17th century wigs was a symbol of bombastic display in fashion. It was during this time that men dressed as flamboyantly as women did. While puritans and other protestant men dressed down in order to resist lavishly displaying their wealth, the nobility took the opposite approach with powdered wigs and excessive makeup. Traditionally, 17th century wigs have been have been fashionable in Europe; however, there have been other lands that have used wigs. The ancient Egyptians used wigs to protect them from the hot sun and they kept the wigs in place with resin and beeswax. Wigs in Asia have been mostly restricted in the realm of theater, only for entertains such as Geisha of Japan. In the west, however, the ancient Romans of both genders sported wigs for fashion. When the Roman empire fell, the popularity of the wig fell out of style for over a thousand years until it was brought back by several important monarchs such as Queen Elizabeth I who regularly wore her signature red hair piece and Kings Louis XIII and XIV who made wigs much more fashionable from the early 17th century onward. Besides fashion, 17th century wigs served a practical use since unsanitary conditions of the period produced excessive head lice. Fake hair became more practical than natural hair since wigs could be deloused. 17th century wigs became a popular product to make which produced a class of wigmakers who formed their own guilds throughout Europe in the late 1600s. The most expensive 17th century wigs were made of human hair, but cheaper alternatives came in the form of horse and goat hair.
