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Between fashion and self-expression

While for a very long time, cutting, tying or dressing one's hair was primarily a practical imperative, since at least the 18th century, hairstyling has been an art form at the service of self-assertion. From Marie-Antoinette's spectacular “poufs” to hippie singer Antoine's long hair and the revolutionary “garçonne” haircut, it's also a veritable marker of French culture.
 

A cultural dimension

Natural or artificial, symmetrical or asymmetrical, smooth or curly, long or short...

A person's hairstyle says a lot about them, and this unique, totally visible and modifiable part of the body has long been used as a means of expression, a statement of social status and a rite of passage:

  • For example, it's customary to cut a child's hair when he or she enters kindergarten.
    In adolescence, emancipation often involves a rejection of traditional haircuts, and when entering working life, only few rebels keep their long hair or eccentric dyes.
  • From peasants to bourgeois, from workers to aristocrats, hairstyles have also long been associated with social status.

Indeed, the lifestyles of these different castes producing haircuts directly linked to the time and means one could devote to one's hair.

  • This way of presenting oneself to others was reinforced in its social dimension with the emergence of hairdressing salons in the 19th century.
    Like the emblematic bistro, this local business is not only an important place for socializing, but also for asserting one's personality: from the latest trend inspired by a star like Marion Cotillard to the typically French “coiffed/un-coiffed”, today's customers can follow fashions or, on the contrary, stand out thanks to hairdressers who, in France, represent the 2nd largest craft industry.

75% of French people consider that their hairstyle
directly influences their self-confidence.

Source : étude OpinionWay

But also a psychological aspect

If the main reason for going to the hairdresser is to get a haircut, it's not just a pragmatic act:

  • It's also a time for taking care of oneself: relaxing, disconnecting and chatting with the shopkeeper, who can become a real confidant.
  • Many hairdressers report that their customers often come to them when their self-esteem is at a low ebb. It's up to the hairdresser to find the right treatment (dye, new cut, highlights, etc.) to help them regain a little self-confidence.
  • Speaking of self-affirmation, we also often see a change in hairstyle when a female politician obtains an important position. Long hair is replaced by a short cut (Elisabeth Guigou, Ségolène Royal) or long curls are lifted to reflect a desire to be more listened to and taken seriously (Marlène Schiappa).

I do what I want with my hair

This famous advertising slogan illustrates the relationship between the French and the aesthetic gesture of styling their hair. In the land of elegance, sobriety and refinement are particularly appreciated, but the French people, true to their iconoclastic spirit, also like to innovate in this capillary art. This was notably the case throughout these eras:

  • 18th century: Louis XIII launches the fashion for wigs (initially to hide his premature baldness and thus avoid damaging his public image). These increasingly sophisticated hairpieces were subsequently adopted by the entire court, and even in England by King Charles II.
  • 19th century: after the Revolution, long hair became fashionable (a way of forgetting the fate reserved for those guillotined, whose necks were completely cleared before the fatal chop?) Under the influence of European empresses, French women let their hair grow to the shoulders or waist, and favored chignons, first lower then higher, or long braids revealing a few curls around the face.
  • 20th century: women are finally allowed to uncover their ears and necks, a sign of emancipation initiated by suffragettes, stage actresses and, in the 1920s, the heroine of the novel La Garçonne. A veritable scandal, Victor Margueritte's book popularized the short haircut of the same name, adopted by Coco Chanel, among others.

The following decades saw a gradual lengthening of hair, with actresses continuing to play an influential role with more or less voluminous mid-length cuts and contained or detached locks, as with Simone Signoret and Michèle Morgan.
This return to the long hairstyle reached its apogee with Brigitte Bardot and her famous high ponytail, whose classic wisdom was counterbalanced by a clever tousled effect or a few carelessly tied locks.

From the democratization of hair coloring in the '70s, to the craze for unstructured cuts (such as the famous mullet) in the '80s, each era brings its own more or less ephemeral hair trends, always oscillating between classicism and modernity. More recently, the concept of “hair & make-up” has emerged in the Camille Albane hair salon. A complete service including advice, techniques and made-to-measure treatments to enable each customer to express her personality.

A combination of hair salon and beauty salon, this expanded approach to the art of hair styling illustrates that, in France, this sector is always adapting to the times, and that hairdressing is a true art of living.


Valérie from Comme des Français
 

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