Headband

"Hairband" redirects here. For the genre of "hair bands", see Glam metal.

For other uses, see Headband (disambiguation).

A hard plastic headband, or Alice band

A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. They come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for both practical and fashion purposes.

Horseshoe-shaped headbands are sometimes called Alice bands after the headbands that Alice is often depicted wearing in Through the Looking Glass.

Tartessian gold headband from the Iron Age.

Fashion

Headbands were once almost universally an item of female clothing, but have recently become popular for men in some countries, due to a fashion for long hair. Alice bands for men have been worn by David Beckham and Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Headbands were connected to the Mod fashion of the 1960s and were revived in the early 1980s with the New Romantic fad and again in the 2000s with the emo and post-punk revival fads.

During the 1980s, headbands were associated with rock and roll music, particularly with Bruce Springsteen, Olivia Newton-John, and Mark Knopfler.

In the late 2000s, pop singer Lights wears a headband as part of her outfit.

In Japanese culture, hachimaki headbands may symbolise determination or devotion.

Practical uses

Sweat absorption

Two cloth headbands

Headbands, or sweatbands, are worn around the forehead during physical activity to absorb sweat and keep it from reaching the eyes. Sweatbands are often made of a continuous loop of terrycloth, as it is a particularly absorbent fabric. Folded bandanas, usually knotted behind the head, also serve this purpose. Tino headbands are usually used for sports.

The sweatband was invented by Carl M. Tipograph. He holds the patent for the sweatband in both Canada and the United States. He realized the importance of providing an effective way to remove sweat from the head.

The sweatband gained a large part of its popularity during the 70's and 80's, when aerobics classes gained popularity. They, in large part, fell out of the "fashionable" catergory when the grunge era rose. However in the mid to late 2000s some aspects of the post hardcore subculture began to wear these again.

Cold protection

Some specialized headbands are designed to be worn covering the ears, in order to protect them from cold temperatures and snow. These tend to be broader and of heavier fabric.

Head protection

The car headband is a conceptual protective headband for car occupants being investigated by the Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR), University of Adelaide, Australia.

Managing hair

Headbands are regularly worn by sportsmen and women to keep hair out of their eyes, but there are also musicians who are known to wear it. In sports, famous users include David Beckham, Ronnie O'Sullivan; in music, Little Steven and Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose have made headbands their personal trademark. Ireland's most famous hair/head band wearer is Andrew Hussey.

It has also been popularized by the television Show, Gossip Girl (2007-present), in which the character Blair Waldorf (portrayed by Leighton Meester) often wears headbands.

External links

• Headbands: Instant Hair Helpers For Long to Short Hair by Karen Marie Shelton, revised 1 July 2006