In our modern age the greatest attention is given to women's hair styling. Lesser attention is given to that of men and children. This has not always been the case. Men have given great attention to hair styling in some ciltures and historical eras. In our modern era, boys have begun gicing great attention to their hair. This began with Elvis Presly and his side burns in the 1950s and the Beattles in the 1960s with what was at the time considered long hair. The teenage boy in the 1990s might spend considerable time preening in front of a mirror. Perhaps not as much time as the modern girl, but certainly more than was common in the 1950s. have listed here the boys' hair styles with which I am familiar. Unfortunately in many cases I do not know the formal names for these cuts or much information about them. Please let me know if you are aware of any others or have any childhood memories about your hair styles. Hopefully someone with barbering experiences swill eventually help us analize the various cut styles.

Feathering

Many American boys in the 1980s fearhered their hair. A reader writes about the mullet style and feathering, "[The mullet] was definately a major hairstyle from 1985-1993 for boys. In 85, I was 12, and very noticeably, many boys in my school had that haircut, and my school ranged from kindergarten to 8th grade. Not only was the mullet the major haircut, most other boys were feathering their hair. Feathered hair for boys was just as popular in the 80's. Some even feathered their mullets. I don't know quite how to describe feathered hair, but here is a complete site dedicated to the feathered hairstyle. It is geared primarly for girls, but believe me, guys, men, boys, and everyone sported the hairstyle from the 1970s and 80s.

Flattop

This actually included a variety of styles in which the hair is cut so that the top of the head is a flat plain. This is complicated to achieve as the crown is rounded. Thus the head at differentb parts of the cron has to be cut at different lengths. The flattop can be done at different lngths. Depending upon the length of the cut and the hair type, gel or pomade will be required to hold the hair in place. The longer the hair on top, the greater the effort required to style it. The cut gives a flat top surface on the round shape of the head. This means that the hair at the crown, especially front central area of the head is cut shorter than the hair at the front and around the top sides of the head. Because of this, a flattop cut to a short length will show the scalp. This became known as the landing strip. Flatops cut to longer lengths, the hair at the front and sides will have to be styled. Boys will have to use some kind of gel or pomade to keep it in place. The sides of a flattop are generally cut very short (although some variations of the cut can have the hair at the sides much longer than on top and slicked down). Another variation of the flat top is to have the back and sides shaved completed clean (with lather and a razor). This variation is known as white walls. Flat tops were very popular in the 1950s and early 60s. Some barbers charged extra.

Fringe

Fringe is the British term for bangs.

Front Curl

Some boys had a large front curl. HBC has limited information on this hair style. It is another late 19th century boys' style. This is somewhat related to the hair knot style. I was generally worn by younger boys without enough hair for a complete set of ringlet curls.

Figure 3.--The portrait of this American boy is undated, but was probably taken in the 1860s. Note the hair knot style the child wears who we believe is a boy.

Hair Knot

I'm not really sure what to call this style, nor have I seen it mentioned in the literature consulted so far in my research. For want of a better term I will refer to it as a hair knot. The style involves sweeping a boys hair into a knot or bun on the top of the head. I believe thid was an exclusively boys' style, although I still know very little about it. As far as I can tell it was worn from about 1840-1880, although this is only a guess arrived at from the few available images I have. I have only noted this style in American photographs. It may not have been very popular as I have not noted it in the drawings and illustrations reproduced in fashion magazines. Nor I have noted it any foreign photographs.

Layer Cut

This style involves cutting the hair on different parts of the head is approximately the same length (instead of being cut longer in the centre and shorter around the edges). This cut contrasts from tapered cuts and bowl cuts. HBC first observed this cut in the 1990s, but in fact has little information about it. The layeroing affect can be used in a variety of ways. Often for younger boys it is incorporated with bangs which then follolw the head around in a kind of bowl cut. Hopefully, HBC readers can provide more information on this style. We have seen this style primarily worn in America.

Figure 4.--Long hair for boys has been popular at different times. This boy model appeared with a long cut in the 2000s. He wears one of many styles.

Long Hair

Long hair became popular for boys after the publication of Frances Hodgson Burnett's book Little Lord Fauntleroy in 1885-86. Many romantically enclined American mother sought to recreate Cedric in their little darlings. Often the boys' hair was curled. Sometimes it was just left long or put into bangs. After the turn of the century long hair became uncommon, except for very small boys. Long hair has meant different styles to varius generations. In the 1880s, long hair was shoulder-length ringlet curls. In the 1960s, bushy John-John bangs were considered long hair by many. There was a revival of long hair beginning in the mid-1960s, influenced by John-John Kennedy's bangs, the Beattle's cut, and incrasingly long hair worn by popular rock groups. Relatively long, uncurled hair was very common for boys through the mid-1980s.

Created: March 5, 1998
Last updated: 7:58 PM 12/24/2007