60’s Hairstyles for Women During the 50s, women were constrained to short, curly, perfectly formed styles. These styles took hours of effort, starting the night before in curlers, and resuming in the morning with a good deal of hair products.

So, it may not be any wonder that in the 1960s, women rebelled against the perfectly coifed “domestic goddess” look and went for long, relaxed styles. While most people believe straight, un-styled hair was the order of the day, that was generally just reserved to the hippies.

Most women actually styled their hair, but they did tend to grow it long and let the curls hang loose and soft over their shoulders. Unfortunately, the hair dryer had still not been invented and women had to set their hair on curlers and let it dry that way.

Another style started with long straight hair and was swept back smooth at the crown. Like a ponytail, it was combed straight and gathered into a single rubber band, but only using the hair in the front and pulled up to the top back of the head. The rest of the hair beneath was left straight down the back.

Moptops were common for both women and men. This was a rather unsophisticated look with hair circling around the head at just below ear level or lower. The Beatles were famous for this look. Another short style for women was inspired by a supermodel of the day, “Twiggy,” whose short boyish hair went with her “twiggy” boyish body. But, somehow, she really pulled it off.

Finally, Jackie Kennedy’s pageboy haircut was all the rage, as women all over the U.S. attempted to look and dress like her. The 1960’s was a time of long, mid-length, and short haircuts, but one thing most of these hairstyles had in common was feminine elegance.

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60’s Hairstyles for Men Men in the 1960s were influenced by a variety of social forces such as Vietnam, the Beatles, and the pro-peace hippy movement. Thus, the hairstyles were varied as well.

In the 1950s, men had piled on the greasy hair products and combed frequently to perfectly shape and mold their hair. At home, their wives and daughters had worn curlers all night and got up each morning to start the tremendous routine of perfecting the curly coif.

In contrast, 1960s were a time of rebellion against social conformity, for many individuals. In the early part of the decade, the Beatles made the bowl cut popular, a mop-top look. This hairstyle was a shaggy but combed hairstyle about the length of a bob.

Later in the 60s, John Lennon, of the Beatles, began growing his hair out much longer. Shaggy, long, un-styled hair became a popular trend, especially among the young people and the hippy crowd. Facial hair became in vogue. In stark contrast to the perfectly formed hair and squeaky clean face of the 50s, the fashion for many men of the 60s was a nonchalant, devil-may-care look. Instead of a hat, if anything, men wore bandannas over their hair.

As curly-haired and African American men grew their hair long as well, the Afro came into being. Malcolm X spoke against blacks straightening their hair. So, the natural curly look was worn as a sign of black pride. Some of the Afros were grown out rather large.

Most common of all, however, was the aforementioned mop-top look. While businessmen, in general, kept their hair short and styled, many young and middle-aged men grew their hair into mop-tops, a trend that lasted into the 70s.

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50’s Hairstyles for Women During the hard times of the 1940s, women could not afford hair products, in general. Those who worked on farms and in factories firmly tied back their hair and covered it with a scarf. The minority upper class, however, wore their hair long and soft with wavy curls down to their shoulders.

In the early 1950s, the utilitarian look persisted, to some degree, with a straight ponytail being the most popular look. For evening attire, a chignon or French pleat was the principal choice.

In the mid-1950s, as families became more comfortable with increased prosperity, most women had the time and motivation to spend hours doing their hair. Starting the night before, many young women and middle-aged hair wives would carefully part small sections of washed hair, wrap each section in curlers, and pin them tightly in place.

Sleeping on the curlers all night long must have been an uncomfortable affair, but undaunted, the women carried on. The ponytail was completely out of vogue, as the glamorous domestic diva took over. Women were expected to look like they just stepped out of a salon, even though they’d been washing, cleaning, ironing, and cooking all day.

Famous actresses of the day were often mimicked for their flawless hairstyles. Some of the most popular looks were those of Doris Day, Liz Taylor, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Leslie Caron, and even Queen Elizabeth II. Lucille Ball spread the popularity of the poodle cut, which framed the face in round curls. The 1950s was a time of glamor and femininity in hairstyles.

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50’s Hairstyles for Men Grease, the popular movie about the 50s, with John Travolta, typified many of the hairstyles of the period. Regularly pulling a comb from his sleeve to smooth back his slick, shiny hair, “Danny” never had a hair out of place whether he was walking on a windy beach with “Sandy” or dancing vigorously with an old fling for a televised dance contest.

Some men wore their natural curls with pride, in short cuts, with the sides cut short and combed straight back. Middle aged men often had the smooth swoop over the top, sometimes hiding a thinning top. But one of the most popular styles was the slicked look.

Starting with a swoop across the top, the rest of the hair was smoothed flat and straight back. Sometimes the hair on the sides was cut shorter to achieve this look, while the hair on the back of the head was allowed to grow longer, to add to the smooth look behind the head.

Popular with the younger crowd was the wavier look. Still shiny and well-greased, their locks were carefully formed into one or more waves, to achieve a more youthful look. James Dean was one of the stars of the day sporting the somewhat wavy look referred to as the ducktail.

Elvis Presley, on the other hand, popularized the look of the pompadour. The sideburns were worn long and the top of the hair was formed into a poof, with lots of volume and height. Finally, the bangs were worn with a piece of hair pulled down over the forehead to finish the look. The 50s was an era of sleek hairstyles, for men.

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