It was rare to find someone without feathered hair in the 1970s. In the 1980s, bangs were a part of the required uniform. Past generations are known for their iconic, and quite restrictive, hair trends, from the beehive to the ‘Rachel’.

Popular hair styles among students at San Luis Obispo High School are diverse and nod to nearly every decade in the last fifty years.

  “It’s great that people have the freedom to do what they want with their hair, but at the same time some of the latest haircuts are really bad,” said junior Simon Marks.

  In the time of COVID-19, trends are flying by faster due to the world’s larger than ever online presence. One fascinating phenomenon among these trends is the ever-expansive world of hair. While popular hairstyles of the twentieth century remained very specific within each decade, today’s generation of trending haircuts are all over the map, looking back to several different eras for inspiration.

  Mod, flared, shoulder-length bobs have made a comeback that take inspiration from iconic looks from the ‘60s. ‘70s fringe bangs are extremely popular this year, and we can’t leave out that the best-worst haircut from the ‘80s is exploding across the globe: the ever-polarizing mullet. Even styles from the 90’s and early 2000’s are being popularized again, like chunky highlights, lots of layering, and the blunt bob. 

  For senior Maggie Zuniga, broadening the hair spectrum is a way of allowing people to be themselves.

“There are so many people who are finding new ways to express themselves using trends of the past. I for one have some fashion choices specific to the 60s and 70s and I’ve never felt more like myself” said Zuniga.

  But why have hair trends become so diverse during quarantine? According to Zuniga, it’s a way of looking back at better times.

“There’s so much stuff that sucks going on right now that people are looking to other eras for any kind of good stuff,” said Zuniga.

In order to get past the hardships the world is going through right now, people can use hair as an outlet for their boredom and desire to self express. 

  Retro hairstyles can remind one of times when people fought and overcame their own struggles: the Vietnam War in the ‘60s through ‘70s, nuclear war scares in the ‘80s, and severe unemployment in the early ‘90s. Harking back to those eras is a reminder that the current environment is temporary, and hair is a way to tie that nostalgia with a form of escapism from the current state of the world.