For nearly two centuries, pink wigs (known as peruke) were all the rage.If it wasn’t for venereal diseases, prudent kings and people with poor hair hygiene, fashionable wigs would never be popular. Like many others, the Duke story begins with syphilis.
By 1580, STD had become the most serious epidemic in Europe since the death of black people. According to William Clowes, “countless” syphilis patients are blocking every hospital in London, and more people are diagnosed every day. Without antibiotics, more and more victims will suffer from sores, rashes, blindness, dementia and mottled hair loss.Baldness swept the land.
At the time, hair loss was a one-way ticket that embarrassed the public. Long hair is a fashionable status symbol, and baldness can stain any reputation. When Samuel Pepys’ brother developed syphilis, the diary doctor wrote: “if [my brother] lives, he will not be able to show his head, which is very shameful to me.” It can be seen that at that time, hair was so important.
Cover up
As a result, the outbreak of syphilis led to the proliferation of wigs. The victims covered their baldness with wigs made of horses, goats or human hair, as well as the bloody sores on their faces. Peruvians are also coated with powder, which is scented with lavender or orange to mask any fashionable fragrance. Wigs, though common, are not entirely fashionable. They are just shameful necessities. In 1655, when the French king began to lose his hair, things changed.
When his hair started thinning, Louis XIV was only 17. Fearing that baldness would damage his reputation, Louis hired 48 wig makers to preserve his image. Five years later, Charles II, the cousin of King Louis of England, did the same when his hair began to turn white (both could have syphilis). The courtiers and other nobles immediately copied the two kings. They wear wigs, and the style goes to the upper middle class. The latest wave in Europe was born.
The cost of wigs has increased, and hypocrites have become schemes to show off wealth. The price of a wig is about 25 shillings a day, which is equivalent to a week’s wage for an average Londoner. Large, elaborate scams have seen their bills soar to 800 shillings. The word “bigwig” is used to describe snobbish people who can afford a lot of small weeks. After Louis and Charles died, the wig stayed.
Perukes remained popular because they were so practical. At that time, head lice were everywhere. It was painful and time-consuming to be picky. Wigs solve the problem. Lice stopped infesting people’s hair—which had to be shaved for the peruke to fit—and camped out on wigs instead. It’s much easier to get rid of the hair on the wig than on the hair: you just need to give the dirty wig to a wig maker who will boil it and remove the hair.
Wig out
By the end of the 18th century, this trend was disappearing. During the French Revolution, the British were expelled. William Pitt imposed a tax on hair powder in 1795, and the British stopped wearing wigs. Short, natural hair has become a new trend that will continue for about two centuries.
