Although straight hair was the norm at the beginning of the decade, as many late 1970s styles were still relevant, by around 1982 the perm had come into fashion. This was in large part due to many movies released at the time, as well as possibly being a rebellious movement against the 1970s.
Cultural Trends: The 1970s and 1980s saw a shift towards more expressive and individualistic styles. The counterculture movements of the 1960s influenced the embrace of natural textures, including curls, as a form of self-expression.
Why did people in the 80s like to wear big hair? People were into big hair because the celebs had big hair, and people back then would like to have these looks as their favorite icons. Most of the musicians during the 80s were into big hair. These guys were rockers, and so of course, long hair was de rigueur.
If you remember anything about the fashion of the 80s and 90s, you know aerosol played a big role. We wanted big hair, and it took a lot of hairspray to get it. The message we were getting was, to stop destroying the ozone layer — and, with it, maybe all life on earth — we needed to use less aerosol hairspray.
The iconic perm is now a thing thanks to 80s hair heroes Cher, Jon Bon Jovi and erm Deirdre Barlow. Just like flares and suede, perms are an hair trend that yo-yo in and out of fashion without a care in the world.
Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the mid 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. Television shows such as Dynasty helped popularize the high volume bouffant and glamorous image associated with it.
Hair trends of the '70s, '80s and '90s are back with a modern twist: From shixie shag to wolf cuts and the modern-day mullet, look out for these 2025 hairstyles.
It was so hard to get all that hairspray out! I had a 7th grade homeroom Teacher that would almost daily remind the girls that Aqua Net was the cause of ozone depletion and it would be banned.
Hairstyles of the Elizabethan era were characterized by high, frizzed hair and often placed over wires or pads to create a heart-shaped frame around the head. These hairstyles were made easier when the first metal hairpins were invented in England in 1545.
As we mentioned, the '80s were all about volume and texture, so naturally, crimped waves dominated the decade. While they used to feature tiny zig-zag waves, they're now often created with a wider crimping tool for more modern, loose and (almost beach-like) waves.
For many years, people never cared about shaving their pubic hair until the birth of bikini in 1946. Between the 1960s and 1970s, trimming took a different twist, and women were discouraged from trimming. In the 1980s, they were now encouraged on trimming and even to do a thorough shave.
1980s. Hair got even bigger in the '80s, so naturally, bangs did, too. Donna Summer's voluminous, curly bangs were trendy as ever. Between hockey mullets and “mall bangs,” bangs were everywhere.
Invented by the hairdresser Jheri Redding, the Jheri curl gives the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look. It was touted as a "wash and wear" style that was easier to care for than the other popular chemical treatment of the day, the relaxer.
In the '80s, big hair was not only a status symbol, but also allowed women to take up space, Rachael Gibson, who runs the account The Hair Historian, told the outlet. It was a statement and, especially for artists in the limelight, “filling the screen with your hair felt like quite a power move,” she added.
The gene for curly hair in Caucasians
A recent genome wide association scan has found a SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) called rs11803731 in the TCHH gene which accounts for about 6% of hair curliness.
Victory rolls are a women's hairstyle that was popular from 1940 to 1945, with a recent rise during the 21st century, characterized by voluminous curls of hair that are either on top of the head or frame the face.
What Ethnicity Does Curly Hair Come From? Curly hair is found across all ethnicities, though its prevalence and type can vary. It is common among people of African descent, who often have tightly coiled hair.
Iconic hairstyles from the 80s, like the Jheri curl, wanton crimping, and the mullet, along with the box cut, feathered and voluminous, hair sprayed curls made bold statements. The era was defined by its loud and rebellious hair trends, which were all about expressing individuality and making a statement.
The oldest known depiction of hair styling is hair braiding, which dates back about 30,000 years.
The beauty industry kicked off with the bottling of a resin-based spray in 1948 by Chase Products. In 1950, Helene Curtis coined the term hairspray " with her Spray Net product, which became a best-selling product alongside Aqua Net. Without hairspray, these curls just wouldn't hold up.
If you have a special occasion or a large gathering or even a day with troublesome hair, making use of a hair spray can be that quick solution to getting the perfect hairstyle. It is widely used across the world for all types of hair.
In the 1980s, a renewed trend for big hair, and the rise of glam rock and hair metal bands like Mötley Crüe and Cinderella resulted in the widespread use of hair spray in mainstream and alternative culture alike. Aqua Net became synonymous with these trends during that decade.
Everything about rock and pop music got big in the '80s. Big sounds, big bands, big clothes, and — perhaps biggest of all — big hair! The decade that introduced Hair Metal saw newly minted rock stars doubling down on the glam and teasing their hair till it was sky-high.
Shoulder-length hair (or longer) with layers
Forget what you thought about long hair past the age of 40—thick hair actually looks more youthful and polished when it falls shoulder-length or longer.
The social change and dynamic introduced a new kind of expression of femininity that also reflected the male gaze and the heavy-handed objectification of it all. Fast forward to the 1970s when long hair became well associated with the counterculture movement of the hippies and the rejection of societal conformity.