Mess Is More: The Secret History Of Bedhead

“I woke up like this,” a wise woman once sang. “Flawless.” We’re not mind readers or anything, but we think that Beyoncé song is an ode to bedhead. Because, in our eyes, mussed-up and tousled a.m. ‘dos can be pretty darn lovely — alluring, even. Big, scruffy, sexy bedhead? Bring it on, we say.

Here’s the thing, though: While the term bedhead is relatively recent, the concept itself has a tangled history that reaches back hundreds of years. Often controversial and occasionally shocking (yep, the 'do involves at least one murder), this hairstyle-that-isn’t-a-hairstyle revealed much about social mores of the day. Read on for the secret history of bedhead, from the 1500s to today.