Hey guys! I was watching Welcome Back Kotter, and in the fourth season (1978-79), most of the men have cut their hair shorter, as opposed to the extra long hair of the early mid-70s. Was it because of the Travolta effect or what. By Travolta effect, I meant his hairstyle in Saturday Night Fever. Also, another thing I have noticed, is that the '8' year in every decade, always seems to be a more modern version and also gives hint of the following decade.

Long hair had quite a long stretch by then. With punk coming into style, a more conservative era on the horizon, and the 'hippies' growing out of their first youth, hair went shorter, and started going towards a more sculpted look.

Changed the topic title to include more decades, as this is a really interesting discussion- hair and the styles over the decades- the whats and the whys.  :)

80's hair (mainly 85-89) would be perms, crimped hair, spiky hair, frosted tips (contrary to popular opinion this style did not originate in the mid-late 90s), mullets, new wavey fringes and sometimes just basic short hair:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/73/50/39/735039292899018427d40d5fc0926242--dave-gahan-depeche-mode.jpg

http://images.more.mdpcdn.com/sites/more.com/files/styles/slide/public/ss10_Patrick_Swayze_Celebs_With_Mullets.jpg

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/weird-science-ht-jpo-170927_16x9_992.jpg

https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/6x3_ajNJK75zebQ5k261NTj3JcM/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2017/07/16/258/n/1922283/788e595fe53c0411_PSDBIID_EC004_H/i/Billy-Idol.JPG

http://www.madonnarama.com/artworks/posts/20110308-picture-madonna-ken-regan-1985.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a0/e2/34/a0e23427047e9584150c0b708a22245e--s-hairstyles-hairstyle-photos.jpg

http://domfreechep.us/image/1508157/17-best-ideas-about-80s-hairstyles-on-pinterest-80s-hair-80s-1980s-fashion-trends.jpg?1516620873

https://consequenceofsound.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/bill-and-ted.jpg?quality=80&w=807

Early 60s:

Women - Hairspray starts to get pretty common, but it's used mostly for short cuts.
https://img.discogs.com/m9SuXtztGU9iPv6sphetm6DNKvw=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/A-325081-1132568572.jpeg.jpg
This look becomes a lot more popular around 1963:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c1/Hairspray.jpg

Men - Indistinguishable from the '50s.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/The_Wanderer.png

Mid-60s:

Women - Clearly distinguishable from the 1950s. Hairspray is still popular, but flip-dos and bobs rule. Average hair length length is longer than the early '60s, but still trailing the late '60s and '70s.
http://time-was.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/1964-FASH-FEAT.jpg

Men - Some hold on to their short cuts, but mostly, this period is all about the Liverpool bob cut, popularized by the Beatles.
http://www.tvworthwatching.com/werts/monkees-1966.jpg

Late 60s:

Women - Mostly pretty similar to the mid-60s, but hair length is generally longer, especially with the hippie culture being much more prominent.
https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/TEEN-magazine-Feb-1968-23a.jpg

Men - Overall pretty similar to the mid-60s, but the Liverpool shag is a bit more common now and some opt to grow facial hair, mostly sideburns.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/16/32/f4/1632f48681d56eea8584ed1873db9666.jpg

Early 70s:

Women - Hairspray starts to decline in popularity. Most women have either mid-length or long hair, but it's generally straightened and not blow-dry shaggy like later in this decade. Curly styles are a bit more a thing.
http://pzrservices.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451ccbc69e201156f66b068970c-pi

Men - Facial hair becomes quite a bit more common outside the counterculture. Mostly dominated by the same swoop style that got pretty big in the late '60s, otherwise.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2641/3860068933_b2ebf7268c_b.jpg

Mid-70s:

Women - Hair is wavier than it was in the early '70s but overall pretty tame in length. Afros are also becoming quite popular in the black community.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/45/51/fe/4551fe901471683fddbfbfafde717594--fashion-for-women-s-fashion.jpg

Men - Mustaches continue to be quite popular. Don't expect too much of a change until the MTV era.
http://www.foreignmego.com/plaid/plaidstallions.jpg

Late 70s:

Women - Got a lot of blowdried hair, amidst other, curlier looks.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/18/ff/4d/18ff4dfd27819b49e9cfc0d59f189dfd--s-fashion-vintage-fashion.jpg
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2854/9167154398_96a80288d1_c.jpg

Men - Mostly more of the same.
https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/MDS01823.jpg

I may do the '80s to the present later.

Late '70s - Farah Fawcett

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Farrah_Fawcett_1977.JPG

https://hairstoryonline.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/drake-2013-05-18-300x300.png

Wow, I can't believe Drake pulled this style off.  :o

Late '70s - Farah Fawcett

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Farrah_Fawcett_1977.JPG


That’s a late ‘70s and early ‘80s hairdo.

Late '70s - Farah Fawcett

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Farrah_Fawcett_1977.JPG


Yep! First saw this lady in Logans Run - 1976. Can (barely) remember my aunt flipping over it and wanting it. Soon everywhere you turn in the late seventies, the Farrah feathered style was everywhere.
https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Farrah-Logans-Run-color-1280x1910.jpg

Edited to add: Also Charlies Angels came out same year, but I first remember her from Logan's Run.

In the 1960s the flip was popular.

From Dark Shadows:

https://darkshadowseveryday.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/270-dark-shadows-bad-carolyn.jpg

From That Girl:
http://gravybread.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/marlo-that-girl-color-crop.JPG

Even the logo to the show had the signature hairdo.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pA2t0LQSoIU/maxresdefault.jpg

As a kid, I always wanted that style but my hair NEVER held. I didn't realize that in order to have it hold, you need to use a can of hairspray on it. I always hated hairspray.

Then came the '70s. Dorothy Hamill's haircut became popular after the '76 Olympics.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/88/e6/5d/88e65d263f5cbea59e89b4095852e117.jpg

I didn't want that one because it was short. I ALWAYS wanted long hair.

Then came the feathered hair. As others have already mentioned, Farrah Fawcett increased the popularity of this do. I had this for a while but man, it was a pain. Your hair was layered which meant it wasn't easy to put it up-which I did for dance and when I was in uniform.


Oh, and I do remember Logan's Run.


Cat

Also, during the mid-and late 60s, I don't really think the Beatles hairstyle spilled over the youth. Many were still seen in conservative cuts probably until 1969. Take a look at Jay Leno's, Richard Gere's, Donald Trump's and even Ted Danson's senior pics, as they all graduated around the mid-late 60s. People with long hair in the 60s, were still seen as crazy hippies. In the 70s, long hair was more widespread.


It is a country difference. The "mod" style (from which Beatles hair is derived) was huge in Britain. It was Bob cuts for women and Liverpool shag for guys, especially among youth.

A 1960s hairstyle people are forgetting is the Beehive. It got popular in the late 1950s and took the world by storm, and was popular until 1967/1968 or so.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-enveh2xeWDI/VIjPzm5FKSI/AAAAAAAALxs/h9ra_UCxdHM/s1600/Gallery-Beehive-Images.jpg

Men's hair started becoming shorter in 1976 and 77, mainly as a result of disco and punk, a reaction against what had come before. By 1978 long hair on men really seemed to be an anachronism of sorts. Even long haired bands from the 60s who were enjoying big successes in the 70s started cutting their hair and appearing more streamlined or coiffed so as not to appear outdated. I noticed this happening at the time and was a bit dismayed, liking long hair as I did at the time, but life goes on. And on and on.  :)