The First Haircut: How Prehistoric Humans Cut Their Hair
Thousands of years before scissors and metal razors, humans already possessed edges sharp enough to cut hair. Discover what archaeology can – and cannot – tell us about the first haircut.
History for Hairdressers: an online book published chapter by chapter. Each article follows the evidence for how humans cut, groomed, arranged and decorated hair, from the earliest archaeological traces to the birth of hairdressing as a profession.

Thousands of years before scissors and metal razors, humans already possessed edges sharp enough to cut hair. Discover what archaeology can – and cannot – tell us about the first haircut.

Long before salons, scissors and professional hairdressers, humans were already managing and transforming their hair. Archaeology offers fascinating – but fragmentary – clues to the prehistoric origins of hair care.