Hot Hairstyles Of The 80s

Hairspray was necessarty to create the ideal '80s hairstyles.

The 1980s was a decade of fashion hits -- or misses -- depending upon how you looked at it. Any decade that boasted matching neon sweater and socks had to be unique. And don't forget the hairstyles -- even though some of you may try. In the '80s, bigger was better and frosted was to, like, totally die for. It didn't matter the length of your hair. Hot hairstyles of the '80s transcended every haircut and length.

Short

Short, spiked styles were hot in the '80s. The younger generation went true punk with the Mohawk with the sides of the head shaved. The shaved Mohawk was appropriate for guys and girls. The fauxhawk consisted of gel holding up the top and sides of a short cut. One even bolder cut involved shaving one side of the head and dying the tips of the remaining hair a bright neon color, such as pink or green. An older woman in the '80s wore her hair in a soft layered cut, reminiscent of the '60s bouffant.

Medium

Thanks to the '80s flick "Dirty Dancing," the curly perm was all the rave. Fans took it up a notch with frosted hair tips. Hairspray, hairspray and more hairspray was used to hold up the pouf. The side ponytail held with a scrunchie was an option for a casual look. Blunt bob cuts were a drastic style worn by many older women in the '80s. The look was appropriate for the office as well as for casual events.

Long

The side ponytail was appropriate for longer hair as well. For a formal event, hair was braided into a French braid with a clip-on ribbon secured at the bottom of the braid. Long and short mullets were popular with both men and women. The '80s mullet was characterized by short hair in the front with longer hair, or a tail, in the back. One of the most famous '80s musicians who donned this "business in the front, party in the back" hairstyle was Billy Ray Cyrus. Different variations of the mullet are still worn today.

African-American

Men and women, young and old, wore a style called the Jheri curl. This all over curly style was worn with long or short hair. The younger generation enjoyed the asymmetrical bob styles worn by rap artists such as Salt-n-Pepa and MC Lyte. Men of all ages wore hair in a box cut. Older men wore a lower box style while the younger generation wore high box cuts channeling the rap group Kid n' Play.

Tags: younger generation, longer hair, short hair, side ponytail, style worn, wore hair