It’s my life

From the barest bob to the frizziest ‘fro, Luke Rix-Standing breaks down the many decades of daring ‘dos.

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Hair occupies a unique place in the pantheon of wellbeing. You can change your clothes, but there’s no getting away from a bad haircut. Although technically the history of hair goes back at least seven million years (and some Stone Age styles saw revivals in the 1970s), we’ll confine ourselves to the last century or so. We teamed up with the British Hairdressing Awards to showcase the best:

The Bob – subtle subversion; serious style

This can cover anything from the dreaded ‘pudding bowl’ to the coiffured bob-with-bangs popularised by Taylor Swift. Bobs have been causing trouble since the rebellious ‘flapper’ girls of the 1920s. Early 20th Century femininity expected women to wear their hair long – one angry father in Paris even reported his daughter’s hairdresser to the police for shearing her hair without his permission. By the 1960s the scandal had faded, and the bob was reborn in the capable hands of Vidal Sassoon.

The Beehive – size matters

Ever since sex-symbol-in-chief Brigitte Bardot, the big, bad beehive has been up there with the most iconiclooks of our times. A product of the 1960s and the invention of commercially available hairspray, this powerful cut gave the wearer a good three or four inches extra in height. It’s been a big hit with musicians, from the Ronettes to Amy Winehouse.

The Afro – hairstyle, symbol, movement

This deeply political cut was widely worn by the Black Is Beautiful movement throughout the Sixties and Seventies. Activists Angela Davis and Pam Grier set the standard before it was picked up by pop icons like Gloria Gaynor and a young Michael Jackson. The afro resisted chemical treatments and straightening techniques designed to bring it in line with Western beauty standards, to become a symbol of pride, rebellion, and empowerment.

The Perm – working it in the workplace

In the 1960s hair was big. In the 1970s it was bigger. But in the 1980s it had its own gravitational field. Think Whitney Houston, Cher and Dolly Parton, the perm became a symbol for career-driven women.

The Pixie Cut – a hairdo of one’s own

Still a statement style today, it’s popular among celebs trying to keep their look fresh. A deceptively complex cut, the perfect crop should highlight the features you want to flag and flatter those you don’t. Who wore it best? Audrey Hepburn, obviously.

The Bouncy Blow Dry – luxurious and voluminous

This has enjoyed a renaissance for two reasons: First, improved high street products have allowed women everywhere to get that fresh-from-the-salon look, and second, the Duchess of Cambridge’s curls are so notorious they have their own name – ‘the Chelsea blow dry’ – characterised by gloss, volume, and the illusion of near-constant movement.