatically moved to 10pm in the Edwardian era, finally settling at 12pm in the modern age. Although our bedtime has become later throughout the years, we've continued to wake up around a similar time.