Mostly women
Styles mostly worn by women. 126 hairstyles on EveryHairstyle so far.
Many hairstyles have been worn mostly by women, often because of rules and customs about how long women's hair should be, how it should be dressed and when it should be covered. Long hair was expected of women in most cultures for most of history, so women's styles include the great updos, braids and set styles, while short cuts for women, such as the bob, became a statement of independence.
Long hair and its dressing
Long plaits, chignons, buns and updos have been women's styles in Europe, Asia and Africa for centuries. Elaborate styles, such as the Manchu liangbatou, the European pouf and the Japanese nihongami, showed status and needed servants or professional hairdressers. Married women in many cultures put their hair up or covered it, so a woman's hairstyle could show whether she was married, as with the Korean chignon fixed with a binyeo.
The short cut
In the 1910s and 1920s young women in Europe and North America cut their hair into bobs and Eton crops, to the alarm of many older people, and short hair became a sign of the modern woman. The pixie of the 1950s and 1960s and Sassoon's geometric bobs continued the change. Many women's styles have since spread to men, and the line between women's and men's hair has blurred.
Famous mostly women hairstyles
Further reading
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreNatural hair movement
A social and cultural campaign for wearing textured hair without chemical straightening.Natural · Coily and kinky hair · 1960
🇸🇩 Sudan and 4 moreDreadlocks
A hairstyle of rope-like hair strands formed by matting or twisting.Natural · Coily and kinky hair · 1970
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 morePerm
A chemical or thermal treatment that sets permanent waves or curls into the hair.Styled · Curly hair · 1872
🇬🇧 United KingdomVictory rolls
A 1940s women's hairstyle featuring voluminous side rolls shaped like the letter V.Styled · Straight hair · 1940
🇺🇸 United StatesFinger wave
S-shaped waves set by hand with comb and gelStyled · Straight hair · 1920
WorldNubian wig
A short, curly Ancient Egyptian wig mimicking Nubian tribal hair.Styled · Curly hair
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSurfer hair
Tousled, sun-bleached locks from the sea.Styled · Wavy hair · 1950
WorldBig hair
A hairstyle style defined by large volume and significant space around the head.Styled · Curly hair · 1960
WorldHair straightening
A technique to flatten and smooth hair texture using heat or chemicals.Styled · Curly hair · 1950
🇺🇸 United StatesSpiral perm
A chemical treatment creating tight, vertical curls using rods.Curls · Curly hair
🇺🇸 United StatesPin curls
Vintage wet-set technique for soft waves and volumeStyled · Straight hair · 1930
WorldWash and go
A low-manipulation style that enhances natural curl patterns without heat or extensions.Styled · Curly hair
🇺🇸 United StatesTwist-out
A protective hairstyle created by unraveling twists to form defined waves.Styled · Curly hair
WorldFinger coils
A natural hair style created by twisting strands around fingers to form defined spirals.Styled · Curly hair
🇿🇦 South AfricaBantu knots
Twisted coils of hair worn as a protective style or permanent look.Styled · Curly hair
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Dreadlocks: Richard Mortel, CC BY 2.0, source
- The Rachel: ABC Television, Public domain, source
- Hair straightening: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Perm: Louis Calvete, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Beehive: MGM, Public domain, source
- Finger wave: Unknown author Unknown author (Either deceased family member or work f, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Liangbatou: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Nubian wig: Keith Schengili-Roberts, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Big hair: Photo by Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, source
- Surfer hair: Rachel Amarette, CC BY 2.0, source
- French twist: SWinxy, CC BY 4.0, source
- Pixie cut: dvna creative agency: https://www.dvna.fr/, CC BY 3.0, source
- Chignon: www.GlynLowe.com, CC BY 2.0, source
- Natural hair movement: livepict.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shingle bob: Evolvingthinker, CC BY 2.0, source