Heads Full of Headbands!

Hair accessories are aesthetically pleasing, fun to wear and practical aids to securing various hairstyles and hairdos. A popular head ornament that has been worn for centuries is the headband.
Let’s hear it for the headband! High fashion at its finest!
Headbands are a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face and the eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material, or a horseshoe shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. Headbands come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for both fashion accessories and practical purposes.

There are many kinds of headbands such as wooden, leathered, plastic, metal, fabric, hemp, human and animal hair, bone and novelty. Knit and crocheted headbands are a favored type of headband for both girls and women.

Leather headbands are usually glued onto a harder plastic headband, or they are hand-stitched. Plastic headbands, which are common, can be wavy, straight or angled and come in many colors.
Fabric headbands (such as the knit, crocheted or cotton) are comfortable because they tend to have an elastic band that forms to the head, and the headband doesn’t dig into the head or apply extra pressure from the weight of the headband.

Headband Fun Fact: In Japanese culture, hachimaki headbands may symbolize determination or devotion.
Horseshoe shaped headbands are sometimes called Alice bands after the headbands that Alice is often wearing in Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
Headbands are head beautiful!

The beginning of headbands started no later than the ancient Greeks, around 475 BC to 330 BC, who wore hair wreaths. The Greeks and Romans wore these pieces for special occasions or important events. Cultures such as the Etruscans and Romans started to decorate their head wreaths with jewels made of gold and silver. While head wreaths have developed into headbands, headbands have also evolved from scarves that were worn around heads.

In the early 20th century, wide headbands known as headache bands were a popular accessory in women’s fashion. Their name results from the belief that the tight pressure they provide around the forehead and temples could relieve headaches. The French called these headbands a bandeau (bandeaux/plural). In the 1910s, headbands made of lace, crochet and ribbons were popular.
In the 1920s and 1930s, headbands became more dramatic and were often made from exotic fabrics decorated with feathers. During this period, jeweled headbands came into popular fashion, often decorated with precious metals and gems.
Headband Fun Fact: In 1985, Princess Diana famously wore an emerald and diamond choker as a headband in Melbourne, Australia, on the occasion of a state tour of Australia.

All around the world, you can find heads full of headbands!

Whether worn to keep your hair out of your face, or merely as an ornamental item to frame and decorate your hair and your face, headbands add glamour, allure and radiance to a plain head of hair!
The crowning glory to gorgeous hair! The headband.


Some specialized headbands are designed to be worn covering the ears, to protect from cold temperatures and snow. These headbands tend to be broader in width and made from heavier fabrics.
Also, some people wear headbands around the forehead during physical activity to absorb sweat and keep the perspiration from reaching the eyes. Sweatbands are often made of terrycloth, as it is a particularly absorbent fabric.
Headbands: ideal hair accessories for style, fashion and function!

Headbands are often part of a larger fashion statement! They can be color coded and matched accordingly to your outfit!
Fit your head fabulously into a fabulous headband!
Novelty headbands can be used for holidays and may have decorations attached, such as bunny ears or reindeer ears.
Headband Fun Fact: Toothed headbands have comb-like teeth that help to secure the headbands to stay in place on the head.
Heads full of headbands!
Haute couture! HIgh fashion! Hot hair accessories! Headbands!
Author Nancy Mangano is the author of two novels, A Passion for Prying and Murder Can Be Messy. Nancy has blended her love of detective work and her lifelong love of style into her books. Visit Nancy on her author website at www.nancymangano.com, her author/fashion/style blog www.passionforprying.wordpress.com, Twitter @nancymangano and her author “like” Facebook fan page Nancy Mangano.