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Men were usually clean-shaven or had small pointed beards and sometimes a moustache. Wigs became very popular among wealthier classes and they were constructed to ensure ventilation – an important consideration in Egypt’s hot climate. Hair was either cropped short or shaven underneath. It is obvious from their art that Egyptians had a huge array of hairstyles – most of which were embellished by some sort of ornamentation.
A popular headdress for a pharaoh was the nemes – a striped cloth placed around the wig and stretched across the ears to tie at the back of the neck. The side flaps were left hanging over the shoulders.
Another distinct headdress of the pharaoh was his crown, called the pschent. The crown was white, but after the unification of Egypt, it was combined with the red crown of Lower Egypt to form the Double Crown.
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 Khaemwaset, one of the sons of Ramses III, depicted in the Valley of the Queens. (c) Iziko Photo Archive. |