Men’s hairstyles in the 18th century can be summed up in one word, wigs. and though some women wore them, it was men who embraced wigs the most.

For gentlemen, wigs were not optional. They were essential, a visible sign of one’s status and sophistication. 

Even those who couldn’t afford the finest wigs would often style their natural hair to resemble one.

But where did this peculiar fashion originate?

It began in the latter half of the 17th century, rooted not in vanity but in practicality or perhaps necessity.

As syphilis had spread across Europe, it brought with it hair loss and unsightly sores. 

Wigs, initially used to conceal these symptoms, soon caught on as a fashionable accessory and by the dawn of the 18th century, wigs were no longer a medical solution, but a symbol of elite culture.

Maintaining a wig, however, was no small feat. It required time, labor, and tools, one of the most important being the clay wig curler.

These small, unassuming cylinders crafted from clay, were once the unsung heroes of Georgian fashion. 

Heated in fireplaces or ovens, wig curlers were carefully wrapped in strands of hair, setting rigid curls into place as the hair cooled. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of these curlers might be used to prepare a single elaborate wig. 

Wigs were more than just vanity. They were practical, too. In a time when daily bathing was rare and shampoo non-existent, maintaining natural hair was difficult. Dirt and lice thrived in unwashed locks. But wigs could be powdered, perfumed amd even boiled clean.They were, in their own way, a more hygienic option.

But as the 18th century gave way to the 19th, the splendor of the wig began to fade and the once popular wig curler was left behind, its job done and its era passed.