Vintage Hairstyles

There are few things more glamorous than an actress of the golden years of Hollywood, with that security and arrogance with which they used to step on the red carpet.

Their dreamy hairstyles and make-up still keep us falling in love nowadays and although trends have evolved a lot, the great classics never go out of style.

Are you also a lover of retro and vintage hairstyles? Do you love hairstyles that remind us of another era? From the Flapper girls of the 20s, to the voluminous picks of the 60s, we have compiled for you the vintage hairstyles that are still a trend today.

So, whether you have a special event, or if what you want is to wear one of this hairstyle on your wedding day, you can be inspired by all the images that we will show you on this article. And let the classics live!

Vintage hairstyles from the 20’s decade

The bob hairstyle will forever be defined as the 1920s look as the female revolution quickly abandons old rules of femininity and fashion.

After the personal freedom allowed them, during the First World War, young women first began to go out to work, get permission to vote, play sports and demand to leave the house unattended.

Women were becoming emancipated and financially independent, especially since so many men had been lost to the war or died from epidemic diseases in the years that followed.

Giving up long hair became a symbol of an independence and strength for women who finally felt equal to men.

The shingle bob hairstyle, introduced to Belle Epoque Paris by a Polish-born hairdresser  named Antoine ‘de Paris’, was considered masculine and severe at first sight but soon becomes a popular hairstyle between the  women of that time.

In 1924 Antoine first opens his New York beauty salon on Fifth Avenue to respond to the demand for cutting women’s hair in the middle of the whole bob hairstyle movement.

This new  fuels the flapper girl spirit to be more and more daring and controversial. Incidentally, the term “flapper” has for centuries been a slang word in the United Kingdom, but now it referred to a sudden young woman of easy virtue.

The shingle cut is named after the characteristic form of tiled roofs which allows tiles to overlap each other. The look of the rows of waves and layers over a closely trimmed neck, closely resemble the row of inclined shingles used on a roof.

These hair bands were usually worn the wealthy women, they wore very thin bands which made them look very discreet with super noble and luxurious materials. These hair bands were placed at the height of the fringe or even practically by half of the forehead so that they saw well how they stood out.

Here you have a tutorial on how to get 1920’s waves step by step. Before starting, it is important that you take into consideration a series of tips that will help you to achieve the best results.

• This type of waves is created by working with the comb the shape of the hair, creating waves from side to side of the cranial perimeter, never from top to bottom.
• The final look can be with the waves back, towards the side or with the line in the middle. Either way, the hairstyle will always start in favor of the whirlpool that is, changing the hair’s radical direction.

• Step 1: First, wet the hair with the water vaporizer. Then, untangle and comb the hair
• Step 2: Spread foam medium or strong foam throughout the hair, depending on its thickness. In this way, when drying the foam, the hairstyle will be fixed.
• Step 3: Next, to create the waves with the stripe on the side, mark the line at the desired position.
• Step 4: Make the drawing of the wave with the comb and pin it with your fingers so that the shape is marked. Place clamps to fix it while you continue the work.

• Step 5: Perform the same procedure to complete all the hair, except the occipital area, because from this area, the hair, when drying, is separated from the head because of the force of gravity.
• Step 6: Create a ring with the strand of the pin following the direction that the wave marks. Next, create rings following the same procedure in the neck area. In this way you will give continuity to the hairstyle. Use hairspray to ensure a long-lasting result.
• Step 7: Finally, wait for it to dry or use a diffuser dryer. It is essential that no air comes out, only temperature. When it is 100% dry, remove the tweezers. Now you can wear a real look from the 20s!

Vintage hairstyles from the 1950’s decade

The sculpted curls are probably the hairstyle more typical of the 50s decade.

A hairstyle worthy of Hollywood stars and quickly copied by the most common of mortals. Marilyn Monroe style curls that can be worn on square hair or semi-long hair.

And, if your hair is blond, it’s even better to follow the trend of the 50s!

The veiled hat, that little piece of transparent fabric in lace or tulle was placed over the hats of the most elegant French of the 50s decade.

Greater symbol of elegance, nowadays we reserve it for great occasions, especially weddings.

The wavy hair, the ripples made their appearance in the 20s decade but since fashion is a cyclic thing, they came back with force during the 50s decade.

By then they were less marked and rather on semi-long or long hair (the wavy short is reserved for hairstyles of the 20s).

Accentuate the movement on the front locks or play the femme fatale by slipping the wavy strands to the side.

The Italian bun copy it to Grace Kelly! A strict bow, very glamorous and that gains volume from behind.

Before making your Italian bow from behind start by crimping the hairs located on the top of your head and collect it in your bun. Use lacquer generously so that it lasts perfectly.

The blond platinum, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly were the emblems of this mythical color.

A glamorous hair color that immediately gives you the vibes of a femme fatal and that democratized the concept of coloration.

The garçon haircut, against the current of Hitchcock’s beauties came a new vision of women.

More emancipated, more masculine, she wore the garçon haircut, following stars like Audrey Hepburn.

A very short cut that uncovers the nape of the woman’s neck but does not lose a touch of femininity.

Vintage hairstyles of the 1960’s decade

In the 1960’s decade, Barbara Streisand’s medium-length, straight bob or helmet bob hairstyle was all women passion and for a good reason.

This is just flattering, low maintenance, fashionable and also has very interesting qualities that has helped it stand up to the test, surviving to the pass of years.

When we look back on a lot of the other hairstyles from the same decade, many of them now appear out dated and out of step with current fashion trends but this one has really put up the test of time.

To achieve this 60s vintage hairstyle, the ideal was creating lots of volume, this was achieved by combing the hair in a way that gained volume and height.

It is very easy to do today, you only need to grab hair from the front of the head and with the help of a comb, comb it towards the root so that it gets more volume, it is something like combing your hair backwards.

This hairstyle started from the same crimp that we showed you before. The difference is that part of the hair was collected in a half tail and the rest was left loose with a semi-ordered finish.

The best representative of this style was Brigitte Bardot. You can update this look by adding a modern accessory or even a small braid.

The Mop Top is a hybrid hairstyle of the bob, the pageboy and the bowl cut all in one that became popular in the 1960s decade during the First British Invasion thanks to rock bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

It has a characteristic helmet shape that covers the ears and, unlike the bowl cut, is usually degrafted and not uniform. The Mop Top is considered a male version of the bob.

In order to get a good Mop Top hairstyle, the hair should be trimmed uniformly all around the head so that the hair at the front part reaches the eyebrow, while the hair on the sides covers or mostly cover the ears.

The hair at the back part of the head maintains the same length as the hair on the front part and the sides; therefore, the hair on the lower back of the head touches the collarbone. The hair on the back of the head should not pass the collarbone.

Vintage hairstyles from the 1970’s decade

By the 1970s decade, the styled look is out of trend and a more natural way of styling the hair is considered to be sexy back in the day.

The hippy point of view had its influence on killing some of the more structured hairstyles giving to the idea that they required too much effort to maintain them, most of these styles were part of the 1960s decade.

During the 1976 Winter Olympics, ice skating champion Dorothy Hamill ‘s vintage hairstyle becomes a try to find style.

The pageboy look makes an appearance since is most definitely ‘in’ and many women started wearing this low-maintenance haircut like for example Kate Jackson in in the TV series Charlie’s Angels.

The blow-drying of Farrah Fawcett in «Charlie’s Angels».

This voluminous hair with the tips curved outwards gave a lot to talk about. The manes were long and degraded to provide maximum volume to the hair. The long ones and the fringe were worked with a round brush and they extended towards the outside to contribute matter.

The ultra-smooth long hair, March 1968 made history in terms of hair styling. The hair gained length in a dizzying way and it looked ultra-smooth. The hippie trend had just been born with Françoise Hardy and Jane Birkin in the front row. The accessories adorned all the heads through scarves with graphic prints or simple hair bands placed in the middle of the forehead.

The xxl volume, Diana Ross or even Donna Summer participated to a large extent in the success of the afro mane.

Its principle? Curly hair with a maximum volume for a very light XXL style of hairstyle. If you do not have curly hair it will be hard to wear the same look unless you opt for a wig overnight as Jackson Five!

Something essential in a look on the 60’s decade were the hairstyles.

It is impossible to think about it without also thinking about Elvis Presley, in well maintained toupees and greasy heads.

Think that to get a hairdo from the 60s for men to get it well done you should take care of your hair really meticulously (if you want a toupee or a flat top). They are hairstyles that take their time to be done, but the result is totally great.

Vintage hairstyles from the 1980’s decade

The high spot in this era were the curls; those women with extremely straight hair did not stand out from the crowd.

By that time the curls could be easily molded and they were excellent with anything and in any way, while totally straight hair was difficult to mold and give it the volume that was expected. The teenagers loved to have their fringes up, it was a way to get the attention of anyone.

The 80’s decade was all about the voluminous hair so of course we had to mention the iconic permanent, before the boom of the hair straighteners and the Japanese straightening, what triumphed as a old hairstyle was ultra-curly hair.

The permanent was the order of the day at the time and although it has fallen into disuse, but it was so popular that even Mariah Carey wore a beautiful permanent.

Vintage hairstyles of the 90’s decade

The hooks were such a big trend in the 90`s decade , they were the go-to hair accessory for both women and young girls, these accessories not only were created in many styles and shapes  but also were sold at every store in that decade .

These accessories were used at all times and all occasions, especially in hairstyles for young people.

One of the iconic and most used accessories of the 90’s decade were the hooks with butterfly shapes, when it came to this accessory the more you had the better you will look.

This characteristic and fashionable 90’s hairstyle was mostly inspired to create the idea that you have an enchanted forest with those numerous butterflies fluttering in your hair.

The combination of curls and straight hair was another favorite when it comes to 90’s decade; this hairstyle was the right option if you wanted to stand out among the others in a meeting or in a party without being exaggerated and the mixture of fully curled strands with random straight strands at the moment was just phenomenal.

Nowadays if you see someone with this, the first thing that you would think is that she could not finish the hairstyle, but the reality is that this is one of the most unique hairstyles for rockers in the 90s.

The actress Jennifer Anniston also started a trend for 90’s decade with this layered haircut when she was playing the character Rachel in one of the most popular TV shows of all times “Friends” and there were many who dreamed of wearing the same hairstyle as their favorite actress.

In the mid-90s Rachel’s haircut was chosen as «the best hairdo of the year» by numerous women’s magazines. In this old hairstyle the lengths are simply degraded, there is lots of volume and the hair adopts luminous reflections.

The person in the nineties who had a hair straightener that gave these characteristics waves to the hair was a person who was very fashionable, even many artists at different times used these zigzag shaped waves for video clips or commercials, this is a very suitable option for women and girls with long hair.

If you wore this hairstyle to a party you would be the center of attention, if you did not have the hair straightener, you could weave in the hair in very thin braids and sleep with them and the next day when you undo the braids you would get a result pretty similar

The very fine braids or ethnic braids all over the head lived a golden moment in the 90s. Bo Derek made them fashionable at the end of the 70s thanks to the movie “10” and twenty years later they made a reappearance and  became popular again thanks to celebrities such as Christina Aguilera who made it not only a 70’s hairstyle but also a 90’s hairstyle.

Definitely a bold trend, very fashionable and suitable for those women and girls who have long hair that want to try something different.

Many styles of the 90`s decade is coming back as a trend nowadays, for example these iconic tram lines in the hair and also combined with the shaved slit eyebrow, this gave you that “badass” vibe.

They were often worn as multiple shaved lines in the hair that had different shapes and lengths. This look was made famous by people like M.C. Hammer and Vanilla Ice.

The duet Kid ’n Play made a statement with this iconic old hairstyle, they gave us the perfect variety of flat- to high-top fades type of look.

Throughout the House Party movies, we were able to witness some of the various stages and also heights of the fade while brushing up on our dance-battle routines.

You cannot even talk about 90’s hairstyles without mentioning this look.

There were two styles of cornrows for this, the first one is the straight backs, like Allen Iverson’s, or the middle part, like Xzibit’s.

Both were very ’90s vibe both required you to find yourself a good hair dresser who could make this type of braids.

And if your hairdresser had some skills, you could get the zigzags, mini braid connections and patterns. This  was a whole movement by itself.

Here is maybe one of the most popular the hairstyle from the 90’s and also one of many others that has continued to be used, surviving to the pass of the years.

«The heartthrob» or «hero hair» trend was started when people like Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt were seen using this haircut which make them look pretty charming. As the name of the haircut suggests it, the hair was cut into a bob style and was often worn combed backwards with the fringe hanging down slightly.

We all know that fashion and trends are super-cyclic, about every 20 years or so, we see a major resurgence of something that was trendy two or even three decades before.

The picked-out Afros look of the late ’60s and ’70s came back with a shaped, modern update to it and became a trend in the nineties too. Snoop dog was one of the many artists that rescued this type of look.

The permanent was also a thing for boys back in the decade of the nineties; this is an iconic example of a boy’s old hairstyle.

The music artist Justin Timberlake used this look back in the nineties when he was part of the band “NSync” and became a very popular look; also, the other integrands of the band had quite similar looks to this one.

This look was often combined with blonde highlights or “frosted tips” and also color tips.

If you liked this article, please share it with your family and friends to help them have a better idea of what they should do with their hair look, you will be doing a big favor to them!

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