How did Vikings wash their hair? (2023)

How did the Vikings wash their hair?

According to scholars, Vikings commonly washed their hair and beards using a soap containing lye. This soap served two purposes. It helped to keep Vikings clean and wash away the dirt, blood, and other messes which built up during escapades. However, it also helped to dye the hair a brighter shade of blonde.

Vikings were extremely clean and regularly bathed and groomed themselves. They were known to bathe weekly, which was more frequently than most people, particularly Europeans, at the time. Their grooming tools were often made of animal bones and included items such as combs, razors, and ear cleaners.

Vikings were known for their excellent hygiene.

Excavations of Viking sites have turned up tweezers, razors, combs and ear cleaners made from animal bones and antlers. Vikings also bathed at least once a week—much more frequently than other Europeans of their day—and enjoyed dips in natural hot springs.

The reality however is that Viking women didn't have conditioner, hair stylists or detangler so their hairstyles had to be practical!

Description: The waterlogged areas of the excavation at Whithorn uncovered preserved 'sheets' of moss, which had been discarded. Closer analysis revealed them to be studded with fragments of hazel nut shells, and blackberry pips.

Viking warriors filed deep grooves in their teeth, and they probably had to smile broadly to show them off, according to new finds in four major Viking Age cemeteries in Sweden. Caroline Arcini of Sweden's National Heritage Board and colleagues analysed 557 skeletons of men, women and children from 800 to 1050 AD.

The bras were often made of metal and until now scientists had thought they were used as collar-bone protection. But it is now clear these pads were worn much further down by female Vikings, according to the work in Birka, Sweden's oldest Viking centre.

The research showed that caries was almost non-existent, but the subjects had lost about ten percent of their teeth before death. The remaining teeth showed signs of extreme wear from the mostly unprocessed and coarse diet.

Based on the writings of Herodotus, Ancient Egyptians used many healthy hygiene habits, such as washing, and laundry. They also knew to use mint to make their breath fresh. According to Ancient History Online Encyclopedia, Ancient Egyptians always tried to make their bodies clean.

A history long unrecorded

The Vikings were, of course, big talkers and long favoured oral traditions over the written word. Their culture, histories, tales and legends have been passed down through the centuries in skaldic poems. Skalds were official poets working in the service of a king, clan chief or jarl.

What diseases did the Vikings suffer from?

Skeletons show that arthritis of the back, hands and knees plagued ordinary Viking farmers. Many Vikings also suffered from tooth problems. More than a quarter of the population had holes in their teeth. Finds of crania show that most Vikings had several teeth missing.

As it turns out, their food was healthy, fresh, and even a poor Viking ate much better than an English peasant during the Middle Ages.

Technically, the answer is “no.” Vikings didn't have the implements we use today to actually “brush” their teeth with toothpaste and toothbrushes. However, they did clean their teeth regularly. From what we know about Viking history, these individuals were some of the cleanest groups across Europe.

Mead, gore, sweat, animal meat, seawater and smoke were the typical odours of a 10th century warrior.

The hair also had to be styled right. “From picture sources we know that the Vikings had well-groomed beards and hair. The men had long fringes and short hair on the back of the head," she says, adding that the beard could be short or long, but it was always well-groomed. Further down on the neck, the skin was shaved.

The Romans cleaned their behinds with sea sponges attached to a stick, and the gutter supplied clean flowing water to dip the sponges in. This soft, gentle tool was called a tersorium, which literally meant “a wiping thing.” The Romans liked to move their bowels in comfort.

Beds were most likely lined with straw and animal skin. However, some historians believe that the Vikings actually slept sitting up with their backs against the wall given the limited and confined space that was available on the benches.

It's believed that both male and female Vikings wore makeup. In particular, historical evidence suggests that they used kohl as eyeliner. There is also evidence that they would paint their faces in certain situations, although this may not necessarily be makeup as we would understand it today.

The Vikings used a homemade soap, which was made from animal fat and ash. Soap was very important to them, and they would let the soap sit for a long time in their hair and beard to bleach it, to get their hair as bright and blond as possible because the blond hair was highly sought after.

Did Vikings have dreadlocks?

Both Viking men and women are thought to have worn dreads. While married Viking women usually tucked their long hair into a high bun, unmarried Viking women wore their hair loose, in braids, or in dreads. Wealthy individuals adorned their hairstyles with brightly colored ribbons and embellished caps.

Viking women neither shaved their underarms nor wore the strapless bustiers. The Vikings did not wear horned helmets as shown in the film.

What did girls do before pads were invented? Before the disposable pad was invented, most women used rags, cotton, or sheep's wool in their underwear to stem the flow of menstrual blood. Knitted pads, rabbit fur, even grass were all used by women to handle their periods.

Homosexuality was not tolerable among women but it was tolerable as long as a man preserves his masculinity and is not the argr or sorðinn one. Evidence from the sagas and law codes show that there was homosexuality in the Vikings.

1. With all the pillaging and murdering, the common perception is that Vikings were rugged, dirty and smelly, but actually Viking men were surprisingly clean. Not only did they bathe once a week, but tweezers, combs, ear cleaners and razors have been unearthed at Viking sites.

Natural Toothcare

Native Americans cleaned their teeth by using chewsticks and chewing on fresh herbs to cleanse their teeth and gums. Chewsticks were twigs that had two uses: one end was frayed by a rock and used for brushing, while the other end was sharpened and used as a tooth pick.

Sadly, most scholars believe that female Viking warriors simply did not exist. However, that does not mean that women had no role in Viking society. Actually, research shows that Viking era women had a level of equality with men that most societies would not achieve for many, many years.

According to research conducted by Kantar Worldpanel, Brazil's the keenest country when it comes to hopping in the shower. On average, they shower 14 times a week - to put that into context, the average for the rest of the world sits at five.

Humans have probably been bathing since the Stone Age, not least because the vast majority of European caves that contain Palaeolithic art are short distances from natural springs. By the Bronze Age, beginning around 5,000 years ago, washing had become very important.

Cosmetic dentistry

The ancient Romans whitened their teeth using toothpaste made from human urine and goat milk. Dental bridges and crowns were developed in ancient Rome in 500 BCE.

What swear words did Vikings use?

Níð, argr, ragr and ergi

Ergi and argr or ragr can be regarded as specifying swearwords. Ergi, argr and ragr were the severe insults made by calling someone a coward, and due to its severity old Scandinavian laws demanded retribution for this accusation if it had turned out unjustified.

Almost everyone in the Viking community from kings to common sailors ate meat every day which is why they raised animals such as cows, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and horses on their farms. Pork was also a popular meat choice as pigs were easy to raise and matured quickly.

It is also known as "brittle bone disease." Ivar the boneless, has blue eyes because he's suffering from 'brittle bone disease' named "Osteogenesis imperfecta" which is characterised by a triad of blue sclera (white portion of the eye), fragile bones and conductive hearing loss.

The purpose of the Vikings' violence was to acquire wealth, which fed into the political economy of northern Europe, notably in the form of gift-giving. Viking warriors were motivated by a warrior ideology of violence that praised bravery, toughness, and loyalty.

Vikings had a varied and rich diet of wild and domestic meats, fruits, crops, poultry, fish, and other food they could grow, harvest, or hunt. Therefore, it is not surprising that their diet was much better and more varied than in other parts of medieval Europe.

However, experts believe Vikings were quite large, muscular people, capable of striking fear into the hearts of their enemies as a result of their strength and size. The physical build of the Vikings was likely to be somewhat similar to our own, but with significantly more mass and muscle.

The Vikings were more robust and muscular than the average person, and that was for both women and men. One of the reasons for this is, of course, the hard physical work, that was needed to survive in a landscape like Scandinavia in the Viking age.

One archeological display from the Viking Museum of Oslo shows some large Norsemen who were believed to weigh around 130 to 140kg.

For this point in history, however, Viking women enjoyed a high degree of social freedom. They could own property, ask for a divorce if not treated properly, and they shared responsibility for running farms and homesteads with their menfolk. They were also protected by law from a range of unwanted male attention.

What did Vikings call their doctors?

The Anglo-Saxon word for doctor was Lach, from whence derives the word leech; hence the common title of collections of remedies – 'A Booke of Leechdoms.

Advertisement. The Viking reputation for being well-groomed comes from Christian accounts condemning such behavior as vain posturing. Vikings were Scandinavians (though not all Scandinavians were Vikings), and their emphasis on being well-groomed and dressed reflected the value of the larger culture.

Genetic research has shown that the Vikings in West Scandinavia, and therefore in Denmark, were mostly red-haired. However, in North Scandinavia, in the area around Stockholm, blonde hair was dominant.

The Vikings throughout Scandinavia used pipes and the herb angelikarot was commonly smoked in Norway. In later years, chalk and iron pipes were mass-produced for sailors in Norway.

Vikings would have used lanolin-rich wool, which is naturally water-repellent and has the advantage of retaining heat even when wet. They might also have used leather “waterproofs,” which had been treated with animal fat.

Viking hair: An incredible status symbol

The simple answer to the question, “Did Vikings wash their hair?” seems to be yes. In fact, not only did Vikings commit to keeping their hair clean, but they regularly groomed themselves with razors and combs too, to ensure they could preserve their unique image.

What is now known, however, is that the Vikings' hygiene was better than most. Contrary to popular belief, the Vikings bathed regularly and washed their hair with soap containing lye, which contributed to their cleanliness and bleached it blonde while keeping it free from headlice.

It turns out most Vikings weren't as fair-haired and blue-eyed as legend and pop culture have led people to believe. According to a new study on the DNA of over 400 Viking remains, most Vikings had dark hair and dark eyes.

Allow me to let you in on a secret: Vikings didn't use shampoo. Not much soap either, truth be told. Nor was it all that prevalent to shave your head – unless you had a major lice issue. Yes, they probably braided their hair to keep it out of the way when they went all wild and crazy on the battlefield.

Hair was cleaned with water, sometimes mixed with ash and herbs to make it shiny and sweet-smelling. Daily combing was also important, and was sometimes combined with the sprinkling of special powders (made from fragrant ingredients such as rose petals).

Did Vikings brush their hair?

”They had also conquered, or planned to conquer, all the country's best cities and caused many hardships for the country's original citizens, for they were – according to their country's customs – in the habit of combing their hair every day, to bathe every Saturday, to change their clothes frequently and to draw ...

Women's Hair

In Viking society, women wore their hair long as a sign of status and to be appreciated for its beauty. Naturally, these hard-working women tied their hair back, braided it, or wore it up to keep it out of their way while they worked the loom or performed their other daily tasks.

Mead, gore, sweat, animal meat, seawater and smoke were the typical odours of a 10th century warrior.

Ancient writings also inform us that Vikings considered light and blonde hair to be extremely beautiful, and they used lye made from goat fat and ashes to achieve the look.

Not even the Greeks and Romans, who pioneered running water and public baths, used soap to clean their bodies. Instead, men and women immersed themselves in water baths and then smeared their bodies with scented olive oils. They used a metal or reed scraper called a strigil to remove any remaining oil or grime.

The people

The population would have absolutely stunk. They did not wash very often. They often didn't have more than one set of clothes. There was very little idea of personal sanitation, and in the summer they would all have been hot and sweaty.

How did medieval people brush their teeth? They would rub their teeth and gums with a rough linen. Recipes have been discovered for pastes and powders they might have applied to the cloth to clean and whiten teeth, as well as to freshen breath. Some pastes were made from ground sage mixed with salt crystals.

She rarely washed her hair, as the process was involved and not terribly pleasant. Women were advised to dilute pure ammonia in warm water and then massage it through the scalp and hair, like modern shampoo.

Vikings used a type of eyeliner known as kohl which was a dark-colored powder made of crushed antimony, burnt almonds, lead, oxidized copper, ochre, ash, malachite and chrysocolla. It helped keep the harsh glare of the sun from damaging one's eyesight while also increasing the dramatic sex appeal of the wearer.

“Most of the styles in [Vikings: Valhalla], and in the original Vikings series, are invented,” Price tells Tudum. “Not necessarily wrong — and obviously the Vikings changed their haircuts like anyone else — but there is very little evidence for any of this.”

How can I grow my hair like Vikings?

The Ragnar look, based on the character Ragnar Lodbrok, might be the most popular. To get this hairstyle for yourself, grow out your hair so it's at least shoulder-length. Shave the sides and back of your head, leaving the hair long on top. Make 3 braids with the top hair for the rough, Vikings look.

Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe's earliest civilizations, centred in Crete (now part of Greece).