They weren’t in a rock and roll band but long hair was a thing in the Wild West. James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok and George Armstrong Custer are some of the more well known figures to have sported long hair. Cowboys would spend on haircuts and shaves before splurging on hot baths, new clothes, and good food. Salons were good business in the wild west.

At a site in Deadwood, SD, archaeologists found a pair of tweezers. That meant there was a large Chinese population that thrived in the area. So when you see Chinese characters in western films, chances are it’s pretty accurate. Donn Ivey, the researcher who found the tweezers, said “The Chinese would never shave… They would pluck their hair. Tweezers were also used for smoking opium, but this one looks like it was for grooming.”

Cowboys and soldiers in the Wild West would go the whole day without bathing. After a long day of riding and work, a dip in the local river was enough to wash it all off. The women wash up the moment they wake up. A common problem is the lack of privacy. The men would smell like soil, horses, and maybe even gunpowder.

Whiskey was the go to drink in the Wild West. But it served other purposes. It could be used as a disinfectant, pain reliever, and… to wash hair. Whiskey mixed with castor oil and lavender made for good shampoo. The leftover whiskey was for later in the evening.

Water used for drinking was also used for laundry, plumbing, and dishwashing. Diseases would often break out in towns with cholera at the forefront ending the lives of many people. The lack of hygiene and sanitary practices contributed to settlers and natives getting sick. Mormon settlements saw it as a punishment from God.

It’s true that men spit tobacco onto the floor. Hollywood got that part right. The spit would cause pneumonia and tuberculosis since sawdust was a breeding ground for germs. Travelers would check in for a night, sleeping with the covered spit around them. Certain places banned spitting on train platforms and stations. A $500 fine and a year in prison awaited anyone who was caught.

The Wild West dealt with dust storms and heavy winds that could send all the dirt and grime into houses. It was so intense that it could threaten the lives of cattle and setters alike. Sarah Raymond Herndon, made the journey from Missouri to the Montana Territory in the 1860s as a young girl. She recalled:

“Oh, the dust, the dust; it is terrible. I have never seen it half as bad; it seems to be almost knee-deep in places. We came twenty miles without stopping, and then camped for the night… When we stopped, the boys’ faces were a sight; they were covered with all the dust that could stick on. One could just see the apertures where eyes, nose and mouth were through the dust; their appearance was frightful. How glad we all are to have plenty of clear cold water to wash away the dust.”

Wild West bars didn’t have stools. There were rails at the bottom for leaning and for spittoons. Then there would be a series of hooks designed to hold towels for men to wipe their mouths with. These towels were used by everyone walking in that bar which contributed to the spread of disease.

Dentistry wasn’t exactly a practice so people turned to barbers and even blacksmiths. Any problems with the mouth would always mean a tooth extraction. No anesthesia or medicine either. You could get a shot of whiskey for the pain. Thank the modern age for toothpaste, toothbrushes, and dentists.

Frank Clifford was an associate of Billy the Kid. He knew about the soap-weed Mexican women used for their hair. That particular soap was made from the yucca plant. Clifford tried the shampoo saying it left his hair “soft and clean and lustrous.” Settlers, however, had soap made from animal fat which could also be used for candles.

A place that’s often dry and dusty would require a lot of water. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly clean water. Stagnant water had waste and excrement from flies and insects. Cisterns may have held water but the dust in the Wild West made sure to contaminate that batch too. In fact, a good bath was considered a luxury.

Outhouses were a part of life back then. They were built near houses and homesteads for convenience. Others preferred the woods. Naturally, the smell would be disgusting so people would mask the odor with lye or lime. Bugs, flies, and spiders were common in those outhouses, ready to bite whoever sat down. There was no toilet paper either.

Bedding wasn’t changed often in the Wild West. Lice, or “seam squirrels,” would often make their way into beds causing problems for whoever was using it. Flies and mosquitoes went to food after coming from outhouses too. Bugs and dust minus clean water spelled misery for travelers spending the night.

It was moist to chew so tobacco helped people from the Wild West salivate which was comforting out in the hot, dusty plains. It was the spitting that made it so nasty. Now imagine tobacco and whiskey combined on the floor.

Women in the Wild West didn’t just wear long sleeves and long skirts for nothing. They wanted to be free from blemishes and actually have good skin to show. Which meant they’d do their best to stay away from prolonged exposure to the sun. Leave that to the men.

Western pioneers had a reason for everything they wore. Hats for the sun and the dust, jackets for the extreme cold in the evening, boots for unknown terrain. Bandanas prevented them from inhaling dust and dirt while giving added protection from the sun.

Odd when you think of how hot and dusty conditions were. The belief was that frequent bathing would open up your pores, allowing bacteria to enter and cause illnesses. Seeing as bathing wasn’t too common, body odor was normal back then. They were lucky to find a river where they could wash up when on the road.

Horses were very much a part of men and women’s lives back in the Wild West. The thing was, if the men didn’t always shower and clean themselves, then neither did the horses. And we all know what horses smell like.

It took awhile for settlements to grow, meaning that most people had to hunt for their food. Before railroads were built, they had to make do with what they could find as no neighboring town could trade and deliver with them. Whiskey was the drink of choice to wash down that supper.

Unsanitary practices and poor hygiene caused a lot of diseases out in the west. They didn’t have doctors and modern medicine back then so they got creative. Special concoctions were made, with some going for cocktails to help with their condition. Brandy was a popular choice as a sedative as well.