Pouf - Care

Care

The pouf was a very delicate hairstyle and hours were needed to create it. To create the base, a very thin metal frame was used to structure the shape. It was then padded and intertwined with pomaded false hair, and one's own hair would be taken in. The pomaded hair would then be curled in various sections (varying on the specific style), with heated clay curlers. The lovelocks would be curled in a similar fashion. Once the shaping and styling was done, it would be finished off with white or grey powder, and decoration proceeded. The height varied, generally from very subtle to as much as three feet, with Marie Antoinette reportedly having worn her hair 6 ft high.

The hairstyle would remain in the wearer's hair for about a week, until it was no longer hygienic (due to the pomade) or it could no longer keep its shape, and it was then simply washed and redone. Wealthier women may have had their hair done more often than this due to the cost of the technique and materials; Marie Antoinette at one time was inventing a different hairstyle every day. Women at court found it hard to keep up with the ever changing fashion of hair. In order to keep these hairstyles from ruin, women would wear 'calashes', a type of bonnet which protected it from wind, dirt and rain. When sleeping they would add two or three pillows to keep their head upright and protect the hair. Great care was taken to duck when entering doorways and carriages, for the same reason. Candle lighting posed the additional risk of fire for tall poufs.