Torero’s Hairpiece

In the 19th century, bullfighters grew a pigtail that they braided into a bun, a reminder of the wigs of the 18th century.

The pigtail also served to cushion the blow in case of a fall. Upon retiring, the bullfighter cut off his pigtail, an expression that has passed into popular language as a synonym for abandoning a profession.

Juan Belmonte was the first to dispense with the natural pigtail while still active, and since then, bullfighters have used a hairpiece called a
castañeta.