Who doesn't love to go through photo albums and laugh at hair styles from the past? It is especially fun to make fun of parents and grandparents. Kids think they were such "nerds!" I have lived through the 60's, 70's, and 80's and have plenty of pictures for my kids to make fun of! It is funny to think that at the time those funky styles seemed so stylish.

THE SIXTIES

Women in the sixties did a lot of "ratting" to create bouffant hairdo's. The bigger and higher, the better. Swing cuts were in: short in the back and longer in the front. Younger girls wore long, straight hair with bangs topping the bridge of their noses. Ratted or teased hair combed straight back and fliped at the ends seemed especially "smart." Page boys were also in. It seems that hair in the sixties had to be "worked." Women spent hours in salons. Hair had to be rolled on rollers, dried under heavy dryers, brushed out, ratted, and styled. Tons of hairspray kept it all together. Women often went to the salon once a week. The "do" didn't budge until the next week's appointment!

THE SEVENTIES

The hippy movement of the 60's and 70's made a huge impact on hairstyles. Long, straight hair, parted in the middle, was the norm for young women.

Another hairstyle influence was the actress, Farrah Fawcett, whose famous "winged" haircut influenced women all over America. Most any haircut, whether short or long, had some sort of wings, or a flipped back effect.

Short, short haircuts also became popular. The fashion model, Twiggy, was the influence for short styles.

Hot rollers were the rage in the seventies. They spared women from sleeping on brush rollers held with picks, both of which assaulted the scalp all night long. Hair shiners and hair "streaking" (highlighting) became quite popular.

THE EIGHTIES

The eighties is the decade of the curly perm. What were we thinking? Women all over America and probably elsewhere paid good money to look like toy poodles. The curlier hair became, the better. Women loved the ease of maintenance, but it didn't last long. Unfortunately, many women ended up with dry, brittle hair from too many perms and over-processing.

Overblown long hairstyles became popular with celebrities and spread to the public. Television shows like "Dynasty" and "Charlie's Angels" had great influence on the way women wanted to look.

Short hairstyles were also styled to look big and added inches to a women's height.
Princess Dianna's bob became popular, with hair short in the back and combed forward in the front. Her bangs were heavy and long.

Isn't it great to have reached the millenium and to have grown into better hairstyles? I feel so "enlightened," for the moment, at least. What looks good to us today will probably be laughing stock tomorrow. No telling what jokes grandchildren will make about the hairstyles from way back in 2007!

Learn more about this author, Barbara Lee Norris.
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