A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.
The mullet is a hairstyle in which the hair is cut shorter at the front, top and sides, but is longer at the back.
A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most, or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the tail of a pony.
The mohawk is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. Mohawk hairstyles have existed for thousands of years. As of the 21st century, they are most commonly associated with punks, or broader non-conformity.
In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pigtails") to refer to twin braids on opposite sides of the head. Sometimes, the term "pigtails" applies whether or not the hair is braided, but there is not widespread agreement on this.
A bun is a type of hairstyle in which the hair is pulled back from the face, twisted or plaited, and wrapped in a circular coil around itself, typically on top or back of the head or just above the neck. A bun can be secured with a hair tie, barrette, bobby pins, one or more hair sticks, a hairnet, or a pen or pencil. Hair may also be wrapped around a piece called a "rat". Alternatively, hair bun inserts, or sometimes rolled up socks, may also be used to create donut-shaped buns. Buns may be tightly gathered, or loose and more informal.
Hair crimping is a method of styling usually straight, long hair so that it becomes wavy, often in a sawtooth / zig-zag fashion. In the Southern United States, it is usually referred to as crimping, but also can be called crinkles or deep waves.
The Pigtail Ordinance was an 1873 law intended to force prisoners in San Francisco, California to have their hair cut within an inch of the scalp. It affected Qing Chinese prisoners in particular, as it meant they would have their queue, a waist-long, braided pigtail, cut off. The proposal passed by a narrow margin through the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1873 but was vetoed by the mayor. An identical version of the law was enacted by the California State Legislature in 1876 and was subsequently struck down as unconstitutional in 1879.
A bouffant is a type of puffy, rounded hairstyle characterized by hair raised high on the head and usually covering the ears or hanging down on the sides.
An eponymous hairstyle is a particular hairstyle that has become fashionable during a certain period of time through its association with a prominent individual.
A queue or cue is a hairstyle worn by the Jurchen and Manchu peoples of Manchuria, and was later required to be worn by male subjects of Qing China. Hair on top of the scalp is grown long and is often braided, while the front portion of the head is shaved. The distinctive hairstyle led to its wearers being targeted during anti-Chinese riots in Australia and the United States.
The wings haircut, also known the Mod haircut, Mop top, flippies, flow, Justin Bieber haircut, or skater hair is a popular hairstyle used in the skateboarding, surfer, mod, and preppy community. Typically long, the style can range from long and drooping below the eyes, to a shorter length. The haircut is typically wavy and, if straight, the length comes to halfway down the ears. Instead of lying on the wearer's ears, the hair flips up and comes straight out like an airplane wing, hence the name. The hairstyle was popular among men in the 1960s, 1970s, mid-late 2000s, early 2010s and 2020s.
Long hair is a hairstyle where the head hair is allowed to grow to a considerable length. Exactly what constitutes long hair can change from culture to culture, or even within cultures. For example, a woman with chin-length hair in some cultures may be said to have short hair, while a man with the same length of hair in some of the same cultures would be said to have long hair.
The temple fade, also known as a Brooklyn fade, taper fade, and blowout, is a haircut that first gained popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s in African American, Italian American, and Hispanic American barbershops as a variation of the bald fade, originating primarily in the Northeastern United States, particularly in New York City and especially Brooklyn.
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
The undercut is a hairstyle that was fashionable from the 1910s to the 1940s, predominantly among men, and saw a steadily growing revival in the 1980s before becoming fully fashionable again in the 2010s. Typically, the hair on the top of the head is long and is often parted on either the side or center, while the back and sides are buzzed very short. It is closely related to the curtained hair of the mid-to-late 1990s, although those with undercuts during the 2010s tended to slick back the bangs away from the face.
Hairstyles in the 1980s included the mullet, tall mohawk hairstyles, jheri curls, flattops, and hi-top fades, which became popular styles. Amongst women, large hair-dos, puffed-up styles, permanent waves, and softer cuts typified the decade. Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the mid 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. Television shows such as Dynasty helped popularize the high volume bouffant and glamorous image associated with it.
Secular laws regulating hairstyles exist in various countries and institutions.
Braids are a complex hairstyle formed by interlacing three or more strands of hair. Braiding has been used to style and ornament human and animal hair for thousands of years in various cultures around the world.
Tifayifu was a cultural policy of the early Qing dynasty as it conquered the preceding Ming dynasty. In 1645, the Tifayifu edict forced Han Chinese people to adopt the Manchu hairstyle, the queue, and Manchu clothing. The edict specifically applied to living adult men, who did not fall in the stipulated exceptions. In 1644, on the first day when the Manchu penetrated the Great Wall of China in the Battle of Shanhai Pass, the Manchu rulers ordered the surrendering Han Chinese population to shave their heads; however, this policy was halted just a month later due to intense resistance from the Han Chinese near Beijing. Only after the Manchu captured Nanjing, the southern capital, from the Southern Ming in 1645 was the Tifayifu policy resumed and enforced severely. Within one year after entering China proper, the Qing rulers demanded that men among their newly defeated subjects adopt the Manchu hairstyle or face execution. The Qing prince regent Dorgon initially canceled the order to shave for all men in Ming territories south of the Great Wall. The full Tifayifu edict was only implemented after two Han officials from Shandong, Sun Zhixie and Li Ruolin, voluntarily shaved their foreheads and demanded that Dorgon impose the queue hairstyle on the entire population.
