Middle partings were a common occurrence in early Victorian hairstyles matched with the hair twisted and pulled back over the ears or other elements such as 'sausage curls' that framed the face.
Curls were created using heated irons which often led to women's hair drying out to become a wool like texture and the need for heavy perfume in order to cover up the burnt smell it left the hair with.
The Victorians considered curly hair to indicate a sweet nature, straight hair led to the assumption that the woman was reserved and awkward. Elaborate 'up' hairstyles were reserved for women who were mature and had reached a rite of passage in their life (i.e. married) and leading up to the event they would often have their hair tied loosely into a plait with a ribbon to signify the approaching event.
When sporting an 'up' hairstyle, the Victorian women aimed for height and precision, the hair was neat and tidy in order to present the female as together. well polished and sophisticated.
It was important for Victorian men that their hair was styled and slicked impeccably in order to portray their level of class and sophistication. Inevitably it was a lot less complicated to style than the women's hair, however a lot still went in to keeping up their groomed appearance. The men would keep their hair relatively short, although it had to be long enough to be parted and combed over. The top sides and back were all of a similar length and was parted on the side rather than the middle - like the women - and combed away from the parting, however it was sometimes combed up and away from the head in order to create the appearance of a slight wave to the front of the head. The hair was always above the collar and often paired with a perfectly trimmed and groomed beard.
Although Victorian men kept their hair relatively short, they had extremely long sideburns, regardless of whether they has facial hair or not. However these went out of style in the 20th century.
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