The theme of women at their toilette was a recurring one for Degas and this composition is the second of two versions of combing hair, the first dating from around 1885. Here he explores a new technique in mark-making and the laying down of strokes of colour; the pastel has been applied in numerous layers, resulting in the underneath colours being burnished and the surface of the paper becoming looser and more textured as a result. The mark-making
