Young Brunette Girl Wearing A Headband And Posing On The Beach With A Colorful Scarf

Horseshoe-shaped headbands are sometimes called Alice bands after the headbands that Alice is often depicted wearing in Through the Looking-Glass. However, it is also beleived that the name came earlier than this and was, in fact, derived from a lice removal comb, shaped to fit the head, named 'a lice band'; later referred to as 'Alice band'.
Background
The beginning of headbands started no later than the ancient Greeks who wore hair wreaths. The Greeks and Romans wore these pieces to very special occasions or an important event. Cultures such as the Etruscans and Romans started to decorate their wreaths with jewels made up of gold and silver. While wreaths are certainly a likely beginning of today's headbands, some believe that current day hair bands have slowly taken shape from scarves that were worn around the head or were modified from the band of hats that tied under the chin.