40 Vintage Portraits That Show Hairstyles of Women in the 1960s

In the 1960s, hair became a statement, not just a style. Traditional hair, makeup, and clothing trends fell out of favor for more bold and experimental looks.

Celebrities, political activists, and musicians were big hair influencers throughout the decade. Whether hair was curly, straight, or wavy, volume and height were the main goals. The beehive was the most popular updo, with hair backcombed into a cone shape and hair sprayed to stay in place.

While long styles were worn throughout the decade, they became more popular in the late ‘60s. Long hair was commonly worn middle-parted and curled at the ends or with half-pulled back and a backcombed bouffant. As the hippie look gained popularity so did long hair with bangs that fell below the eyebrows.

For medium hair, the main go-to looks were rounded bouffants and curled bobs. A bouffant was created by setting hair in large rollers then backcombed to create volume. To achieve a curled bob, women would use large rollers to curl ends out while still creating volume around the crown of the head with a part or a backcombed style.

Short hair gained traction in the early 1960s with angular styles inspired by Vidal Sassoon. The trend really took off when model Twiggy debuted a short side-parted cut with side-swept bangs.

Take a look at these vintage portrait photos to see what hairstyles of women looked like in the 1960s.