Everyone Had This Hairstyle In The '80s & It's Time For A Comeback

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In the 1980s, style mavens often followed one key piece of advice: Go big or go home. We saw it in the details of their wardrobes, from voluminous shoulder pads to corset belts, but this ethos was the most obvious in the hair trends. Think choppy layered mullets and wolf cuts, round brushed hair, teased high ponytails, and barrel curls full of body. Men and women alike reached for height and volume in their manes, which often featured bouncy curls, short spiky layers at the crown, and a whole lot of teasing. Celebrities like Stevie Nicks and Tina Turner set the tone for the era of big, unapologetic hair energy, and it's time we revived it. 

Trends in the first half of the 2020s were refined by all things muted and subdued in the name of quiet luxury, so we're tipping the scale back to '80s-inspired maximalist hair that is bold and loud. And red carpet hairstylist Luna Viola believes that this starts with a strategic cut in the salon chair. "If someone is new to big hair, I'd steer them toward long layers with a soft blow out," she advises in an exclusive chat with Glam. "Specifically: long soft layers without losing the length, face framing pieces, and a bouncy blow out with volume at the crown." There were many places you could take your 'do in the '80s, but Viola points out that the styles favoring ultra-short or excessive layering, like mullets and wolf cuts, can end up looking too intense in the modern era.

Cutting your hair with an '80s-inspired silhouette in mind is an important first step, but the magic really happens with styling at home. Viola has a few tips on this front, noting that volume should always be the goal. 

The best way to evoke the 1980s these days is with curls, which were iconic throughout the decade. Luna Viola says that you don't even need naturally curly hair to create this look at home, just some standard products and tools. Stiff, teased hair is one of the things that people actually found attractive in the '80s, but thankfully, you don't need to even think about backcombing when creating the modern iteration of vintage big hair. 

As a rule of thumb, always begin styling with damp hair. "Apply a root lifting product spray especially at the crown," Viola shares exclusively with Glam, adding that Rōz Root Lift Spray is her product of choice. "Blow dry the hair lifting the roots with your brush to build volume." Once you've dried all your hair this way, Viola says to "use a medium barrel iron, curling sections away from the face, and pin each curl, letting it set for 20 minutes." It's still worth learning once and for all how to curl your hair with a straightener, but for this look in particular, we need more rounded and defined curls than the flat iron tends to produce. Next, unpin your curls and use a styling powder (Viola recommends KMS AddVolume Styling Powder) on your roots. You can gently brush out the curls with a wide-tooth comb to avoid the overly structured "ringlet" look. The result will be big, voluminous hair that's full of bounce and body, clearly inspired by the '80s but with a slightly more refined contemporary edge.

Want to take your '80s style inspo a step further, from your hair to your wardrobe? Take a look at our favorite ways to bring '80s trends into our 2026 outfits.