From Ancient Egypt to modern-day America, hair color has been a consistent beauty trend. Our methods and options have changed dramatically through history, but the interest in the potential of hair color remains unchanged.
When (and What) Was the First Hair Color Ever Used?
A walkthrough of a museum exhibit on Ancient Egypt will highlight many of the amazing technological advances from thousands of years ago, but hair color might not make the cut. It’s true—ancient Egyptians were some of the first known people to use hair dye, applying henna to cover gray hair. Natural hair color was also used years later in Ancient Greece and Rome, where people pulled different plant extracts to modify the color of their hair. The first permanent hair color—jet black—can also be attributed to Ancient Rome, but it took a few hundred years for Greeks and Romans to introduce more color choices beyond black. During the Roman Empire, prostitutes were required to have blonde hair, and while many wore wigs, some used a plant-based mixture to lighten their natural hair color. Outside of these ancient empires, other civilizations used hair color on the battlefield as a means to show their rank and frighten the enemy.
Hair Color History
Like many great modern inventions, hair color as we now know it was invented by accident. English professor William Henry Perkin was attempting to come up with a cure for malaria when he instead discovered the first synthesized dye. Chemistry professor August Wilhelm von Hoffman enhanced Perkin’s discovery, creating para-phenylenediamine (PPD), which is still the base for many permanent hair colors today—but more on that later.
In 1907, French chemist Eugene Schueller took PPD and created the first hair color for commercial purposes, dubbing the new product Aureole, which soon became known as L’Oréal, as was the company that Schueller founded. Throughout the early and mid 1900s, hair color formulas advanced, including at-home hair color that boasted longer staying power and hydrogen peroxide-free lightening hair color. While in the 1950s, much advertising around hair color was around discretion, the 1970s signaled a change of openness about beauty, prompting ownership of coloring your hair that paved the way for the bolder hair colors and highlight styles of the 1980s and 1990s.
Present Day Hair Color
From natural-looking color and soft balayages to vibrant rainbow tresses, it’s clear that hair color has become a staple in today’s beauty industry. But while styles and products have changed dramatically since Cleopatra’s day, much of the actual chemical composition of hair color has remained unchanged since it was introduced as a commercial product over one hundred years ago. For comparison’s sake, Schueller introduced commercial hair color in 1907, and Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908. The advancements in the automobile industry since the Model T are obvious–the enhancements in the hair color industry? Not so much.
While the capabilities and techniques of hair color have changed dramatically in the past century, the building blocks of most permanent hair color in the United States remain the same in the 21st century, including the base chemical of PPD and other ingredients like ammonia and resorcinol.
The Future of Hair Color
We’re not driving around in Model Ts anymore, so it seems odd we’d still be using a product that has largely remained unchanged from the same era, especially on our bodies. At Madison Reed, we want to harness the potential of at-home color while also looking for better alternatives to the ingredients of the last 100 years. Our Radiant Cream Color is free from PPD, ammonia, resorcinol, phthalates, parabens and gluten, and includes nourishing ingredients like argan oil, keratin, and ginseng root extract. We think nutrient-rich hair color made from ingredients you can feel good about is the way of the future, but we’ve decided to start now.
Read More Hair Color History:
Hairstyles Through History
History's Worst Hair Trends
FAQs
Eugène Schueller, the founder of L'Oréal, is recognized for creating the first synthetic hair dye in 1907. In 1947 the German cosmetics firm Schwarzkopf launched the first home color product, "Poly Color". Hair dyeing is now a multibillion-dollar industry that involves the use of both plant-derived and synthetic dyes.
What is the rarest hair color in history? ›
The rarest natural hair colour is red, which makes up only one to two percent of the global population.
How will hair dye help Anne? ›
She says that her yellow hair is a temporary entity. Therefore, she may dye them into another colour like brown or black or carrot soon. And hence in this way, she may get her true love due to her internal beauty.
What is the history of natural hair dye? ›
For reasons of accessibility, most come from plants. Roots, fruits, leaves and barks can be use as dye matter. Natural dyes can also be extracted from some fungi and lichens. The earliest traces of the use of natural dyes were found in China in the year 2600 BC.
What is the history of color dye? ›
Ancient Greek, Roman and neighbouring civilisations used a range of plant and animal dyes to create coloured textiles. Plant dyes included crocus sativus (ochres), madder, woad, weld (yellow), walnut hulls, oak gall (brown and black), orchil lichen (pink/purple), alchanet (red), and saffron crocus (yellow).
What is the oldest hair color in the world? ›
Some archaeological evidence suggest humans may have used dye on their hair as far back as the Paleolithic Period (a.k.a. the Stone Age, as in millions of years ago). Their preferred source: reddish iron oxide, which they found in the dirt and used to adorn their skin, their abodes—and their hair.
Why does Anne want to color her hair? ›
She would change the colour of her hair so that the young men in despair would love her only and not her yellow hair. She wanted them to love her for what she was and not for her appearance such as her hair colour.
What happens when Anne dyes her hair? ›
Chapter 9: As Anne hates her red hair, she dyes it and it turns green. Although she washes it every day, the color stays. Marilla then decides to cut it short.
What method Anne Gregory suggested in order to prove that she is loved for who she is 3? ›
Answer: She said that she would change her hair from yellow to some other color to confirm that she is loved for her inner beauty and not for her outer personality. Explanation: In some countries, yellow or blonde hair is considered appealing in contrast to dark hair.
How did Egyptians dye their hair? ›
The earli- est records of the use of henna for hair pigment come from Ancient Egypt, where mummies were found to have henna-dyed hair and fingers [1]. Microscopic analysis of mummies has confirmed the presence of hydroxynaph- thoquinone, the active pigment ingredient of henna [2].
Men would dye their hair blonde
Viking culture valued blonde hair and beauty standards of the time mandated a lighter hue. Men who had dark hair often used a strong soap which was high in potash to bleach their hair. Some even bleached their beards. An added bonus of the bleaching soap was that it killed head lice.
Who was the first person to dye their hair? ›
It's true—ancient Egyptians were some of the first known people to use hair dye, applying henna to cover gray hair. Natural hair color was also used years later in Ancient Greece and Rome, where people pulled different plant extracts to modify the color of their hair.
When was vibrant hair dye invented? ›
The Industrial Revolution brought about significant advancements in science and technology, which led to the development of synthetic hair dyes. In 1863, English chemist William Henry Perkin accidentally discovered the first synthetic dye, a vibrant shade of purple known as mauveine.
When did rainbow hair become popular? ›
Lest you think brightly hued hair is just a passing fad, let us remind you: rainbow styles have been popular for 50 years now. It started in the the '70s, across the pond, with punks like Soo Catwoman and Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten turning technicolor. Around the same time there was Ziggy Stardust.
What is the history of Clairol hair dye? ›
Industry makeover. In 1931, Lawrence M. Gelb and wife Joan, along with partner James Romeo, discovered Clairol (a hair-coloring preparation) while traveling in France. They co-founded the Clairol company, and imported the product to U.S. salons.
Who created the first permanent hair color? ›
The founder of Clairol, Lawrence M. Gelb, actually introduced hair color to salons over sixty years ago. Today, salon hair color is a billion-dollar business nationwide.
