80s hairstyles
Bigger, brighter, and engineered for height
Eighties hair was about volume above all else. After the seventies' long, flat shapes, the next decade pushed in the opposite direction with perms, teased crowns, and asymmetric cuts that read as architecture. New wave wanted geometric. Pop wanted big. Rock wanted bigger. The salon work behind the era was technical (perms, weaves, deliberate sectioning) and the styling was unapologetic. Read most of it as an experiment in scale.
Not sure which of these would suit you today?
You don’t have to be. Hairstyle Analysis works out your face shape from a single selfie and renders eight cuts directly on your face, including modern versions of the era’s signatures. $4.99 one-time, no subscription.
Try Hairstyle AnalysisSignature cuts of the era
The perm
Tightly curled hair set with chemical wave, worn at almost every length through the decade. The single most-requested salon service of the eighties.
Teased mall hair
Crown hair lifted to two or three times its natural height with backcombing and hairspray, often paired with a fringe styled straight up. The American suburban signature of the late eighties.
The mullet
Short on top and at the sides, long at the back. Worn across rock, country, and pop scenes through the decade. Currently in a serious revival cycle.
Side ponytail with crimped hair
A high ponytail off to one side, often with crimped texture through the lengths. The teen-magazine cover look of the mid-eighties.
The stylists who defined the look
How to wear it today
Wearing the eighties literally tends to read as costume, but the spirit of the decade (volume at the crown, deliberate texture, statement shapes) translates well when scaled down. The modern mullet is the most successful direct revival. Crimped texture has come back through editorial styling. If you are tempted by an eighties shape, the safer move is to commission a softer modern version. A Hairstyle Analysis can show you which volumes will work on your face before you commit.
See the era’s cuts on your own face
Hairstyle Analysis renders eight cuts on a selfie of you, including modern versions of the shapes that defined this decade. See what reads as costume and what reads as deliberate, on your face.
Run a Hairstyle Analysis$4.99 one-time, no subscription.