Viking Hairstyles: History, Symbols and 7 Cuts to Try

One episode of a TV series is all it takes to make you want to shave the sides and grow out the rest. In just a few years, the Viking hairstyle has become a style in its own right, seen in salons and at festivals alike. The trouble is that almost everything we are shown comes from television costume departments rather than from historical sources. Scandinavians of the Viking Age really did look after their hair, and that care meant something. It is simply that the documented reality looks very little like the picture we have built of it.

At Terre des Loups, Norse mythology is familiar ground: it is full of wolves, from Fenrir to Odin's two companions, and its most feared warriors wore a wolf pelt across their backs. So this article does two things at once. It sets the record straight on what we actually know, and it gives you concrete cuts, for men and women, with the method to achieve them.

The key points:

• The only written description of Danish hair fashion at the time mentions a shaved nape and a long fringe over the eyes, almost the opposite of the cut the TV series made famous.
• Hair was a social marker: rank, wealth, age and marital status could all be read in a head of hair.
• The úlfheðnar, wolf-pelt warriors sworn to Odin, embody the wild warrior mane people are really after today.
• Seven families of cuts cover almost every need, from a shaved head to very long hair.
• Norse grooming is documented: daily combing, a weekly bath, and an etymology that backs it up.

How did the Vikings really wear their hair?

Scandinavians of the Viking Age took care of their hair, but no source describes the long-on-top, shaved-at-the-sides cut we now call a Viking hairstyle. What we know rests on three kinds of evidence, and none of it supports the television imagery.

Those three sources are as follows:

• Written accounts by contemporaries, almost always outsiders to the Scandinavian world.
• Archaeological finds recovered from settlements and burials.
• Figurative depictions: carvings, figurines, embroidery and picture stones.

What the written sources describe

The most precise description we have comes from an English monk who found the fashion scandalous. Around the year 1000, Ælfric of Eynsham wrote his Letter to Brother Edward. In it he scolds Englishmen for imitating Danish fashion, and he sums that fashion up in a phrase that has stayed famous: the neck bared and the eyes blinded.

Translated into hairdressing terms, that means a head shaved at the back and along the nape, with a long fringe falling over the forehead until it hides the eyes. The Bayeux Tapestry confirms this cut visually among the Normans, those "men of the North" descended from the Vikings who settled in Normandy, shown with shaved napes and a long lock at the front.

In other words, the only Norse hair fashion described by a witness of the period is a kind of reverse mullet. That is the exact opposite of the silhouette we now associate with the Viking warrior. One point of honesty is needed, though: this is a single source, written by a cleric hostile to the fashion, and it does not necessarily describe how the whole of Scandinavia wore its hair.

What archaeology reveals

Combs are among the most commonly recovered objects on Viking Age settlement sites. Carved from bone or antler, often decorated, sometimes kept in a protective case, they went with their owner through daily life and into the grave.

That abundance tells us something simple and counter-intuitive: the cliché of the shaggy, filthy Northman is a late invention. A population that makes, decorates and carries that many combs is a population that grooms its hair. Figurines and carved stones complete the picture with knotted hair, plaits and low buns, and never show systematically shaved sides.

Hair, social status and the spirit of the wolf: what a hairstyle signalled

In Norse society, a head of hair was not an aesthetic choice but a piece of information readable from a distance. Before choosing a cut, it helps to understand what it said back then, because that meaning is precisely what makes the style interesting today.

A marker of rank, age and marital status

Long loose hair, a plait or a bun did not say the same thing depending on who wore them. Converging clues from texts and depictions sketch out a fairly consistent code.

A head of hair could signal:

• Marital status: among women, long hair worn visibly was associated more with unmarried young women, while the bun and the covering headdress pointed to married women.
• Rank and wealth: long, healthy, well-kept hair takes time, care and ornament. It is visible luxury.
• Warrior belonging: plaits and knotted hair are practical in combat first of all, but they also become a group sign.
• Punishment: cutting someone's hair by force was a serious humiliation, which only makes sense if hair carries honour.

The úlfheðnar, warriors in wolf pelts

The image of the Norse warrior's wild mane comes less from a particular cut than from a figure: the wolf-fighter. The sagas mention the úlfheðnar, literally the "wolf coats", elite fighters who went into battle wearing a wolf pelt. They appear in the Vatnsdæla saga, in the Haraldskvæði and in the Völsunga saga, often alongside the berserkers.

These ulfhednar were sworn to Odin, the god permanently accompanied by two wolves, Geri and Freki. The link between warrior, pack and one-eyed god is explicit in the texts. When people reach for a Norse warrior look today, that is the silhouette they are really summoning: a man borrowing his appearance from the predator.

Let us stay precise, all the same: the sagas describe the wolf pelt being worn, not a codified ulfhednar hairstyle. The link between hair and wolf is symbolic, not documented as a cut. That same logic of borrowing from the wolf runs through the Norse motifs still popular today, notably in wolf tattoos and in Scandinavian-inspired wolf jewellery. To go further into this symbolism, our guide to the Viking wolf tattoo covers the Fenrir motifs and their meaning.

The 7 main families of Viking hairstyles

Almost every cut presented as Viking comes back to seven families, and naming them is how you pick the right one. The table below lets you spot straight away which one suits your length and the time you are willing to spend.

One useful remark before you choose: the undercut is by far the most modern of the seven. It sits poorly with the sources, yet it remains the most worn and the easiest to maintain. Nothing stops you from adopting it, as long as you know it is a contemporary aesthetic choice and not a reconstruction.

Viking hairstyles for men by hair length

There is a workable Viking hairstyle at every length, including on a shaved head. The deciding factor is not length itself but how much material you have to create texture.

Short hair and shaved heads

On very short hair, the Norse look is carried by the beard and the lines of the head, not by the hair. This is the case most often overlooked, even though it gives excellent results.

The realistic options are as follows:

• A clean fade between very short sides and a slightly longer top, swept back.
• A full, shaped beard, which becomes the centre of gravity of the face and makes up for the lack of length.
• One or two discreet shaved lines at the side, echoing Norse geometric motifs without tipping into fancy dress.

On a fully shaved head, pairing a clean scalp with a long beard is probably the most instantly recognisable silhouette in the whole register. It calls for no hair maintenance at all, and a great deal of beard maintenance.

Mid-length hair

Between the chin and the shoulders you are in the most versatile zone for a Norse cut. There is enough material to plait a section or tie a half bun, without committing to long hair.

The half bun works particularly well at this length: it clears the face, holds all day and comes down in seconds. Add a fine plait starting at the temple to sharpen the style. Combined with a light undercut, the whole thing gives the contrast you want between clean sides and volume on top.

Long hair

Past the shoulders every option opens up, and the difficulty becomes upkeep rather than style. Long plaits, plaited ponytails and combinations of several plaits come into their own here.

The most accomplished arrangement usually brings together three elements: a plaited or knotted base on top, length left loose at the back, and a beard worked to the same logic. It is that layering, more than any single element, that creates the density people are looking for.

Viking hairstyles for women: plaits, crowns and buns

On the women's side, plaits and buns are the best attested, and they are also the easiest to wear day to day. Scandinavian figurines regularly show hair gathered up and knotted low at the nape, sometimes extended by a long plaited tail.

The variations most worth trying:

• The plaited crown: two side plaits brought up and pinned at the top of the head, the most striking style in the register.
• The double plait: two symmetrical plaits starting at the crown, simple and very readable.
• The low knotted bun: the variation closest to period depictions, discreet and secure.
• The plaited half-up: upper section plaited then tied, length left loose.
• The single fishtail plait: one tight central plait following the line of the head.

One qualification is worth making. The very elaborate styles with multiple side plaits, spread widely by the TV series and associated with warrior women, belong mainly to modern reconstruction. The shield-maiden figure, popularised by the character of Lagertha, mixes medieval sources with contemporary fiction, as our article on Lagertha explains. That takes nothing away from their visual appeal, but it is better to know what you are wearing.

How to do a Viking plait step by step

The side plait is the foundation of the whole Norse look, and it takes about ten minutes to learn. Here is the full method, workable on mid-length to long hair.

1. Detangle the hair completely, dry or slightly damp, starting at the ends and working upwards.
2. Separate a band of hair three to four centimetres wide, starting at the temple and running towards the back of the head.
3. Divide that band into three equal sections and hold them firmly between your fingers.
4. Cross the outer section over the middle one, then repeat on the other side, keeping the tension even.
5. Pick up a small amount of hair from along the head at each crossing, so the plait stays flat and follows the curve of the skull.
6. Carry on to the nape, then finish as a classic plait along the remaining length.
7. Secure the end with a fine band matching your hair colour, or with a metal ring if you wear one.
8. Loosen the plait slightly by tugging at the outer loops, to give it volume rather than a schoolroom look.

The mistakes that ruin the result:

• Plaiting tangled hair, which creates uneven bumps you cannot fix afterwards.
• Pulling too tight, which drags on the scalp and weakens the roots over time.
• Neglecting the rest of the hair: a flawless plait above neglected lengths does not work.

Looking after your Norse hairstyle day to day

Hair care in the Norse world is not a flattering reconstruction, it is a fact reported by chroniclers of the period. The English chronicler John of Wallingford wrote in the 13th century about the St Brice's Day massacre of 1002. He put the Danes' success with Englishwomen down to three habits: combing their hair every day, bathing on Saturdays and changing their clothes regularly.

Etymology confirms the second at least. In Old Norse, Saturday is laugardagr, literally "bath day", a word still recognisable in today's Scandinavian languages. A society does not write bathing into the name of a weekday by accident.

In practice, to keep a Norse cut going over time:

• Detangle daily, preferably dry and starting at the ends, with a wide-tooth comb.
• Space out the washes if you wear your hair long, targeting the scalp rather than the lengths.
• Protect the ends with a light oil, since they are the first to suffer on long hair.
• Undo your plaits at night: sleeping in a tight plait wears the fibre at the tension points.
• Redo rather than revive: a three-day-old plait cannot be rescued, it takes five minutes to redo.

No miracle product is needed. Consistency does all the work, exactly as Wallingford described.

Completing your Norse look beyond the hair

A Viking hairstyle makes full sense when it sits within a coherent whole, and it is often the accessory that tips the overall impression. In Norse society, hair was only one element of a wider visual vocabulary, in which the objects people wore signalled belonging just as much as the cut did.

The same logic works today, provided you stay restrained. One strong element beats an accumulation:

• The wolf pendants and necklaces pick up the motif of the predator linked to Odin, and work as well with long hair as with a shaved head.
• The wolf rings and wolf bracelets bring a discreet Norse touch, visible without being showy.
• For a costume event, a medieval festival or a themed evening, the wolf costumes let you take the idea all the way.
• The wolf ears and the wolf tail complete a cosplay outfit built around the wolf warrior.

The principle is the same as for the cut: one deliberate, understood choice beats a pile of signs. A clean plait and a single pendant make more of an impression than a full costume worn without conviction.

FAQ: Viking hairstyles

Here are the answers to the questions most often asked on the subject.

What is the Viking haircut called?There is no single name. The cuts grouped under the term fall into seven families: side plait, cornrow plaits, Norse undercut, half bun, high top knot, plaited ponytail and twisted strands. The label "Viking cut" is a modern commercial term, not a historical name.

Did the Vikings have dreadlocks?No written source or archaeological find attests to it directly. The idea circulates because long hair that is rarely detangled eventually mats on its own, but the many combs recovered suggest the opposite: hair that was combed through regularly.

Do you need long hair for a Viking hairstyle?No. The undercut, a clean fade paired with a full beard, and shaved lines all work perfectly on short hair. On a fully shaved head, the combination with a long beard remains one of the most recognisable silhouettes in the style.

Which Viking hairstyle for a child?Go for options with no tension and no product: a loose side plait, a half bun or a simple plaited ponytail. Avoid tight cornrows, which pull too hard on a young scalp, and avoid colouring. The result is immediate and comes down in seconds.

How long does it take to grow your hair?Hair grows on average a little over a centimetre a month. Allow roughly a year to go from a short cut to a length you can plait, with an intermediate phase of a few months during which the half bun is the most practical solution.