Madame Martin (fl. 1671) was the hairdresser at the court of Louis XIV who popularised a style of elaborate tall hair.
Madame Martin was married to a whig makerLouis Napolitan: Six Thousand Years of Hair Styling, Polygraphic Company of America, 1939 and her profession was not as unusual in her position; however, she demonstrated true creative talent and became unusual in her success as an independent professional artist in a period when the profession of hair dressing was only just starting to emerge in France.Louis Napolitan: Six Thousand Years of Hair Styling, Polygraphic Company of America, 1939
In 1671, she became a leading artist of her time by creating hair style known as the "harum scarum", which became very popular and Marquise de Sevigne recommended to her daughter. Gisèle d'. Assailly: Ages of Elegance: Five Thousand Years of Fashion and Frivolity, Hachette, 1968 Her style was a new initiative, as she broke with the previous fashion and arranged women's hair upward instead of on the sides, signifying a new style of fashion. Wendy Cooper: Hair: sex, society, symbolism, Aldus, 1971
She invented the hair style a' la Maintenon, which was famously adopted by Madame de Maintenon.Louis Napolitan: Six Thousand Years of Hair Styling, Polygraphic Company of America, 1939 She remained the leading hair dresser of the French court for several years during the late half of the 17th century.Mary Trasko: Daring Do's: A History of Extraordinary Hair, Random House Incorporated, 1994
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