Why and when did the common western style for men become having short hair?

zbeckabee

Following the decadence of the previous era, the Victorians took a much more subdued and puritanical line. Middleclass ladies, although not abandoning make-up completely, did tone things down considerably with more of an emphasis on natural beauty. A Victorian lady would play up her natural features and aimed at a healthy hygienic look. Hair was supposed to look sleek, shiny and healthy and styles were altogether more elegant and demure. The hair was often smoothed down with oils and curled into long ringlets, fringes were short and decoration was more subtle. Hairnets were often worn during the day to keep curls confined and clipped to the back of the head with a simple ivory comb or black bow. Later in the century hair was often plaited and wound into heavy coils pinned neatly to the nape of the neck. Neatness was the order of the day and ‘loose’ hair would have been considered vulgar. Men of the time kept their hair relatively short, pomaded with macassar oil and most would have worn some form of moustache, beard and sideburns. http://www.ukhairdressers.com/history%20of%20hair.asp Aug 14 09, 5:13 AM

star_gazer

In Western society, men's hair is generally kept short. This is due in part to the English Civil War. The followers of Oliver Cromwell decided to crop their hair close to their head, as an act of defiance to the curls and ringlets of the king's men. The Cromwell followers won. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair Aug 14 09, 5:47 AM

author

In the 4th century BC Alexander the Great of Macedonia had his soldiers wear short hair and shave off their beards, so that their ememies couldn't grab their hair or beards in battle. The Romans were the first culture where all the men generally wore their hair short and shaved their beards, again for military reasons. After Rome conquered most of Europe and the Mediterranean, short hair came to be associated with what Rome stood for: civilization, "law and order", loyalty to the state, conservatism, military discipline, etc. Long hair was associated with barbarians, women, "effeminate" greek philosophers and wimpy romantics. http://members.home.nl/hairpeace/english/html/history.html Aug 14 09, 11:17 AM