1980s Men's Hairstyles

1980s hairstyle for men with long hair — Photo: G-stockstudio/Shutterstock

Q: I am studying on different hairstyles from the 1980s, but I cannot find any information on it! If you could, please help by giving me a link - or sending pictures - or names of the different hairstyles from the 80s. I mostly need men's 1980s haircuts.

A: The trouble with trying to give names of hairstyles from any given period is that the names used in one area of the world are not necessarily the same in all areas of the world. In fact, the names given to a particular hairstyle can vary from salon to salon. The best way to deal with the subject of 80’s hairstyles is to identify the style by the celebrities who wore them. Here are some of the classic looks from the 80’s for men, listed with their distinguishing features and the celebrities who popularized them.

Long, layered, razored ‘big hair’ – These hairstyles were the trademark of rock groups like Duran-Duran and Whitesnake. Whitesnake and other heavy rocker big hair bands featured symmetrically cut long-layered styles with lots of waves and texture. The hair was usually past the shoulders and very full. Bands like Duran-Duran featured styles that were usually shoulder-length, swept-back at the sides and fuller on top. The hair was layered and blown-out to give long smooth curves.

Shorter, shaggy or full, styles – 1980s hairstyles were longer than their counterparts from previous decades, but they weren’t all long hair styles. Many celebrities popularized shorter hairstyles in the eighties. These shorter styles covered the tops of the ears on the side and generally hung below the collar in back, but were most notable for the fullness at the top and crown areas of the head.

Whether the hair was curly or straight, the fullness and layering allowed the hair a lot of movement. Prime examples of the shorter 80s styles are seen in the films “St. Elmo’s Fire”, and “Pretty In Pink” as well as with the pop group “Wham” (and George Michael continued to set trends in hair fashion largely because of his popularity with female fans encouraged young men to copy his look).

Asymmetrical, Edgy styles – The 80’s were also responsible for the “New Wave” movement in music, and with it came a new set of hairstyles that were trendy and expressive, but short-lived. Some of the New Wave styles featured truly asymmetrical cuts (chin length on one side, and above the ear on the other side) or dramatically styled cuts (vertically swept ‘wings’ on the sides). These styles are readily seen in the music groups “Flock of Seagulls” and “Human League”.

Your best resource for images of these hairstyles is to perform internet searches using the names of the bands, film and/or celebrities as keywords. You can also visit your local library and perform a search for periodicals such as Rolling Stone or other entertainment magazines (they should at least be available on micro-fiche). These images can then be printed, giving you the chance to create a library of images.

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See also:

Names for hairstyles

1980s hairstyles for women

Pictures of hairstyles for men