Women’s 1970s hairstyles varied from long, soft and feminine to short, edgy and androgynous. There was also a lot of experimentation and new styles were created throughout the decade. Hair was sometimes a direct expression of the times. Here we take a look at what and who influenced 1970s hairstyles, as well as the most popular styles worn by women throughout the decade.
Influences on Women's 1970s Hairstyles
Television & Film
Films stars were as influential as ever on fashion. For instance, there was Liza Minelli’s short feathered cut in Cabaret (1972). Jane Fonda had an androgynous shag hairstyle in Klute (1971), a hairstyle that could be seen in various forms throughout the decade.
Television was a national obsession in many Western countries and the TV was often the focal point of the home. There were adverts, music shows and a wealth of series in all genres.
Subsequently, TV was a major influence on people’s lives, fashion choices and attitudes.
Farrah Fawcett-Majors was one massive influence on late-1970s hair. Ah, the lovely Farrah hit our screens in 1976 courtesy of Charlie’s Angels. With her long feather cut and big flicked sides – known as the Farrah Flick – she was the poster girl of many teen bedrooms. And Dads didn’t mind a jot!
Nostalgia
Nostalgia was big in the 1970s, leading to a whimsical look back to various periods, especially the 1920s to the 1940s. This looking to the past can be seen in fashion, TV shows, films, and music.
Several films were set during this era, including The Boy Friend (1971) with Twiggy. The Great Gatsby (1974) with Mia Farrow kept the evergreen bob in fashion.
Music
Music and fashion continued to hold hands. The 1970s sounds of glam rock, disco, funk, northern soul, new wave and punk each had their signature looks and style.
Punks were out to shock with cropped hair, shaved heads and crazy-coloured sculptures, such as Mohicans, horns and spikes.
Influential women in music include Donna Summer (numerous wigs and looks, but always glam and fashionable), Cher, Debbie Harry (bleached blonde with a fringe), Barbra Streisand and Siouxsie Sioux (spiked black hair), among many, many others.
Hairdressers
Hairdressers created a few styles during the decade that were copied by many. Some can even still be seen today, albeit with a modern update.
The shag, as seen on Jane Fonda in Klute, is credited to hairdresser Paul McGregor.
British hairdresser Trevor Sorbie created the wedge in 1974 – a short, layered and angular style.
Popular Women's Hairstyles of the 1970s
The Afro
Hairstyles that encouraged the black community to embrace their natural hair structure continued to be popular in the 1970s. After emerging in the 1960s, predominantly as part of the black pride movement, the afro continued its rise in popularity.
During the 1970s, the afro was as much about being fashionable as it was political. It was worn by both sexes throughout the decade, largely by African-Americans and the black community.
However, it was also worn by other ethnic groups and gave people with very curly hair an alternative to the uniform long, straight hair look.
Perming allowed Caucasian hair to be tightly curled. From the mid-1970s to the end of the decade, this take on an afro was worn by various men and women, including the famous like Barbra Streisand.
The Ape
This was an early 1970s style that consisted of shorter hair on top combined with longer hair at the back. It also had lots of layering throughout the whole hair, giving the hair a shaggy look to it.
It fell out of fashion by about 1972.
Asymmetrical Styles
In the late 1970s, creating an asymmetrical look was popular. It could be anything from a ponytail on one side of the head or waves dressed up and out on one side. This trend continued into the 1980s.
Cornrows
When the hair is plaited flat to the scalp, either in straight rows or a myriad of intricate patterns, it creates cornrows.
It’s a style that requires no relaxers or other harsh chemicals. Long braided hair can have the ends secured with elastic bands and/or decorated with things like beads, flowers or shells.
Cornrows are an ancient and traditional way of styling hair in Africa and for African-descended people worldwide. They became fashionable in the 1960s and 1970s due to the black pride movement.
Cornrows also became somewhat well-known in the mainstream media when bikini-clad beauty Bo Derek wore braids decorated with beads in the 1979 film 10.
Not all black women had cornrows or an afro. Wigs were still a popular alternative and could be found in a variety of short and long fashionable styles.
Flicks & Wings
Wings were flicks created in the fringe – named after the wing-shape flick made at the side of the face.
Flicks could go all the way around the bottom of shorter hair, creating a mass of body. The crown area and top of the hair were always left straight.
To create a splendid flick, the new breed of heated styling tools were used, as well as rollers or tongs. Some women opted for a perm to create the curl needed, which could then be flicked out really easily.
Long Curled Hair
Long and mid-length hair in the 1970s could be roller-set or permed to form large, soft and bouncy-looking curls. The volume and curl normally started about halfway down the length of the hair.
Long Straight Hair
Long and centre-parted straight hair had been in vogue since the late 1960s and its popularity continued right through the 1970s.
To get hair really straight, it could be ironed under a brown paper bag.
It is a very commonly seen hairstyle in photographs from the 1970s, especially with the younger generation and teenage schoolgirls. It was also seen on many celebrities, including actresses Peggy Lipton (who appeared in hit TV series Mod Squad) and Ali MacGraw.
Mohicans & All Things Punk
Punk has its rightful place in 1970s hair history, despite not being followed by the masses.
Whether hair was short, spiked, shaved, or sculpted, the punk look was the opposite of any style classed as ordinary. It was a look created by rebellious youths and emerged in the UK in late 1976.
Some styles mixed long hair with shaved areas, like Mohicans and horns. Alternatively, wearers went for a full-on skinhead (a revival of a 1950s style), though girls often left their fringe and side sections longer.
Mohicans and spiky hair defied gravity. The upright sculptures were created with everyday household products like eggs, sugar water, soap or gelatine, as well as shop-bought gels and hairsprays.
The most commonly seen hair colours were jet black (like Siouxsie Sioux) or bleached blonde (like Debbie Harry from Blondie). However, punk also brought coloured hair to the streets and anything went.
Colour was created using professional products like Crazy Color, a range of neon colours launched in 1977, or everyday items like food colourings. Even Kool-Aid and Kia-Ora were used.
Text and patterns were put into the hair.
The Purdey & The Pageboy
The pageboy had been worn for many decades. British actress Joanna Lumley wore this bowl-like version of a pageboy in her role as Purdey for the TV show The New Avengers (1976-77). Hence it was known, in the UK at least, as a “Purdey”.
The Shag
Hairdresser Paul McGregor is credited as having created the shag haircut for Jane Fonda’s character Bree Daniels in the film Klute (1971).
It is a unisex, no frills cut that involved evenly-progressing layers with graduated sides and a full fringe.
A much longer and more wavy version of the shag was called the gypsy cut, as seen on singer Stevie Nicks.
The shag was a popular 1970s hairstyle for both sexes. Many women wore it, including Joan Jett, Suzi Quatro and Gillian Blake (from a UK TV show for children called Follyfoot).
The Stack Perm
Perming became more popular later in the decade, creating looks from tight curls to more bubble-like creations. One perm that was so 1970s was the stack perm.
A stack perm involved perming the middle and lower parts of long hair, leaving the crown area untouched.
Lots of small perm rods were stacked away from the head on things like chopsticks. It resulted in a mass of tight, smallish curls around the ends and length of the hair, while remaining straight on top around the crown area. In short, it created a halo of curls.
The Wedge
The angular-looking wedge haircut was created by Vidal Sassoon protégé Trevor Sorbie in 1974. Consisting of short hair with steep-angled layers cut all around the sides and back, it created a triangular shape that was smooth on top.
One famous wearer of a wedge was American figure skater Dorothy Hamill. In 1976, she won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics and women across America wanted a haircut just like the sweetheart of skating.
Hair Colouring
The use of hair colour had grown over the decades. By the 1970s, around a third of American women coloured their hair, either at home or via a salon.
Home dyes were big business, even techniques like highlighting were possible to attempt at home with kits like Clairol’s Quiet Touch.
Highlighting was popular and could be achieved by several techniques, including using a tail comb to weave the hair onto foils – a recent development in hairdressing technique. A heated double-sided flat iron was then used on the foil packets to speed up the activation time.
Frosting was used to create a natural sun-kissed highlighted look on brown and blonde hair, created by either simply painting on the highlighter using a narrow brush, or by using a few foils.
Concerns over the ingredients used in hair colours and links to cancer emerged in the seventies. Colours that were more “natural”, using vegetable dyes as opposed to coal tar dyes, were introduced to the market. Revlon had Colorsilk, the first hair colour without ammonia, and the all natural henna was being used more in the Western world, especially as red tints were popular.
Hairstyling Tools
Flicks, wings and curls needed the right hair tools. Hair tool brands were branching out from the simple curling iron or blow dryer to answer the hairstyling needs of the decade.
Multi-purpose hairdryers could do it all, including the super orange Supermax made by Gillette. It came with various comb and brush attachments to create all those 1970s hairstyles.
You forgot to mention that Jaclyn Smith’s styles were almost as influential as Farrah’s. Also the platinum (or near platinum) blondes were brought back in the 1970s by Angie Dickinson, Dolly Parton, Suzanne Somers, and Loni Anderson. And big hair was big in Rock and Pop as with Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, and Olivia Newton-John.
I like how you included hairstyles from the period that haven’t resurged in popularity. They are still part of 1970s hair history, so I like seeing articles that include them. I also like how you include some pictures of the processes for these styles.
Would you consider writing a similar article about the 1980s? I find mainstream media tends to focus on the extremes of 1980s hair, and it’s hard to find much information on some of the more professional or glamorous (softer) styles. (I do find 1980s TV series can be helpful references in this area – “Remington Steele” or “Moonlighting” for example.)
Hi Ishah, thank you for your comment. We will do a 1980s at some point – it is on the list for when we get a chance to do it 🙂
I am so happy I found your blog and I absolutely love your information about womens-1970s hairstyles. I liked and it is wonderful to know about so many things that are useful for all of us! Thanks a lot for this amazing blog!!
Thanks for this post.I wrote a article like you about 70s hairstyles
https://www.causesandtreatment.com/2019/06/13/70s-hairstyles/
Could you look at ?
Due to the death of Michael Jackson, media paid little attention to this passing of Farrah Fawcett.
Sadly, so very true
Why is there no mention of hairdresser Alan Jones in 1970-1980s worked in a lot of London top salons,magazine work,hair shows, sadly no longer with us ,was a good friend
I think with Sandy they were aiming for a Marilyn Monroe look with her hair? It wasn’t entirely unheard of, but it was an uncommon style for sure. (Betty Grable had similar sometimes too)
Hi Damien – guess the “Sandy” hairdo could be a cross between Betty Grable’s curly pompadour (those curls on top) with Marilyn’s longer curls at the back of her head. Together, to us at least, “Sandy” is a very “1970s big” bubble perm 🙂 Sandy’s earlier styles in the film look more 1950s (smaller hair, fringe and pony tail) when she was the good girl!
Oh man this made me have flashbacks. I had a wedge, and later, perms. I remember the horrid smell of the perms and the way the hot liquid would drip down the back of your neck. But the curls that came out afterward were worth it. 🙂
Haha! Yeah those tight 70s perms seemed to last forever – god knows what they did to your hair but, as you said, it was worth it! 🙂
Yes.70.s and 80.s perms were great but i remember it dripping down my back.horrid smrell.lovely curly perms though.oh.happy days!
I like so much, thank u for the information =)
What a fantastic article, very informative and entertaining to read. Well done!
Thanks Ali and Sophie – glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I just love how detailed you write, you are clearly a real connaisseur. Like me!
Indeed! Nothing wrong with being a connoisseur Natasja! Thanks for commenting 🙂
amazing great for homework but next time not too much detail
!!!!!! that’s what makes this site SO good — the detail. “Detail” is what separates it from the 2 line wonders that tell you nothing. Keep up with the all the DETAIL! I love it!
Thanks to both of you for commenting.
(Don’t worry “Detail Fan” – the way we write is what we do, and it’s all in the detail! Non-detail lovers can always choose to skim read 😉
The ‘DETAIL’ is most essential❗️How else would new young hairstylists understand the applicable methods used to create and achieve any of those historic hairstyles❗️
I had a stack perm in the late 70’s! Yes….! Flicks and straight hair were popular at school. I remember wanting a “Sandy” do too! Thanks for great info and trip down memory lane!!
Oh, yes, some of us here have a few perm memories too!! Not all good…! Thanks for commenting. Happy days!
Definitely memory lane! I wish I knew how to do a stack perm!!