Hair in the Psychedelic 60s & 70s

Men's hair in the 60's and 70's was a big thing. From blow drying to bobbing to sideburns, we did it all.

The 1950s had been an era of extreme clean-shavenness; in movies of the time, a 5 o'clock shadow was a visual shorthand for intoxication or derangement. In the 1960s and '70s young men threw off the shackles of conformity, facial hair, including moustaches, sideburns, goatees, Van Dykes, soul patches, mutton or lamb chops and other creative topiary, was a means of free expression and identity. The '70s saw massive sideburns and pimpish moustaches. If you could grow it on your face, you had free rein to do so.

Justin, you remember Justin Case, Termination Agent subcontracted by the Tin Can Communications Company and his friends? Well they were not immune to the fashion influences of the day in Chasing the Wendigo and upcoming Chasing the Golem. Justin kept a well manicured corporate beard while Whall sported a bushy pair of mutton chops and Saul wore a meticulously groomed moustache.

Facial Hair Trivia

The term "sideburn" is derived from the unusual facial hairstyle worn by American Civil War General Ambrose Burnside. Burnside was a Union Army General, United States Senator and the first president of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The goatee style dates back to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The god Pan was traditionally depicted with goat-like features, including a goatee. When Christianity became the dominant religion and began copying imagery from pagan myth, Satan was given the likeness of Pan, leading to Satan traditionally being depicted with a goatee in medieval art and Renaissance art.

A Van Dyke (sometimes spelled Vandyke or Van Dyck) is a style of facial hair named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641). A Van Dyke specifically consists of any growth of both a moustache and goatee with all hair on the cheeks shaved. This particular style has many variants, including a curled moustache versus a non-curled one and a soul patch versus none. The style is sometimes called a "Charlie" after King Charles I of England, who was painted with this type of beard by van Dyck. "Pike-devant" or "pickedevant" are other little-known synonyms for a Van Dyke beard stemming from the French "pique devant" meaning simply "front spike".

Celebrities' Tonsorial Statements

It probably goes without saying that plenty of celebrities also made their own personal statements with facial hair.

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll! You won’t find many pictures of Elvis in a full beard, but he could always be counted on for sporting sideburns.

Sam Elliott, an American actor, his thick moustache, deep and resonant voice led to frequent roles as a cowboy and/or rancher.

Bob Denver portrayed a beatnik and proto-hippie Maynard G. Krebs, on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, wore a basic goatee.

Frank Zappa, an American musician, composer, activist and filmmaker, his work was characterized by nonconformity, which supported his moustache and soul patch statement.

Mike Nesmith, an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist and businessman; probably best known for being a member of the pop rock band The Monkees, enjoyed showing off his sideburns.

Rollie Fingers, Oakland A’s Pitcher, sported a handlebar moustache. He showed up at spring training one year, fully expecting his coach to make him shave it off before the season started. To his surprise, the owner of the Oakland A’s liked it and thought it would be a great gimmick for the team. After that, several of his teammates jumped on board and grew their own moustaches. The next 3 seasons, 1972, 1973 and 1974, the A’s won the World Series! They were sure it was the moustaches.

Burt Reynolds, the late American actor, claimed that after he started sporting his moustache he started getting better roles in movies and better leading ladies.

John Lennon of The Beatles was easily recognized with his wild mutton chop sideburns.

Hair

Interestingly, an entire rock musical devoted to hair made its debut Off Broadway in 1967 called, what else, Hair. The musical’s title song, Hair, begins as character Claude slowly croons his reason for his long hair, as tribe-mate Berger joins in singing " But don't ask me why/cuz he don't know." They lead the tribe, singing "Give me a head with hair," "as long as God can grow it," listing what they want in a head of hair and their uses for it. Later the song takes the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with the tribe punning "Oh say can you see/ my eyes if you can/Then my hair’s too short!"

In fact, there is even a World Beard and Moustache Championship overseen by the World Beard and Moustache Association! There are sixteen traditional categories arranged in three groups – Moustaches, Partial Beards, and Full Beards.

The history of the competition is shrouded in controversy. One Italian group claims that it held the first championships in Northern Italy in the early 1970′s; it seems more likely that a modern competitive bearding event began with a 1990 event organized and hosted by the First Höfener Beard Club in its hometown Höfen/Enz, Germany, a small village in the Black Forest. In 1995, the same club hosted the second World Beard and Moustache Championships in the nearby city of Pforzheim.

After 1995, local beard clubs in Northern Europe began organizing international competitions every two years.

History and fads seem to run in cycles and usually come back around at some point. Here we are in 2022 and facial hair for men is coming back in a big way. It is very common now to see young men with full beards.

Let me just say that facial hair should be worn responsibly, guys. Please don’t forget that the “neck beard” is just not cool… ever! Unless you are among the stereotypical overweight, unkempt internet user, nerd, gamer, or geek subculture living in your parents' basement.