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
🇯🇵 JapanHime cut
A Japanese style with straight cheek-length sidelocks and long back hair.Cut · Straight hair · 1970
🇯🇵 JapanNihongami
Traditional Japanese hairstyles characterized by elaborate updos, side wings, and wax styling.Updo · Straight hair
🇺🇸 United StatesFinger wave
S-shaped waves set by hand with comb and gelStyled · Straight hair · 1920
🇬🇧 United KingdomVictory rolls
A 1940s women's hairstyle featuring voluminous side rolls shaped like the letter V.Styled · Straight hair · 1940
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Rachel
Voluminous layered cut popularised by FriendsCut · Straight hair · 1995
WorldBig hair
A hairstyle style defined by large volume and significant space around the head.Styled · Curly hair · 1960
🇯🇵 JapanSeiko-chan cut
A feathered Japanese idol hairstyle from the 1980s.Cut · Straight hair · 1980
WorldHair crimping
A heat or braid technique creating zig-zag waves in long hair.Styled · Straight hair · 1985
WorldWings
A layered cut where side hair flips out like wings.Cut · Wavy hair · 1830
🇺🇸 United StatesHopi squash blossom whorls
Traditional Hopi hairstyle for unmarried maidensStyled · Straight hair
🇺🇸 United StatesPin curls
Vintage wet-set technique for soft waves and volumeStyled · Straight hair · 1930
🇯🇵 JapanNihongami
Traditional Japanese hairstyles featuring structured wings and topknots, worn by women in historical periods and by geisUpdo · Straight hair
🇯🇵 JapanNihongami
Traditional Japanese hairstyles characterized by upswept buns and side wings.Updo · Straight hair · 1603
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hime cut: kxz Chen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Seiko-chan cut: HouseGecko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Rachel: ABC Television, Public domain, source
- Nihongami: 都新聞社 Miyako Shinbun, Public domain, 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
- Hair crimping: 1000heads, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wings: Sepideh (Sepi), CC BY 2.0, source
- Big hair: Photo by Alan Light, 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
- Shingle bob: Evolvingthinker, CC BY 2.0, source