Sixties Hairstyles (2)
Enter: Sonny and Cher. Once a week, America would tune in to watch Cher's antics as she made laughable remarks toward her husband that would rally for the feminist movement. No doubt about it, the ultra-long hair look was in. On the other side of the railroad tracks, a movement formed to encourage the growth of hair, and many were actually ironing it, literally on an ironing board. The hip huggers worn looked cute and only revealed the belly button. We sometimes tripped over our bell-bottom jeans. Everyone headed to Woodstock to experiment with free love, try LSD, smoke marijuana, and protest the Vietnam War. By this time, President Kennedy had been assassinated, and it was President Johnson who led the country into that war.
In New York, they were in Greenwich Village with the artists and beatniks, philosophizing together about world affairs while wearing their small, round glasses. They were everywhere to be seen, in parks on the benches, on the lawns, and always piled together in a Volkswagen bus with different-colored daisies painted all over it. They were proclaiming "Woodstock or bust"; after all, they were known as the Flower Children or Flower Generation. They made their own soap, candles, and strung beads on hemp, worked on macramé, bought their clothes at secondhand or Army Surplus stores, and tied a scarf around their foreheads.
Materialism was out, and naturalism was in! Ah yes, I can remember those days. Was it possible to be a hairdresser in those flowery days and still retain one's sanity? My answer: of course not. But then, no one was really sane. Everyone was casting their wishes to the wind, not thinking about the many tomorrows that were sure to come. I wouldn't trade it for anything, and I mean anything, for all the tea in China.
America was enraged over the way Vietnam veterans were treated when they started to come home. President Nixon soured the country through his lies and respectfully stepped down from office. President Ford took over a disgraced and embarrassed nation. While all that was going on, the fashion world did something outrageous. As the miniskirt rose to fame, the world of hairdressing introduced Batman bangs, deliberate saw-toothed bangs, and short styles with asymmetrical sharp points and edges. While bras were being thrown away and burned publicly in the feminist movement, those who were watching the trendy new looks came into the salon to give these new hairstyles a try.
Today, many moons later, Twiggy herself has commented that today's models are just too thin and admits she was naturally that way when she was young. Oh really? Well, some of us were naturally pleasantly plump. How I detested that expression when I was a child. And some of us weren't even born a size 0 and found the whole ambition of looking like Twiggy useless. The heartier look suited some of us. Who knows, maybe we came from peasant stock.
Another hairstyle that was prominent in the 1960s was brushing the hair back and placing a headband on it, for decoration and to keep the hair in place. Hoop earrings would complete that style. The rest of the hair would either flip up or go under into a pageboy. No matter how the hair was styled, it was usually a heavy style. Very little thinning was done, although many times the razor was used on shorter hair.
There were also many popular updos with large barrel-shaped curls woven high on their heads, sometimes with a trendy hairband, and straight or fluffy bangs. These would be worn for dining out, weddings, and other special occasions.
Everything was extreme in the sixties. The natural hair was extremely long, the bleached colors were either platinum, beige, high-fashion light pink, or lavender! Yes, I said lavender. Permanents were still way too tight, and those who chose to keep their hair cut in a simple way during everything that was going on were to be admired for their levelheadedness and staying focused on their goals, while most of us were casting our cares to the wind. The sixties were a time of reckless events that brought forth many different changes in our society, some good, some not so good. Everything we did affected other people; the trouble was, we just didn't know it at the time.
As the whirlwind of hairstyles fought against each other between the wash-and-wear long and the backcombed high-fashion styles, there were always those laughing on the sidelines at the whole vaudeville of actors still trying to do their own thing, but following after each other.
The truth was, just like today, everyone belonged to a certain group or organization because of their beliefs. The styles have changed, but the faces of the flower generation are a bit older and we like to think a bit wiser. Make love, not war. Peace.
See also: Vintage hairstyles