Before Instagram influencers and YouTube tutorials, hair was serious business handled by professionals wielding hot combs, setting lotions, and enough hairspray to deplete the ozone layer single-handedly. From the Gibson Girl pompadours of the early 1900s to the gravity-defying beehives of the 1960s and the wild experimentation of 1980s hair metal bands, our ancestors weren’t afraid to make bold statements with their locks. Some of these styles required hours of sitting perfectly still while elaborate constructions took shape atop one’s head. Others demanded nightly rituals with uncomfortable rollers or morning routines with dangerous electrical appliances. These 44 remarkable photographs capture hair through the decades in all its outrageous glory—serving as reminders that today’s “extreme” styles are merely footnotes in the long, gravity-defying history of human beings doing truly puzzling things with the stuff that grows from our heads.
#1
Image source: Rawalmond73
#2
Image source: danibug
#3
Image source: Till80
#4
Image source: Till80
#5
Image source: Till80
#6
Image source: Till80
#7
Image source: Till80
#8
#9
Image source: Till80
#10
Image source: IwishIwasBailey
#11
Image source: MyoyoShinnyo
#12
Image source: olduslife
#13
Image source: flashbak.com
#14
Image source: Till80
#15
Image source: Till80
#16
Image source: flashbak.com
#17
Image source: Till80
#18
#19
Image source: flashbak.com
#20
Image source: apoc666apoc
#21
Image source: MacPhisto501st
#22
Image source: flashbak.com
#23
Image source: Virtual History
#24
Image source: flashbak.com
#25
Image source: flashbak.com
#26
Image source: flashbak.com
#27
Image source: Till80
#28
Image source: anon
#29
#30
Image source: flashbak.com
#31
Image source: robert_e._jackson
#32
Image source: anon
#33
Image source: anon
#34
Image source: vintag.es
#35
Image source: robert_e._jackson
#36
Image source: diatonic
#37
Image source: GaGator43
#38
Image source: Inkyadinka
#39
Image source: vintag.es
#40
Image source: olduslife
#41
Image source: reddit.com
#42
Image source: BookMyShow
#43
Image source: anon
#44
Image source: Till80
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