17 groovy hairstyles from 1960s Teen magazine covers
It was the era of beehives, mop-tops, bobs, Twiggy cuts and pageboys. Few decades had better hair style than the Sixties.
Few decades had better hair style than the Sixties. Plus, the cuts were fun to say. It was the era of beehives, mop-tops, bobs and pageboys. The feathered hair and perms of the 1980s have not aged well, yet heads of the Beatles, Supremes, Dusty, Twiggy and Goldie continue to look great on the runways and streets.
No publication better captured the quickly shifting trends in 1960s hair than Teen. The magazine ran from 1954 and 2009, but something about the Sixties output makes us feel extra nostalgic. Let's dig through the stacks and look at some of the most memorable covers from the decade.
1. July 1964
2. March 1969
3. June 1961
4. March 1966
5. December 1964
6. August 1966
Okay, so it's more of a hat-style than hairstyle. The funky, futuristic hat looks like one of the wilder uniforms of Braniff Airlines. This issue also offers alluring pieces like "Judo and the Single Girl" and "I Was a Teenage Go-Go Dancer." As music junkies, we are fascinated by the "8 super groups" that include some legends (The Byrds), some biggies of the era (Beau Brummels) and some deep obscurities (The Leaves).
7. May 1964
8. December 1967
9. December 1966
10. July 1965
11. August 1965
12. April 1960
13. April 1964
14. April 1965
15. October 1962
16. November 1959
17. October 1968
22 Comments
Soon, the '60s arrived...
When watching TV I pay a lot of attention to how hair is styled for the actors. For one thing, these intricate hairdos have to appear the same from scene to scene. They seem to use a lot of hair pieces for the women, usually to add height and curves. In the Sixties, they had partial hair pieces called "Falls" that added length as a single piece. I've read that Joan Collins just opted for wigs most of time, as it was much easier on her own hair. But if you watch an understated 30 minute drama like Adam 12 and similar, stylists were also experts at making everyday people look, well,... everyday! June Clever went from shoulder length hair tied up in a French Twist, to an easy care flip in later years. I've read where she was inspired by Jackie Kennedy's styling, including hairdo!
This is a limited assortment. Even in the Beach Party movies, some of the women had long hair. And if you wanted to be a "girl" folk singer, long hair was a necessity, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Buffy Saint-Marie.
The token men don't count. Beatles haircuts was long only relative to how things had been, and the first photo the gu y's hair isn't as long as the Beatles. But there was still resistance, so it was mostly musicians and other artists who had long hair, and communards. See "Monterey Pop", longer hair then the fifties, but not particularly long. Two years later at Woodstock somewhat longer was more common, but again, the musicians had the longest hair, and e en that wasn't common.