Hair is very much part of our identity. For thousands of years we have cut it, grown it, curled it, straightened it, shaved it, extended it, plaited it, dyed it and pinned it - all influenced by the fashion of the time.

A new exhibition at Portland Basin Museum, Ashton-under-Lyne, looks at some of the many tools we use to manage our hair, from hairdryers to shavers and moustache cups to hats.

The objects are all part of the museum’s social history collection and have been donated by members of the public over the past few decades.

Visitors can see a hairdryer from the 1950s with the original receipt from a shop in Stalybridge. There are shaving and grooming items from a barber’s salon, plus a Victorian mourning necklace containing a lock of hair, loaned by Gallery Oldham.

In researching the exhibition, Portland Basin uncovered some fascinating facts. Did you know that in the early 1800s it was unheard of to wash hair with soap and water? Instead, people combed powder through their hair. It was only when washing with soap became the norm, in later Victorian times, that the drying of hair became a problem and the hairdryer was invented.

Cllr Jackie Lane, Tameside Council’s project lead for heritage and leisure, said: “With our heated rollers and the vast range of products on the market, we take haircare for granted these days. “Hairlooms” gives a very interesting glimpse of the past when it wasn’t so easy for a woman, or indeed a man, to look well groomed.”

The exhibition runs until November 17 and admission is free. Open Tuesday Sunday 10am-4pm. Rachel Cornes April 2013