4 Hair Trends From The 1960s You May Have Forgotten About

The 1960s were a decade full of groovy looks, and from bellbottoms to bouffants, there was no shortage of trends to try. Hair was a big deal back then, with many opting for elaborate 'dos that required a lot of upkeep. Wash-and-go styles were pretty rare, as women spent hours in the salon getting the perfect coiffure and took painstaking steps to preserve it until their next visit. We're talking wearing scarves to bed and using enough hairspray to cause a hole in the ozone layer.

While many hair trends became outdated from that era, it's always fun to look back on all the different ways folks did their hair, and some looks have even come back again. Others, like the afro, never really went away, with Viola Davis showing off her curls at the 2018 Golden Globes, proving that celebrities look just as gorgeous with their natural hair. Many of the '60s styles were all about being big and bold, and these far-out looks just remind us how much the Age of Aquarius influenced hair trends.

If you look at throwback pics of 1960s girl groups like The Shirelles or Hollywood stars like Marlo Thomas, you'll notice that they all have one thing in common — a bob with flipped-out ends. This adorable yet cheeky style was great for adding movement to an otherwise one-note cut, as it was usually mostly one length without layers. And, to add even more drama, the crown was teased to the heavens, which Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was known for rocking at the time. However, instead of a straight 'do with a big flip as others wore, she opted for soft waves around her face and a subtle flick on the bottom, resulting in a timeless first lady hairstyle that made her look warm and approachable.

The flipped bob is definitely a retro look, but the trend came back again in 2025 without the height at the crown for a more modern feel. Hair expert Adam Reed told Stylist, "In the '60s, this style was all about creating volume, so we would use rollers at the ends of the hair to create a curl upwards. Now, straighteners can be used to create the desired look and modernize the style. Using a liquid hairspray will give you that lovely, precise flick up, while holding the style in place and giving hair a beautiful shine."

One of the most iconic 1960s hairstyles was the beehive, invented by hairstylist Margaret Vinci Heldt, which lived on for decades. The super teased 'do was all about lots of height at the crown, and was versatile enough that folks could wear their hair up, down, or with baby bangs and a chic tiara, like Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." And, for a sexy va-va-voom look, you can get Brigitte Bardot's iconic hair to live your '60s volume fantasy with curtain bangs and long, tousled tresses. Singer Dusty Springfield was known for her towering beehive, which she achieved with lots of backcombing and a hairpiece at times.

The beehive fell out of style in the early '70s, but members of the band The B-52s Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson made the 'do their signature look in 1976 with the help of quirky wigs. "When we picked those out, we weren't aiming to look glamorous at all, but dressing up was a way to feel like you'd transformed on stage," Pierson told BBC. Years later, the beehive became Amy Winehouse's go-to style as well, with other celebs like Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé hopping on the retro trend, proving that teased hair never goes out of style.

The 1960s weren't only about big hair, and in fact, one of the sleekest 'dos of the decade was the pageboy. Men and women rocked this bowl cut style, which was characterized by blunt bangs, with the sides and back gradually falling over the ears and nape. It was usually worn super-straight and curled inwards, à la the members of The Beatles, who were known for rocking pageboys in the early '60s. This unisex cut was favored by many celebs at the time, and even Princess Diana had her own layered version of the look two decades later.

These days, folks are reimagining the pageboy with a more modern look, and it even looks gorgeous on curly-haired gals. "This hairstyle has always been so versatile and timeless. With its ease of style, it gives a very elegant but edgy look," hairstylist Sheila Guillermo told InStyle in 2025. She added, "The best thing about this haircut is you could do a smooth, sleek blowout or you could rock your natural texture as well." So, if you're looking for a throwback style and are bored with bobs, a pageboy is the '60s rock and roll-approved haircut to try.

In a sea of teased 1960s styles, hair icon Vidal Sassoon made women stand out with his sleek geometric bob, dubbed the 5-point haircut. The super-precise cut was designed to follow the shape of the person's head, with straight, blunt bangs, two sharp points over the ears, and three at the base of the neck. In a throwback video shared by cultureTV, Sassoon shared, "The 5-point cut for me was the epitome of nine years of work that led up to it. It was the last cut of geometry that, in essence, covered the whole head, because you had to create the points here depending on bone structure, where it was on the individual character you're working on." He continued, "Now the thing about it was that the hair itself, when it was brushed any way, or you put your fingers through, it had to fall back perfectly."

Fashion designer Mary Quant was known for rocking Sassoon's signature cut in the '60s, with her telling The Guardian after the hairstylist's death in 2012, "Vidal Sassoon completely changed hair ... He saw that, like architecture, hair could be cut into shapes and textures that not only flattered the character and texture of the hair, but projected the best qualities of the head and face, pointing out the cheekbones and focusing on the eyes, and making the maximum impact on the individuality of the face and personality." We haven't yet seen a big resurgence of this unique hair trend, but it's an especially fun one to look back on.