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
WorldHeadscarf
A triangular or square cloth folded to cover the hair and head while leaving the face visible.Wrapped · Any hair
🇺🇦 UkraineUkrainian wreath
Traditional floral headdress for Ukrainian girls and unmarried womenWrapped · Any hair
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBuyao
A Chinese hairpin with dangling ornaments that sway when the wearer moves.Adorned · Any hair
🇰🇷 South KoreaJokduri
A traditional Korean silk coronet worn by women for weddings and formal events.Wrapped · Any hair
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreGajra
Flower garland worn in the hair or on the wristAdorned · Any hair
WorldBangs
Strands of hair cut to cover the forehead and fall over the eyebrows.Cut · Any hair · 1880
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBob cut
Short to medium haircut ending at the jaw or shoulders.Cut · Any hair · 1909
WorldChignon
A knotted hairstyle worn at the nape or back of the head.Updo · Any hair
🇺🇸 United StatesBeehive
A conical updo piled high on the crown.Updo · Any hair · 1960
WorldPigtails
Two symmetrical ponytails or braids worn on opposite sides of the head.Ponytail · Any hair
WorldLob
A medium-length haircut falling at or just below the shoulders.Cut · Any hair
WorldMarcelling
A heat-styled curl technique from the 1870s.Curls · Any hair · 1872
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreHair extensions
Cosmetic additions of human or synthetic hair attached to natural hair for length and volume.Styled · Any hair · 1950
🇯🇵 JapanFrench twist
An elegant updo where hair is twisted vertically against the head.Updo · Any hair · 1940
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian braid
A traditional long plait from Russia with historic marital meanings.Braid · Any hair
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Long hair: Adam Jones Adam63, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bob cut: 147 Company, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dreadlocks: Richard Mortel, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tignon: François Fleischbein, Public domain, source
- The Rachel: ABC Television, Public domain, source
- Braid: Ciell, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Snood: Adolph von Menzel, Public domain, source
- Headscarf: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ukrainian wreath: Samuil Dudin (1863-1929), Public domain, source
- Dastar: Photography by Harkanwal Singh., CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Gache: KIYOUNG KIM, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ghoonghat: sushmita balasubramani, CC BY 2.0, source
- Christian head covering: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khăn vấn: André Salles, Public domain, source
- Buyao: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Jokduri: derivative work: Caspian blue ( talk ) Korean_dance-Jinju_pogurakmu-01, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ponytail: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pouf: After Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty, Public domain, source
- Bun: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Peineta: Hiart, CC0, source
- Buzz cut: Fadi El Benni of Al Jazeera English, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pompadour: Pearson Scott Foresman, Public domain, source
- Beehive: MGM, Public domain, source
- Lob: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lovelock: Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599 - 1641) Details on Google Art Project, Public domain, source
- Bouffant: Bain News Service, Public domain, source
- Liangbatou: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Hair extensions: Eunicehair, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- High roll: Joseph Ducreux, Public domain, source
- Pigtails: Ykstyyppi123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Russian braid: Philip Budkin, Public domain, source
- Greco-Roman hairstyles: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Titus cut: Adrien Pierre François Godefroy, Public domain, source
- Bangs: Circle of Girolamo Mocetto (Active 1490-1530), Public domain, source
- French twist: SWinxy, CC BY 4.0, source
- Pixie cut: dvna creative agency: https://www.dvna.fr/, CC BY 3.0, source
- Gajra: Amarnath, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chinese hairpin: Augusthaiho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marcelling: The Bridgeport times and evening farmer, Public domain, source
- Chignon: www.GlynLowe.com, CC BY 2.0, source
- Cockernonnie: Arnold Genthe, Public domain, source
- Roman hairstyles: Colchester Museums, Caroline McDonald, 2004-06-02 14:47:52, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Short hair: Alex Neman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Punjabi paranda: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shingle bob: Evolvingthinker, CC BY 2.0, source
