You can’t deny it. You have class pictures from elementary school and high school yearbooks to prove it. Odds are, you have committed at least one of the following scary hairstyle crimes, err, trends. If you’re still stuck in one of these styles, it’s time for a makeover.

Freakishly high bangs

The trend of molding one’s bangs into a weapon-like mass, which stood five or more inches straight up from one’s forehead began in the early 1990s. This look was mostly sported by teenage girls and the higher and harder the bangs were the better.

To accomplish this style, one tipped her (or his) head upside down while blow drying and then using a curling iron to add unnatural height. Then, the bangs were sprayed to death with aerosol hairspray, usually Aqua Net. I remember leaving the house in the morning thinking how stupid I looked because I could only get mine up a few inches.

Mullets

We have Neanderthal man to blame for creating this unflattering hairstyle. The hair was sculpted into the classic mullet shape to tame the hair — buzzed short on top and kept long and scraggly on the bottom. Other ancient people wore variations of mullets as a way to identify their membership in a certain tribe.

When this style came back into fashion in the 1980s, mulleted hair had no practical function except to appear stylish, or so we somehow believed. It would be nice if this hairstyle has been put to rest permanently two decades ago, but unfortunately, white trash and fashion-clueless people are still rocking this look today.

Source: fortunecity.co.uk/southbank/pottery/3/mullethistory.html

Rat tails

Now, appropriately following the mullet is the streamlined version: a rat tail. The longer part of the mullet is contained within a thin “tail” of hair, which could range in length from a couple of inches to a couple of feet. Men, and even some women, embraced this look and styled their rat tails with braids and curls. Like the mullet and skunky contrasting highlights, some people just won’t let this look die.

Crimped hair

Like so many other evils in the world, Barbara Streisand is at the root of crimped hair. Geri Cusensa invented the modern crimping iron in 1972 for Streisand’s already unruly hair.

In the 1980s, teenage girls got a hold of their very own crimping irons, or “crimpers,” which gave their hair a zigzag pattern. Crimpers are still used today to accomplish softer-edged looks. Another way of achieving this look without frying your hair: braid hair when wet, then let it down when it’s dry.

Source: hairboutique.com/tips/tip100.htm

Hair scrunchies

All of the girls wore scrunchies and usually they had one to match every outfit. Scrunchies were fabric-covered hair ties that came in different colors, textures and fabrics like velvet, lace and plain-old cotton.

One could wear one or several and in the late 1980s and 1990s the highly visible scrunchie look was in. Super-crafty women even sewed their own scrunchies, and some women even wore one around their wrists just in case they needed an extra.

At the turn of the century, we finally learned that when it comes to hair accessories, less is more, and we did away with the bunchy fabric and stuck with subtle hair bands.

Source: apparelsearch.com/definitions/Fashion/1990FashionHistory.htm

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