I Tried A 300-Year-Old Hair Care Routine For A Year & This Is What I Learned (It'S Awesome!)

Abby Cox: Human and pup approved! Visit https://www.birchliving.com/abbycox to get $400 off your Birch mattress plus two free pillows! Hey everyone! So I've seen a lot of similar questions come up in the comments and while I've answered them in replies, I figure it's best to put them here: *How does this work for curly hair?* - Pomading and powdering works great for most hair types. Curly hair does fine with it. The biggest thing I noticed when I worked with curly hair (like 3a) is that the powder would/could weigh down the natural curl and turn it more into waves. *what about pillowcases/sheets?* - In the 18th-century men and women slept in caps, protecting their hair and their bed linens. When I would pomade and powder, I slept with my hair tied up and a bandana tied around my hair to protect my hair and my bedding. *what about vegan/non-animal fat options?* - I address this a bit more in my making video (https://youtu.be/G0XKXBEleVY) where I touch a bit on fatty acid chains, etc that are in different fats, butters, and oils. Basically, the fatty acid chains aren't the same, and so they just handle a bit differently, and I'm not really a fan of the vegetable/nut options. However, that doesn't mean you can't experiment with different options. I want to do this, when I have the time, to really push to try and make a *good* replacement option, but I need to study up more on fatty acid chains, etc. (Plus, I really want to do it with Chrissy cause her science brain is much better suited for this than my chaotic-good-overstuffed-library-of-dress-history-knowledge-quail-loving brain is. (and yes, I know that there are some makers out there who are doing mixtures with jojoba oil, coconut oil, etc. as vegetarian or vegan options, I'm just not into how these oils interact with the skin vs. animal fat...I'm just really picky about this y'all. ) If I see a lot of the same questions keep popping up, I'll add them here! Thanks for watching! ❤

Laura T: I love it when people prove that people in antiquity were just as smart as we are now, just without the same technology.

Leslie Witherspoon: What an interesting video, I'd never heard of this before. You know as a black woman, I'm used to oiling my hair as a way to protect it from external elements like wind, sun, and air pollution. So I absolutely understand how Pomade in your hair would encourage healthy hair, and therefore allow for long hair growth. Definitely won't do that powdering thing as I have pretty kinky coily hair, and combing everyday is not the move, but I'm absolutely going to look up nineteenth-century scent profiles to add to my homemade oil recipes. Thanks for all the info!

Amy Barger: I can't help but think this is no different than using dry shampoo. Just a bit more involved with the application. I do love the different techniques of hair care, among other things, but we still have the same problem that we had back then. Affordability.

Laurel Anne: When you said the creping would last up to a month if you didn't get it wet, I was imagining an 18th century Legally Blonde: "You took a shower? Everyone knows getting your hair wet causes the pomade and powder to clump, and your crepe is still intact"

deidre kelley: This is so cool! Now I know why the restroom is still called the “powder room” some times. Very interesting!

Leigh Blair: I dove in and pomaded/powdered my hair just now, on day 8 hair. I’m shocked by how soft and voluminous my hair is!!! I remember you saying the fat and cornstarch just makes ✨magic✨ together and it really does. I braided it with ribbons to go to sleep (I’m one year into no elastic!) and I’m going to try this method for the next 6 months and report back!

Rachel: I had no real interest in this and thought theres no way ill get through the whole video but this story telling was so interesting and well done i was hooked till the end

Erika With a K: I’m so excited for this! I wash my hair VERY INFREQUENTLY, it’s long and thin, so it tangles into an nest easily. I’ve chosen to keep it “up” in a top knot, with a satin tie, unless I’m going somewhere special. Maybe not even then. I HATE wet washing, (s3xual trauma as a child, a bit afraid of the shower, most of my washing is done by hand, on the side of the tub) my hair, although thin, is very resilient, shiny, and happy. I know this is off topic, but some just can’t “self care” as much as we want, as our brains are just afraid. No matter how much time and therapy, I’ve not been able to put my head under the spray, in over a decade. I don’t smell bad, I am clean. I just do it differently. My mental health is more important than my hair style. No one would ever know looking at me that I’m afraid of the shower head. I can sit in the tub with water running, but not plug it. I know- weird. I feel it’ll always be this way.

Vicky B: Straight up corn starch is awesome for knots and adds silkiness. It brushes away with little residue. It works well on curly hair and is safe for your poodle mix.

Anonymous Person: I remember reading a hair dressing manual from the late 18th century that mentioned a few things for if you couldn't afford to pay someone to do your hair (and weren't rich enough for a powdering room) and it was basically "find the least windy spot you can (do it outside), have someone help you, do it upside down a lot of the time, and whatever you do, keep the geese away while you are doing this" (???) Like, sounds like solid advice, but I'm baffled by the geese...

Galamander _: I've occasionally used homemade "airing powders" on my hair without the pomade and they've worked really well. They absorb the excess sebum in oily hair very well, and the grippy texture they give (without fostering tangles) makes old fashioned updos a lot easier to achieve. Thank you for helping normalize alternative hair care. Some people freak out in disbelief when they hear how a daily detergent shampoo isn't necessary to have clean and healthy scalp and hair. (The freakout tells me more about them and their limited experience than anything, but still.)

Adios Epic: Request: please create a detailed video of how to do this from start to finish to start (like if you were going from zero to pom and pow to maintenance back to fresh pom and pow look), and how to manage this type of hair in terms of how to sleep and have your head around furniture without leaving your mark everywhere. This video is amazing because it covers so much history and is sprinkled with great sass, but I would love to try this technique for long-term use as part of lifestyle. Also, your pom-cooking video goes over the hard pom, but I can't understand how that would be applied.

Theresa Schmidt: I always wonder: don‘t your clothes (e. g. winter coat) and your bed get quite dirty from contact with powdered hair (especially when you add cocoa for darker hair)?

Amos (에아모스): WHAT! I used to live RIGHT next to colonial Williamsburg when I was a W&M student lmao

Chibihugs: I love how contrary to what people often think, past folks did have some things figured out. The pomade and powder did make your hair look soft and voluminous. Am I the only one who likes the grayish color it gives hair!

Carole Fraze: As a mixed female I’m going to try this. I wear wigs to preserve any length I have. I do have to say that yes pomade and powder makes your face pop and makes a huge difference in hair volume which is crazy. Love your curves and your spunk! My husband and I were just looking for a new mattress so we’ll be checking out your birch trial thank you!

Jasminanya: I remember this one morning where I ran out of dry shampoo and was in a hurry. So i thought flour might work just as fine. And not gonna lie I did it more often since then and it DOES work. The only problem was that the first time I did it was raining outside and when I arrived at work I looked like a complete Idiot because the flour had all gotten wet and dried up.

kazul24: I love this concept as someone with your exact hair type! Makes me sad it's not more socially acceptable to switch to a routine like this. I have to wonder though, is it possible to add dyes to the powder to offset the greying effect? Or maybe even funky coloured dyes for temp, healthy, colour options!! If I could powder my hair purple I'd be so happy

JenniferLee Hendrixson: I feel like dry shampoo is kinda our modern equivalent, I have trained my hair not to get oily as quickly with use of dry shampoo and washing it less often.

Ryssa Smith: In the category of realizing something that should be obvious but probably isn't anymore. When you said our homes/bathrooms are not set up for this anymore my brain went *ping!* and thought oh so that is where the term Powder Room came from! I do love the random bits I pick up from your channel.

Liz: I’m in my 60s I have very thick hair and when my hair gets oily underneath we were taught to prouder our hair/scalp. It’s works and feels clean again. Less damage from Constant washing. Great video:)

A Sparkly Life: Great video! I'm in my 50's and have been using baby powder as a dry shampoo for most of my life. It's sort of a version of this. However, I just put the powder in at night, usually, and I wake up to fluffy hair in the morning. The powder absorbs all the oil during the night. It does leave a grey cast to the hair, though. I have fine, thin hair.

Tis'ButAScratch: As someone who has scalp psoriasis and therefore has to wash their scalp everyday, I can't imagine applying powder (that could clog my pores), and not washing my hair for a month at a time. That would definitely inflame my psoriasis for sure. I wonder what people with scalp conditions like mine did during this era? Either way, a very interesting topic and video

-Jessica- The Whole Cake: I used to have very oily hair. I’ve had a month off from work while repairs are being done at my workplace and I used the time to retrain my hair. I stopped washing it daily and weaned down for longer periods of time. My hair regulated itself and after 1.5 weeks of not washing my hair (I bathe every other day) my hair doesn’t over produce oils. Plus my hair is so healthy and my curls came back tenfold. It even started growing more from letting the natural oils do their job.

Brayden Alexis: I've recently taken to powdering my hair whenever I need to because I'm too cheap to buy dry shampoo and I actually like it better because it gives me more control!

April Crocker: I have no interest in ever doing this to my hair, but I just watched your video (including the ad!) with so much glee. You just rock, sister.

Shawna F: This was so interesting! I do a modern version of this although I do wash it every 2-3 weeks. But I do dry shampoo in between washings, and I've actually used face powder in a pinch

Wild Wesley: 4:07 Yeah. I was gonna say this wouldn’t really work that well for my coarse, curly, dry hair. It already takes too long for my natural oils to get to the ends of my hair and combing my hair isn’t something that I ever do unless it’s soaking wet. But I think it’s cool that this works for some people

catalot: I use a little baby powder to "dry clean" my hair when I don't have time to wash it. It isn't the same as adding pomade but it does what I want it to do. Mostly I did this when I was young with very long hair. Love the video!

Intuitive Healing Life: I haven’t washed my hair with shampoo for few years, it took 2-3 months to get rid of the oiliness..the first 3 weeks the scalp was really oily but gradually went away..I love how my hair is very healthy and grows so rapid!!

LW: I lived in this place in California called Ojai and everyday this family of quails would would walk single file down this hill into my backyard to do a bit of feeding.. it was so awesome to watch. When they were done they would politely walk back up the hill the same way. .

Nathalia Mora: Thanks for doing these videos! We re-learn a lot!

Lesley Harris: Hi, my great grandmother never wet washed her very long hair, but when she was taken into hospital the nurses wanted to "wash" her hair in the end the surgeon was called and he spoke to her and inspected the hair and agreed that the hair was clean and healthy, I know it was pomaded but she added ash too not sure why.

Marie Borchert: Love your videos! I have a question, how does this hold up to a very sweaty scalp? I imagine the humidity in Williamsburg was intense at times, and I’m just curious about whether the powder became sticky and gunky when your scalp sweated.

Fiona Hosty: That mattress looks amazing. I live in NZ and I’m all for supporting our wool

BT H: I have a form of alopecia and have had thin and thinning hair for about 15 years. For a long time I didn't really do anything about it and was just embarrassed all the time, but several years ago I discovered the joys of dry shampoo. I generally wear loose hats, but I don't wash my hair that often and whenever I need to wear my hair out of a hat, or even just to add volume when I am wearing hats, I'll do a conditioning and then powder the hell out of it. If I'm using a very light powder and don't want my hair to look so light and powdery I'll do a coat of a tinted dry shampoo like the Batiste Hint of Color (though I do try to avoid it because it's aerosolized and I hate breathing that garbage in). I can't say my hair is the softest or healthiest it's ever been, especially because when I try to cut down on the cost of the dry shampoos I'll opt for a talc-free baby powder, which kind of draws more moisture out of the hair than the dry shampoos do. But if I were more diligent about conditioning beforehand (or pomade, I suppose, as the original technique requires) it probably wouldn't be so bad.

Off the clock astrophysicist: My hair has the pommaded and powedered look on it's own. It's thick, on the dry side, prone to friz, and greying. My battle is to get the volume down and to remove that velcro effect of the strands sticking to each other. But this is a very interesting video (and as mentioned perhaps more for oily, finer hair).

Kris ThroughGlass: I started to wash my long hair only once every 10 days or so about a year ago and sometimes use dry shampoo in between. My hair got healthier and thicker. But I can't imagine to never get it wet. I sweat a lot when working out and can't imagine not rinsing the sweat out. Plus I love the feeling of hot water on my head, especially on bad days.

ichigo momomyia: I'm currently on my longest length yet, thanks to good old rona making haircuts impossible lol. I'd really like to try this once to see if I can get it longer now I just use coconut oil the night before I wash my hair and only that difference made such a huge change for my hair it's so much healthier and softer it's crazy

Emma B: This is fascinating and I’m impressed at how good it looks! Let’s be honest, 1800s fashion and hair was probably pretty epic and we make fun of it now cause we want to feel cooler and more modern than them

Pearl: I love how confident she is.

Universal Soldier: I totally respect the accuracy and time that was put into this, but I'm happy sticking with modern hygiene routines. I get skeeved when my girlfriend uses dry shampoo (she doesn't like it either, so I'm not trying to be a jackass here) so I'm pretty sure this would feel the same. To each his own.

Pandaline: I usually put flour in my hair when i'm out of dry shampoo. After 20 min (or longer), i just brush it off with a towel and my hair is clean and voluminous. I usually don't talk about it too much though i don't want people to think i'm mad :D

Fledhyris Proudhon: This was a really interesting and informative video! I know a lot of people put butter in their hair, but not with the powder (but I think they wash the butter out after a while?) Really the only social drawback to this is people wondering why you have grey hair, but that's actually becoming a bit of a fashionable trend anyway! The biggest drawback to doing it, for me, would be the mess. Four hours deep cleaning your bathroom?! No thanks!! Personally I keep my hair healthy by just not washing it too often. Once a week is fine, unless you're getting hot and sweaty or encountering lots of pollutants. But that probably wouldn't work for people with oilier hair.

Paola Rivera: I think this is all super interesting (and I’ve done baby powder in my hair as a dry shampoo alternative) but my hair is a bit curly (so I rarely brush it) and VERY dark so it’d just look greyish and I don’t dig that! It’s fascinating to hear about the benefits tho!

Toni Idowu: This was so cool to watch! Thanks for sharing Abby

Whispers in the dark: I have done a similar type of experiment though a different time period so I know what you mean about the reactions that you get when you tell people that you haven't washed your hair for nearly a year...lol I was playing around with how the Norse and Germanic tribes of pre christian Europe dealt with these everyday hair care, though we have way less information and evidence to go on so it's been a bit of a puzzle to piece together. I hadn't really considered what a difference that having the animal based products would work so much better on our hair, but it totally makes sense now that you mentioned it. I'm going to have to figure out how I can switch that in an authentic way. I was basically not washing my hair with any soaps or hot water, only cool to warm water once or twice a month or if you get it really sweaty or actually dirty. I would use a mixture of oils an also wet it daily when braiding my waist length hair, or whenever wanted. After a few months of not using soaps and hot water my hair no longer got greasy nor was it dried out, even my skin seemed to be clearer. My hair was the healthier and thicker than ever before, despite the grey hairs coming in. When I finally did go and wash my hair with modern shampoo and conditioner it was getting really greasy within days, my skin broke out, and my hair is thinner and dry feeling. I'm honestly thinking that I should figure out a slightly modernized version and stick with it. These days it's all about how much crap they can sell you, not if you need it or if it works well.

sh0e h0rn: I came here to be scandalized about your hair, and now I’m in love with this channel and am knee-deep into a binge of your videos.

Re'Tavia Kimble: This was very interesting and informative to watch I really enjoyed this Abby!!!

JBond0070: Love these kinds of videos!! So interesting. I'm curious about the powder though. I will use dry shampoo or baby powder (cornstarch) sometimes and I find my head will break out really bad. I'm not sure if it clogs up pores or what, but my friend was having the same thing happening to her scalp.

Simopa Koko: Scented arrowroot powder is great on hair as well. I put a small amount in my hands and work it through my roots. If you go easy on the amount, it won't make your hair look lighter, and it's soft, clean, and fresh with lots of body. I haven't washed my hair in over 2 years, and it's much healthier, thicker, and manageable than before. I also have gotten no gray hairs at 54. Note: the only place I was able to find arrowroot already scented and packaged like baby powder was on Etsy. There's a nice selection there. I think it's better than cornstarch based products because cornstarch feeds bacteria and yeast. I originally got it for body powder, but then started putting it in my hair and loved it. I'm surprised it's not more mainstream, since there's no downside to it and it's not expensive.

Katherine Harfouch: So cool!! Thank you for this video (p.s. I have the same bedsheets as you). I’m curious as to how pomading/powdering would fare if one sweated a lot (i.e. exercised/worked out). When you treated your hair with pomade/powder for a year, did you have to avoid sweaty exercise?

althea: I love your attitude towards everything. You're just so frank about it, like "this is the way their society was, this is the way our society is, this made sense then, makes less sense now, but still has its place, it is what it is." It's just a refreshing take to have somebody not be blatantly for or against one technique but just frank and logical about it all.

Luutâs Λούτας Лу́тос लूतस 野人 لوتاس: This was the most sincere sponsorship video I've ever seen. You were indeed into it

Laetitia Mulas: I never use pomade, however I started powdering my hair to wash my hair less often and sometimes I can go for a whole week between washes! I should try pomade because they are reeaally damaged so maybe it can help in making them thicker!

Blossom Wonder Designs: I looooved this video!!! I would love to see how it works like with diferent hair styles and hair types! I have curly short hair and this is like….interesting….mostly because of the deep conditioning! I would love to ser how it looks on me but I would be terrified to mess itnup Thanks for the video

Paulina Splechta: I’m all for whatever helps to not have to wash hair often! I hate washing my hair! But I also have sensory disorder and the feeling of having anything like this in my hair is making my skin crawl lol (I also can’t use dry shampoo)

Madisonkayb: Brad mondo needs to see this video. He was wondering how the heck they got their hair to stay and got it so voluminous! He tried teasing it it was great.

Katherine Wilson: I also have very fine, oily hair, and I am interested in this technique! It's making me more interested in the dry shampoo. Moreover, I'm interested in the mattresss...gonna buy a new mattress, so thanks for the tip!

Caitlin: I saw the title and just thought, DANG you look good for a 300-year-old!

Karolina Störling: First of all, I just have to say that I feel exactly the same as you do about wool!! Second, this sounds so interesting, I already use corn starch as dry shampoo in between (no poo!) washes. But I wonder if there's a vegan replacement to pomade? I'll check your other videos out, I dunno if you talk about that, but I wish there is some... Thank you for this video!

Estelle Schneider: Thank You! You did a great job teaching us about this early method of "clean" hair..and are funny and I found it extremely interesting. ..God Bless You!!

m: I don’t think this would work well for me because I have naturally thick, curly hair. I can’t really comb my hair regularly or easily. But it’s definitely interesting to learn about the theory behind this. It would be super cool if they started using this method in 18th century period pieces.

Alicia Swanson: So in love with how your hair looks. I would love to try it but I'm too worried others will think I don't know how to use dry shampoo or something. Idk but I love that so much.

Me: Thank you! Your video was very informative. I am a living interpreter in Annapolis and I totally understand your video. We had one of our interpreters do this live and we were laughing because there was powder everywhere but she was done, ah "la pièce de résistance!"

J A: Cool video!! I made my own dry hair shampoo & made it more brunette by adding cinnamon and cocoa. I think it works well & apply it with an old, clean makeup brush like you applied your power

Jody Zonneveld: I have fine blonde hair and I have been powdering my hair for years! It’s a fantastic cheap dry shampoo! Like I’m going spend $5-8 on a can that lasts 2 weeks! $1 big baby powder for dollar tree for the win! I pop a bit of powder on my roots every morning, and I’m down to washing my hair about twice a week, 3 times if needed, plus it’s a great volume builder for my limp hair. Brunettes can add a wee bit of coco to the powder so it’s not so white. Try it, you’ll thank me for saving you mega bucks on cans of dry shampoo. PS they also use powder on show dogs coats too

Kellie Weaver: I started using a DIY dry shampoo routine on my hair about a year ago as an experiment after reading The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty. I figured it was worth trying because my hair is fine and greasy, and I struggle using any conventional hair products because I am very sensitive to scents and perfumes. I powder my hair all over with a mixture of cornstarch and cocoa powder for color, and then brush it out. I found that the cocoa powder lets the powder blend into my hair color. I rub a tiny bit of rose hip seed oil into my hair and reapply the power as needed until my hair washing day. (Conditioner only-it lifts away dead skin cells without stripping my hair oils.) And my hair looks amazing! I have volume and texture and I can braid and style my hair much more easily. The cocoa powder makes the powder subtly blend in instead of being obviously grey. I'm not using nearly as much powder or conditioning fats in my hair as an 18th century person probably would, but this works for me as a compromise between historical hair care and modern hair aesthetics. And Abby is right, hair powder is MESSY. My advice is: powder your hair while standing in your bathtub or shower stall, and then you can rinse it out when you're done and not get powder all over the rest of the bathroom.

DIANAH SURBER: I freaking love your passion!

Diana Davis: I LOVE that you told her, "No ma'am!" I say that too. So much so when my mom babysat my 2 year old daughter she called to tell me that my child does not understand the word NO. I told her to say "no ma'am" and she couldn't believe that my daughter stopped. Ha ha ha!

Andrea Brewer: Just found you today. Love the video! Love learning about that era of time. This information may come in handy for off grid living so thanks so much! Subscribed

T Nicholas: I honestly love mid-18th century makeup, like the burnt clove eyebrows and gorgeous diffuse rouges WORK

L'Operatorium - Secrets d'Ateliers: Ohhhh I wish I had seen your video when shooting my last 18th century ! Well, took good notes for the second episode. Thank you so much for the research and insight ! I do love grey/white hair I find it so beautiful.

Jessica Hall: I’m watching this as I go through my normal hair routine of skipping wash day, using a shit ton of dry shampoo and using an oily cream to smooth my ends And it’s like things haven’t really changed that much

arelcrest: Thank you for the video! A terry cloth, this towel you use to dry yourself after a shower, is perfect to get rid of the powder on top of your hair. I always wondered how they dealt with the dust. Combs!! XD My brush is really full of dust. Combs are a good solution to the dust problem.

Julie James: I learn so much from you! This is fascinating. Just a note: the image of Bergamot you posted is not the source of the Bergamot you’re using, which is a citrus fruit. Bergamot is the common name for a medicinal herb related to, and smelling like, Oregano. It’s lovely, just it’s different. Thanks for the fabulous video!

Branthium Babe: ...I kinda feel like the "oily" side looks healthier, less stringy at the top and less frizzy at the bottom. No hate intended! Just my opinion. I get how it would work well for those 1800s-style big poofy hair styles, though. Genius for the time period!

Devil's Child: This makes me want to try it! Just out of curiosity because I get very oily hair!

Rachel Frumkin: I found out yesterday that my mom watches your videos as well. This will be a nice thing to share, watching you together.

Britnie Levi: I just came across your channel and so happy I did. Going to binge it now!

Rose Bloomie: I love finding out that past generations had some things figured out better than us. We shower & wash our hair way too much its true! I've gone a month without washing my hair once. A lot of talc free baby powder

Eleonora Vidershpan: Thank you, Abby, this was very interesting and informative! Nice work! ❤️❤️❤️

Evie Sharpe: Do you think this routine would work well with pin curls or more 1930s-50s hairstyles too? I live alone and everyone knows I'm a historical clothing obsessed nut job so I'm not particularly concerned what random people would think about my hair if I did start doing this.

Kathryn Savela: Really interesting history. I only wash my hair 2x week. As I get older and my gray gets coarser, I could see the benefits.

Panda Pantz: Cool video! I've been struggling with depression lately & have found myself going 3-5 days at a time without washing my hair, not fun. I would love to try this but it looks very time consuming. Anyways, u won me over when u hollered at ur doggo to not bark at the quail, bird nerd here.

virginia creager: Can we acknowledge the incredible editing and historical research of this video !!! Not to mention how witty, charming and hilarious Abby is. Excellent video

I W: The first ever (store bought) dry shampoo I used was just perfumed talcum in a shaker. It worked

I literally don’t know: wow, this was so interesting! i actually love the way it looks on you btw, it looks very sophisticated and like the position of all the hairs is intentional(?). idk how to explain… like a photo shoot where they’re constantly placing the hairs to look how you want, except with your hair it just STAYS.

Pandemicpianoplayer: I wish someone tried this on me when I was in a coma and couldn’t wash my hair!! No one brushed it and it became a squirrel’s nest. After 2 1/2 months, my whole ponytail fell out at the root ☹️ The hair that grew back was a different color/texture. That was in 2017 and it’s just getting back to “normal hair” since 2021.

Lundy: You’ve done the best job by far of any YouTuber I watch to keep me for a sponsored video. You rock lol

Ms. Jackson: Very informative and enjoyed! Thank you, Abby.

Travels with Debbie & Randy: Very well done video. You brought in history and photos to keep the whole thing worth watching, even the Birch video. Excellent!

Keena Lawrence: It's kind of coming back with the dry shampoo. I wash my hair once every two weeks and use dry shampoo and leave in treatments. My hair is healthier than it has ever been. Much more effective than any of the methods I learned in cosmetology school. The only mention of powders back then was baby powder in regards to thickening up very fine thin hair which doubled as a oil control method for those with oiler hair as well. I don't use the sprays, I use the loose powder in a bottle and I use the colored powder so it doesn't make my hair look off-white or anything. Always receive compliments on it these days.

Rowan Womble: I'm a vegetarian with thick, curly, dry as heck hair (I only wash when I need a deep condition because it's SO DRY), so it's definitely not for me, but it's really interesting to see all of this! History is really cool.

Erin Laming: I want to thank you for these videos of 18th century hair care. I used the powder and pomade technique on my daughter for our recent production of Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella (which as the production designer I kept us as accurate to the 18th century as I possibly could), my daughter had dyed her hair in shades of blue and green for the school year and I was concerned about hiding it and she couldn't wear a wig with the amount of dancing she was doing, so after watching MANY of your videos I decided that doing the pomade and powder would be our best option and would make styling her finer hair 100x easier. Which it did and since blue was a common dye in their powders in the 18th century, her blue hair worked out. Wish I could send you a picture of how she looked, especially in her ballgown. Thanks Abby for the inspiration and the guide for a fantastic show!

Dani Days Homestead: I am amazed by your editing skills. Also, you are hilarious really enjoy watching your videos. Great ad Also, when you said thin fine hair I'm like looking around like...can she see me and my scraggly head?! Lol I know washing your hair everyday like I do can't be healthy but I've tried the every other day thing and I looked like I dipped my head in crisco... so I guess this could be a solution

Ashley Lay: I don't know if you're the kind of person to dye your hair, but on seeing the powdered hair I think you would look absolutely lovely with warm gray hair.

Susan Anderson: I have been washing/ shampooing my hair once a month for a year now. I use baby powder, turn my head over and upside down, rub powder in my roots, scalp and a bit in the length of my fine, thin hair, blonde, too. I have never loved my hair until dry shampooing. It makes my hair look full, full of body, at last. Of course I use water and soap on my face and body. Every couple days

Vivien Mae: Aww working at colonial Williamsburg is an actual dream of mine