Unlike today, a nice head of hair made an important fashion statement in the 17th century. Hair loss and baldness were accompanied by a loss of status and style and, even worse, might indicate the heartbreak of syphilis. Wigs were often used to cover up such shameful appearance. Their use became widespread after two monarchs, Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England, victims of premature hair loss, donned wigs. Courtiers, always quick to jump on a convenient bandwagon, started wearing wigs as well, and a fashion was born.
The first wigs were fashioned from horse and goat hair and, even though they identified the wearer as an elite member of society, they smelled bad and attracted lice and other unwanted critters. To combat this inconvenience, wig wearers would powder their faux tresses. Hair powder usually consisted of wheat starch and perfume. Cheaper powders might be made of flour, ground rice or chalk.
The more popular wigs became, the more elaborate and bigger they got, hence the term bigwig. Then in the 18th century, wigs fell out of fashion just as quickly as they had risen. Late in the century, the clever British, needing revenue to finance another of their endless wars with France, hit upon the idea of taxing hair powder. On May 5, 1795, the government introduced the Hair Powder Act, requiring citizens to purchase a certificate to purchase hair powder. Well didn’t that put a dent in the use of wigs. All of a sudden, in England folks began to wonder what else those wigs might be hiding. In France, they saw how often wig-wearing dandies ended up with their wigged heads at the wrong end of a guillotine.
Longhair became a word of derision. Short hair or be square. But nothing is forever. Long hair made a comeback in the 20th century. And you can buy hair powder on Amazon. Tax-free.
Vamos A Celebrar
In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla where it is called El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (The Day of the Battle of Puebla) observed to commemorate the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. France, under the leadership of Napoleon Number Three, sought to establish a Gallic empire in Mexico (possibly because things had gone so well for Napoleon Number One in Russia back in 1812). In 1861, a large French force landed at Veracruz sending the Mexican government into retreat. Moving toward Mexico City, the French army encountered heavy resistance near Puebla from a poorly equipped Mexican army of 4,500 men. The Mexicans were able to soundly defeat the 8,000-strong French army, considered the best in the world.
Wretched Richard's Almanac 