Hair Style Like The 60's

[michal_cohen]

Contrary to what you may believe, the 1960s hair style was just that - styled. Whether "long, straight, curly, fuzzy" a great deal of attention was paid to getting just the right look.

Although there was more flexibility in length and cut than before, hair styles were controlled. Only Janis Joplin looked like, well, Janis Joplin.

Curls were all the rage. Big deep ones, small tight ones and even spit curls.

Hippies, of course, prided themsleves on the defiance of style, but they are covered elsewhere on this site.

Take the look at left, top with actress Susan Blakely. You don't just fall out the shower looking like that. The hair has to be set on curlers and dryed.

Oh, and did I mention? No blow dryers!

The picture at left, top was taken from an ad for Born Blonde and was described as "...a tumble of pale blonde tendrils... Dizzying swirls of color."

Below that is a very fussy hair style. Lots of work went into that 'do. Described as "... pale champagne streaks in ash blonde hair reflect the flattering look of soft shading. Hair falls freely in a deep tumble of waves."Sponsored Links

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The long hair style at left is more what you were expecting to see. . Only young people could wear the longer straight styles.

At right you have a more common style for long hair. It came with the advice, "Natural girl look of today has long, soft, and free swinging hair. To provide extra shape and swing, any below the shoulder hair should have a good blunt cut. "

Below - a common look was to sweep the hair straight back at the crown.

Short hair styles

The British domination of 1960s fashions extended into hair styles as well. Twiggy and Vidal Sassoon each had a profound influence on short hair styles. Although they are covered elsewhere on this site, they were the stimulus for a whole new view of hair styling.

Named the "The Face of 1966" supermodel Twiggy sported an ultrashort hairdo which was compatible with her boyish figure. Sassoon created angular cuts to compliment the designs of Mary Quant. Like most of his styles, the one at right required straight hair.

And then, of course there were the four moptops from Liverpool. Beatles shaggy hair was the first novel haircut of the 60s.

The model at top left represents the more mainstream short hair style, while the one at left below reflects the British influence.

Left

Shorter hair, brushed across from a side part, dips gently over one eye, curls in a charming poof.advertisement

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-curlers.jpg

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-dryer.jpg

The way one achieved a Sixties hair style is through suffering. Although the woman pictured above comes complete with cold cream, her curlers are the right size.

We actually slept in these Coke can sized rollers. Every night. Looking back, I can't believe we did that, nor can I offer much advice as to how to get used to it. Perhaps it is a testament to the notion that you can get used to anything.

Please note - no blow dryers. We did not have that luxury. Oh, no, we sat under these monster hair dryers like the one pictured at left. You could read, but that was tough because you had to hold your head upright which meant you had to hold the book up by your face. You could watch TV, but not if you cared about the sound. These dryers were as loud as freight trains so you couldn't hear the TV. And no, we didn't have headphones.

Fortunately, we only used these for special occasions. Otherwise you just slept in your rollers. But if you had a hot date, you washed and rolled your hair and sat under the dryer - for say an hour depending on length.

We did have electric rollers (below) but they didn't give the poof that wet rolled and dryed delivered.

A word about the spit curls seen in many styles. you could use a hair clip or bobby pin and set just that strand. Or you could tape it to your face in exactly the curl size desired. Yes, you read that right. Plain old household tape did the trick.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-curler-electric.jpgBuy From Amazon http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/60s-hair-book.jpg

Book - 1960s Hair: Hairstyles for Bouffant Babes and Swingin Chickshttp://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/book-braiding.jpg

Hair: A Book of Braiding and Styles/Book and 3 Scrunchieshttp://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/book-hair-girls.jpg

Hair: Styling Tips and Tricks for Girls

Hair Setting Lesson

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-set-curlers.gif

The picture above shows the two basic curler sets used in all the pictures below.

Short hair styles: (Party Curls, Piquant Pixie)Hair should be cut in graduated lengths, from 2 1/2 to 5 inches. Set as shown right on 3/4 inch diameter rollers and medium sized pin curls. Front rollers are wound right to left. Rollers at crown go from center to each side. Pin curls in back go from right to left.

Longer hair styles: (Ruffled, Big Curvy Curls) Hair should be about mid-neck length. Set, as shown on the left, on jumbo rollers. Right side is set same as the left.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-set-party.jpgParty Curls

Party Curls added one by one to the pixie coif, make an after dark hairdo in the romantic tradition. You can buy curls that tuck easily into hair with bobby pins.

Comb Out: Brush out hair as in Pixie (right). Then fill in by pinning separate curls at the sides and behind bangs down to center back.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-set-pixie.jpg

Piquant Pixie

Piquant Pixie coif bids for attention with tousled curls and curved bangs.

Comb Out: Brush out in direction of setting pattern, fluffing into soft curls all over head.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-set-ruffled.jpg

Ruffled

Ruffled Curls set off this hairdo.

Comb Out: Make a short center part. Fluff hair up at crown. Comb down into waves on sides with ends curved under loosely.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-set-curvy.jpg

Big Curvy Curls

Big Curvy Curls turn the hairdo into evening drama. Hair is crisscrossed in frotn, flipped into curls on cheeks, pulled behind ears, pinned at nape, to bell out into flatteringly saucy, open curls.

Comb Out: Starting 2 inches behind forehead, section front hair, then cross sections and flip forward in front of ears. Turn hair at crown into big, open curls. Hold in place with pins. Bring rest of hair back of ears, fasten close to nape with bobby pins. Then arrange back hair in more large curls.

Medium length hair styles

Bouffant is the word that describes all the poofy hair styles. The big hair of the Sixties required that hair expanded out from the head. This was accomplished by setting with rollers the size of Coke cans.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-mcc-67.jpghttp://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/hair-swept1.jpg

 

[Gwendela]

Great post sweetie! My Momma went to beauty school in the sixties. She always had the coolest hair. I'll have to go through some family pics and get the scanner running (hopefully by next weekend). I actually own a helmet hair dryer and a bonnet hair dryer. Oooh and I own actual pink hair tape too. So cool!

Oh and I just got my hair cut into a bob and I can do the bottom left style on my hair. lol

 

[AnnaBelle]

Thanks for the links, honey! I love the 60s and 70s hair and makeup!

 

[michal_cohen]

Your Welcome

 

[Porpoise]

Very interesting. Growing up in the 90's and 00's I'm used to my diffusers and blow dryers and flat irons. I don't know how I could have survived the sixties with my hair. LOL.

 

[xkatiex]

Awesome thread! thanks x