Hairstyles Used in the Elizabethan Times

Elizabethan Hair Styles for the court were led by Queen Elizabeth. Upper class fashion, which included hairstyles, was highly elaborate - and necessary to achieve attention and success at court. It was referred to as the Peacock age as the Upper class Elizabethan men were often more elaborately dressed than the women and their hair and beards received a similar amount of attention.

Elizabethan Hair Styles for women were designed to compliment the upper class fashions of the day. Ruffs, or ruffles, were in high fashion and during the Elizabethan era. The ruffs, or collars, framed the face and dictated the hairstyles of the age which were generally short for men ( at the beginning of the Elizabethan era) and swept up look was required for women. Early in the period also, hair was parted in the center and fluffed over the temples; later front hair was curled and puffed high over the forehead. Wigs and false hairpieces were used to extend the hair. The frizzy hairstyle was very popular for Elizabethan women at the end of the 1500's. Women kept their hair long and the full natural beauty of their long hair was displayed by the young women of the era. The long flowing hair of a girl was a sign of a virgin and the favoured hairstyle for a bride on her wedding day before she was wed off. Once a woman achieved the married status she wore her hair swept up. Much of the hair was covered by some form of head covering. Long hair was generally dressed in a bun to which the variety of head coverings could be pinned. The front and sides of the hair received great attention as this was the area that was most displayed. Hats and jewels were often a popular accessory to the hair and was mostly worn by upper class men and women however lower class men and women would also wear hats.

Fringes were not in fashion - hairstyle fashion dictated that hair was combed way from the forehead. The hairstyle was usually designed to compliment the style of the hat. Frizzed hair was favoured by the Queen and therefore followed by ladies of the court although straight hair was favoured with a centre parting which especially complimented the French hood.

On the left is a typical hairstyle of the period, front hair is curled and back hair is worn long, twisted and wound with ribbons and then coiled and pinned up. 

This portrait is of Catherine de' Medici in a widow's black hood and veil, after 1559.

While researching hairstyles on the internet I found a great link that provides you with different techniques and hairstyles from the Elizabethan Era. It provides you with information about what products to use and step by step guides of how to create the style. It’s said to be intended as a practical lesson in how to recreate the look of upper-class hair fashions of late 16th-century England. The first half of the class was a slideshow of period images, and in the second part, she styled her own hair and a wig, plus discussed tools.

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http://trystancraft.com/costume/2011/07/15/elizabethan-hairstyles-1560-1600/

Information sourced:

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-hair-styles.htm

http://www.elizabethancostume.net/headwear/coif.html