Throughout the Codex Manesse, people sport very curly blond locks. Given how often this occurs and how much easier it is to paint straight hair, I have to assume that curly hair was in vogue
One of the easiest ways to get a reliable wave is by braiding one's hair overnight, especially with unwashed hair (and if you wash your hair less frequently than people do in modern times, that's going to be more common than not).
However, I prefer to bathe nightly, especially before events. I could use some sort of pomade or hair gel, but I do not use such things mundanely.
I need my waves to last about 8-12 hours. My usual post-event hair has a ghost of what I'm looking for, so I know it is do-able.
I made my first hair pomade before WoW 14, and have since used it for braiding under a veil. The first recipe was flax seed, soaked in water for 4 hours, with bergamot and lemon oils. Period plausible, with NO documentation to support it.
In putting together this project, I realized I would need the pomade along with TIGHT braids to get the hair, and I wanted to be able to document it this time. I contacted Noble Rinn, who was able to connect me with a source within 60 years of my persona (The Trotula) and a recipe for hair powder..
While waiting for my rose water and rose petals to arrive, I made up another batch - flax meal, water, and lemon oil - to test whether the insufficiencies of the prior bath was due to the flax MEAL instead of seed. The meal interferes significantly with the straining, making for grit that falls out instead of goop that clings to the hair.
September 27, 2021: Round one of period hair powder. Rose petals, galangal, cloves, watercress, nutmeg, and rosewater. The liquid in the base of this mixture makes a fabulous texture for a pomade. It will need to be stretched out. I will dry it so it CAN be powdered (all but the rose water and watercress were dry ingredients, and I am drying the watercress in my oven as I type, so I can use it longer).
Can I just take a minute to talk about watercress? This is a weird ingredient. It's salad. It's a peppery salad green. In hair goop. I... do not understand. That's OK. It works. Weird or not, it works. Just like I don't get WHY someone made indigo via a dye sourdough starter, but it works.
Powdered the mix, prepped it according to directions. Did one braid with it. It has insufficient tooth to help the braid hold its shape. It smells nice, but the wave didn't even last an hour.
My period hair prep had its debut at KASF. I prepared flaxseed gel, and watered it down until it was about the thickness of cream. After combing my hair thoroughly, I split the hair into 6 parts. I wet each chunk with the flaxseed gel just before braiding (using techniques from Baroness Karin de Cameron to braid all the way to the ends), and tucked each end up with a hair elastic. I put all the braids up to keep them out of my way. In the morning, I sprinkled my Trotula rosewater into my hair as I took it out. It worked as intended.