If you can remember the cans of spray colorant that were sold on infomercials ever since the 1980s then you know that hair painting has sort of caught on. Or at least, there’s usually someone willing to try it. But, what about a more artistic interpretation of hair painting with a paintbrush? This was a category of competition in 1960 at the hair coloring competition in Hounslow, UK. Everything from highlights to balding heads was covered in this unusual contest.

What’s interesting is that makeup for the hair, while not a new phenomenon at all, doesn’t exactly test one’s skills as a hairstylist. Instead, the skills of a painter are needed as the contestants use palettes and paintbrushes just as a fine artist would have. It seems like, for the women at least, the main thing was adding either highlights or low lights. Take a look at this wacky hair painting competition in the British Pathé video below.

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