Hair fashion comes and goes faster than you can say ‘bad hair day.’ Remember those styles everyone just had to have? Some were cool, some were wild, and some make us wonder what we were thinking! Let’s take a fun trip down memory lane to revisit hairstyles that once ruled but have since disappeared from salons everywhere.
1. La colmena
Towering and teased to gravity-defying heights, this 1960s favorite required a can of hairspray and plenty of patience. Women would sleep sitting up to preserve their carefully crafted hair mountains overnight!
2. The Rachel
Named after Jennifer Aniston’s character on Friends, this layered, shoulder-length cut dominated the 90s. Stylists everywhere grew tired of hearing ‘Give me The Rachel’ from eager customers clutching magazine clippings.
3. Feathered Farrah Fawcett Waves
Bouncy, feathered, and flipped back at the sides, this 70s sensation required hot rollers and precise brushing techniques. Girls worldwide pinned Farrah’s iconic red swimsuit poster on their walls as hair inspiration.
4. El Perm
Tight, chemically-created curls that often resembled ramen noodles took over the 80s. The smell of perm solution lingered for days, but women endured it for those coveted springy locks.
5. Mall Bangs
Bangs teased to astonishing heights, sometimes reaching 4-6 inches tall! Achieving this look demanded serious backcombing skills and enough hairspray to deplete the ozone layer single-handedly.
6. El Salmonete
Business in front, party in back! This controversial cut crossed gender lines and defined an era. Country stars and hockey players particularly embraced the short-long combo with unmatched enthusiasm.
7. Cabello ondulado
Zigzag patterns created by special hot tools gave this 80s and 90s style its distinctive look. Teenagers would spend hours crimping section by section, resulting in hair that resembled accordion pleats.
8. Corte de cuenco
Literally created by placing a bowl on the head and cutting around it! This no-nonsense style transcended gender and age. Mothers everywhere became amateur stylists with kitchen implements as tools.
9. Pompadour Updo
Piled high at the front with a dramatic pouf, this retro style channeled 1950s glamour with a modern twist. Stars like Amy Winehouse revived it briefly in the 2000s before it faded again.
10. Jheri Curl
Glossy, loosely curled, and perpetually wet-looking, this 80s phenomenon required special chemical treatments and constant moisturizing products. Michael Jackson’s Thriller-era locks made this style legendary!
11. The Wedge
Short in back, longer in front, and layered throughout—Dorothy Hamill’s Olympic gold medal winning haircut sparked a nationwide craze. Women flocked to salons with newspaper clippings of the figure skater.
12. The Pixie Flip
Short with flipped-up ends that defied gravity, this 60s mod look paired perfectly with miniskirts and go-go boots. Twiggy and Mia Farrow made this boyish cut unexpectedly feminine and fashionable.
13. Puntas escarchadas
Not just for boy bands! Women also embraced this trend of bleaching just the very ends of their hair. The stark contrast between natural color and platinum tips created a distinctive spiky look.
14. Gibson Girl Updo
Massive poufs of hair piled atop the head defined this turn-of-the-century look. Women used ‘rats’ (hair-stuffed mesh forms) to achieve the voluminous style that symbolized the first modern American beauty standard.
15. Bumpit Height
Hidden plastic inserts created unnatural volume at the crown during the late 2000s. Reality TV stars popularized this poufy look that eventually became the butt of jokes about ‘Jersey Shore’ fashion mishaps.
16. Ombre Dip-Dye
Hair color that transitioned from dark roots to dramatically lighter ends took over social media in 2010. The extreme version featured unblended, stark color changes that looked like hair had been dipped in paint.
17. Waterfall Bangs
Side-swept bangs that cascaded across the forehead dominated the scene in the early 2000s. Teens would spend ages training their hair to fall perfectly across one eye, often peeking through the curtain of strands.
18. Victory Rolls
Named after airplane maneuvers, these 1940s rolls framed the face with symmetrical curls. Working women during WWII kept hair safely rolled up, inadvertently creating an iconic style that symbolized feminine strength.
19. Coleta burbuja
Multiple hair elastics created segmented ‘bubbles’ down the length of the ponytail. This Instagram-fueled trend briefly captured attention around 2016 before popping just as quickly as it appeared.
20. Bouffant Flip
Teased crown with flipped-up ends combined two 60s trends into one dramatic statement. First Ladies like Jackie Kennedy made this sophisticated yet playful style a must-have for elegant women everywhere.