COMBOVER


COMBOVER





This not-very-effective solution to baldness sees hair grown long on one side, so it can be swept over the scalp to provide an (unconvincing) full head of hair. With baldness so intrinsically linked to ageing and all of society’s related issues with what it means to be old, it’s no wonder people have long sought solutions to hair loss – and why invest in a wig, when you can just use your own lengths as a disguise? While there’s one specific Donald that’s very associated with the combover, it’s actually Donald J Smith who should be thanked for his contribution to the style; in May 1977, this American hairdresser was awarded a patent for his Method of Concealing Partial Baldness – aka, the combover. Donald created a specific technique of folding three sections of hair over each other to help his father disguise a bald spot, and the two of them were awarded US Patent US4022227A for their work.


Back to blog