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Hairstyles of the past have the ability to fill me with a great nostalgia for the times in-which they were worn. We tend to remember famous people from the past partly for the way they stood out from the crowd, which often had allot to do with their hair.

In the swinging sixties The bubble or 'bouffant' hairstyle was all the rage. Hair was longer at the top and clipped shorter towards the bottom. This resulted in height at the top of the head and made the wearer appear taller.

One version of the bubble cut was the 'beehive'. Women used to wear embellishments in their hive in the form of pins with pretend jewels or bees on.

Long, shiny hair was also fashionable. Think 'Cher'. People used to literally iron their hair to achieve that sleek look. Bear in mind that this was before the invention of conventional straightening irons!

In the seventies blond colored hair was well supported as Clairol advertised their range of twelve different shades.

Hair was soft and often long. People achieved this look by using large rollers or a round brush whilst blow drying their hair.

Flicks were seen being sported by many 'Charlie's Angels' lookalikes and hard, sharp looking styles were not fashionable.

In the eighties came the time of power dressing for women and along with their padded shoulders they had smart, definite hairstyles to show that they meant business.

The Afro perm was back, this time worn by white men and women.

A variety of hair gels, waxes and mousses became available. Some of the mouses were tinted so that you could either enhance the shade of hair that you already had or be more outrageous by applying streaks of wild, bright colors.

The Mohawk hairstyle became fashionable amongst punk rockers and spikes and sharp looking styles adorned many heads, designed to turn others as astonished onlookers observed the results of hours of homespun hairdressing in front of the bathroom mirror.

Bleached hair came into fashion and sprays which reacted with the sunlight to lighten locks. As a result many peoples hair became dry and split after such harsh treatments and from chemical overload.

Highlights and lowlights were common amongst men as well as women and perms, particularly tight ones, were all the rage.

Towards the end of the eighties chemist shops became filled with hair lotions and potions as do it yourself styling really took off. Many hair coloring kits lined the shelves and a variety of scrunchies in velvet and hair bobbles were sold too.

It is interesting to look back at these styles throughout the decades and realise that many of the popular styles of today originated during these times. Emo hair, which is as popular as the gothic and punk styles of the 80's, bears a striking resemblance to such styles. The front of the hair is long and spiky, with a rebellious edge to it and is often black in color.

Hairstyles have always been allot of fun and a great means of self expression, as they continue to be today.

Learn more about this author, Bridget Webber.
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