The Swinging Sixties shook up more than just the political landscape of the United Kingdom, it mobilized a generation of youth whose pursuits created a platform of change that shaped the rest of the century. Teens and young adults looked to actors and musicians to define their political ideas as well as their style, altering their tresses to emulate the changing tides of opinion.

In the early 60’s, the United States’ First Lady Jackie Kennedy took hair to new heights by popularizing the bouffant; a curled and highly teased hairstyle. The original bouffant became more complex by the mid 60’s, as hairstyles for women climbed even higher, culminating into the classic beehive, a hairstyle that required a revolutionary new product known as hairspray, and sometimes a hair piece dyed to match the wearer’s hair. Men in the early 60’s began to grow their crew cuts out, and many created a variation of the female bouffant themselves, with hair combed back and to the side, styled with a wave.

Support for feminism, civil rights, and social change gathered momentum as the 60’s wore on. Protests against the Vietnam War lead to an emphasis on peace and equality, causing the strings of traditional, conservative fashion to slowly unravel. In the latter part of the 1960s, many women joined the workforce, abandoning the time consuming beehive for softer, easier hairstyles, such as the flip hairdo. As women began to see themselves as equals in society, some adopted short, cropped cuts traditionally worn by men, putting a feminine spin on modern masculinity. British supermodel Twiggy donned one of these cropped, angular cuts, moving hairstyles away from the curls craze to straighter, sleeker hair. Following the lead of popular singer Cher, some women began to grow their hair out, opting for long tresses that were either ironed straight, or loose and wavy, played up by headbands and barrettes. Influenced by the Beatles’ mop tops, young men grew out their hair into shaggy dos, choosing a messy, less styled look that represented their rebellion against the rigidity of the previous decades.

As the 1960s came to an end in the UK, hairstyles for men and women alike was moving towards the long and free flowing hippie hair that characterized the 1970s.