Portrait of Commodus, emperor with extravagant hairstyles. Roman men had a hair craze
The one according to which only the female gender is affected by the disease of vanity, it is a cliché that has been denied by the facts:since ancient times men have been concerned with the beauty and well-being of the body as much and perhaps even more than women, including the Romans.
The males of the city frequented the spas, did gymnastics, sprinkled their skin with oils and ointments, shaved regularly, perfumed themselves abundantly but, above all, an obsession haunted them for most of their life, that for the hair.
The hair of men, it is known, due to hormones and genetics, is much more fragile than that of women, and unless you have a bit of luck on your side, it tends to thin out quickly and inexorably; since it was a problem common to every era, it was already a concern in ancient times and attempts were made to remedy it with the means available at the time and with a bit of imagination.
A real fashion for men's hair it began to develop during the age of Mario and Silla, when men began to show off hairstyles studied in every detail and, if necessary, to bring their hair completely forward to cover unsightly receding hairline and incipient baldness (in other words, they did the classic "carryover").
The tonsores (barbers), thus found themselves having to do a lot of work, at least according to what was stated by Seneca about the young patricians, who "spent hours debating the position of a curl and loved seeing the disorder in the state more than in their hair".
The tincture it always met with great success in Rome also on the male side; the German style, or the blond, it remained the most popular color for a long time, but there was no lack of extravagance and eccentricity, such as that of the Emperor Commodus, who sprinkled her hair with gold dust to make it seem "the head encircled by a divine halo".
The only emperor who was not vain and not affected by hair mania was Augustus, pragmatic character par excellence, so committed to serious matters, to devote only the minimum attention necessary to taking care of himself, including his hair.