The swinging ’60s weren’t just about music and miniskirts – they revolutionized hair too! From sky-high beehives to wild geometric cuts, ’60s hairstyles pushed boundaries in ways that would shock modern stylists.
These bold looks required hours of teasing, spraying, and precise styling that today’s wash-and-go culture would find utterly bizarre.
1. The Towering Beehive
Women would tease their hair to gravity-defying heights, sometimes adding hairpieces for extra volume. The finished style could add 6-8 inches to a person’s height!
Maintenance required sleeping with neck pillows and avoiding low doorways. Some beehives were rumored to house spiders after weeks without washing.
2. The Flipped Bob
Jackie Kennedy made this style iconic with its perfectly curved ends that flipped outward. Achieving this look demanded sleeping in uncomfortable rollers and using enough hairspray to deplete the ozone layer.
Women would visit salons weekly just to maintain the precise flip angle.
3. The Bouffant Bubble
Imagine hair puffed out like cotton candy around the crown while remaining sleek at the sides. Ladies achieved this look through aggressive backcombing that damaged hair beyond repair.
The style required an arsenal of tools: teasing combs, setting lotion, and industrial-strength hairspray.
4. The Geometric Bob
Vidal Sassoon revolutionized hair with his sharp, angular cuts that resembled architecture more than hairstyles. These precision-cut bobs featured perfect straight lines and dramatic angles that required weekly salon visits.
The five-point cut became his signature creation.
5. The Asymmetrical Pixie
Twiggy’s revolutionary short cut featured longer sections on one side and razor-sharp edges throughout. This rebellious style shocked a generation raised on feminine long locks.
Women choosing this cut faced criticism for looking ‘too masculine’ – a notion that seems laughably outdated today.
6. The Pageboy Flip
Hair was cut in a single length that curved under at the bottom, except for those trademark flipped ends. Achieving this required sleeping in giant rollers that left neck cramps as a beauty battle scar.
The style demanded perfect symmetry, with not a single hair out of place.
7. The Frosted Helmet
Hairdressers created this look by pulling strands through a tight cap and bleaching them blonde. The result? A head full of random bleached streaks that created a speckled, frosted effect.
The process was painful, with hair being yanked through tiny holes.
8. The Artichoke Cut
Named for its layered, leaf-like appearance, this style featured short, feathered layers that stuck out like petals. The back was often cut extremely short while the front maintained volume.
Each layer required precise cutting to create the distinctive vegetable-inspired silhouette.
9. The Poodle Perm
Before the 1980s perm explosion, the ’60s had its own version: tight, small curls covering the entire head. These curls were created using tiny perm rods and harsh chemicals that often left hair damaged and frizzy.
The goal was to resemble a well-groomed poodle.
10. The Mod Top Knot
Half beehive, half topknot, this style perched high on the crown like an alien antenna. Hair was gathered up and forward, creating a dramatic height at the front of the head.
Women often slept sitting up to preserve this architectural wonder overnight.
11. The Chelsea Cut
This punk predecessor featured short fringe with longer hair at the crown and sides, plus a completely shaved back. The dramatic style challenged every notion of feminine beauty at the time.
It required daily styling to maintain the contrast between the different lengths.
12. The Dipped Ends
Long, straight hair suddenly transitioned to curled ends that flipped outward dramatically. Achieving this look required hours with hot rollers focused only on the bottom inch of hair.
The stark contrast between straight strands and curled tips created a distinctive silhouette.
13. The Brickhouse Bangs
These weren’t your average fringe! Cut extremely thick and straight across the forehead, these heavy bangs could be teased upward into a wall of hair.
Some women cut them at eyebrow level, while the boldest went for mid-forehead placement for maximum dramatic effect.
14. The Pineapple Updo
Hair was gathered high on the head and teased into an elongated cone shape resembling a pineapple. The style often incorporated hairpieces for extra height and volume.
Women would maintain this elaborate structure for days, sometimes even weeks, without washing.
15. The Sculpted Waves
Unlike today’s beachy waves, ’60s waves were meticulously engineered with rollers and setting lotion. Each wave had to be perfectly positioned and uniform in size.
The result was a helmet-like structure of identical, immovable waves that could withstand hurricane-force winds.
16. The Curtain Haircut
This masculine style featured hair parted down the middle with long, straight sections framing the face like curtains. Men who wore this look were considered rebellious and anti-establishment.
Beatles members Brian Jones and Keith Richards helped popularize this controversial style.
17. The Egyptian Bob
Inspired by ancient Egyptian art, this blunt-cut bob featured perfectly straight hair with sharp edges that turned under at the bottom. The style was paired with straight, heavy bangs cut precisely at eyebrow level.
Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra film sparked this trend.
18. The Mop Top
The Beatles made this shaggy style famous with its longer-than-acceptable length for men. Hair covered the ears and collar, shocking parents everywhere.
Boys were sent home from school for sporting this ‘rebellious’ cut that seems laughably conservative by today’s standards.
19. The Stacked Updo
Hair was teased and arranged in horizontal sections stacked on top of each other like geological layers. The intricate style required an engineering degree to create and maintain.
Women would visit salons weekly for this elaborate construction that could add 5 inches to their height.
20. The Floral Hair Cage
This wasn’t just a hairstyle but a structural achievement. Hair was styled over wire frames shaped like flowers or geometric designs, creating a cage-like structure around the head.
The elaborate style appeared in fashion magazines but rarely on regular streets due to its impracticality.