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Bad Hair
A hair-raising journey through the era when big was king.
In the beginning, there was the hair. And some of the hair was bad, but it was small. As men and women everywhere worked to improve and increase their lot, however, they stumbled onto some of humankind's most miraculous innovations: spray, gel, mousse, crimping irons, and of course, the perm. With these new tools, people everywhere suddenly found themselves able to coax their lank, lifeless tresses toward glorious new heights. The age of big hair had begun.
Now, the greatest of these bouffants, afros, rakes, beehives, and Flock-of-Seagulls have been plucked from their spots in hairdressers' windows and given the respect they so clearly demand. Bigger and badder than you ever dreamed possible, Big Hair goes out to all those people of yesteryear who were unafraid to think BIG.
In the beginning, there was the hair. And some of the hair was bad, but it was small. As men and women everywhere worked to improve and increase their lot, however, they stumbled onto some of humankind's most miraculous innovations: spray, gel, mousse, crimping irons, and of course, the perm. With these new tools, people everywhere suddenly found themselves able to coax their lank, lifeless tresses toward glorious new heights. The age of big hair had begun.
Now, the greatest of these bouffants, afros, rakes, beehives, and Flock-of-Seagulls have been plucked from their spots in hairdressers' windows and given the respect they so clearly demand. Bigger and badder than you ever dreamed possible, Big Hair goes out to all those people of yesteryear who were unafraid to think BIG.
- GenresNonfictionHumor
128 pages, Hardcover
First published November 18, 2002
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19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 19, 2019
OMG did men really look like this? These were hairstyles??? How did they ever get laid? Or perhaps they were going with ladies who looked like this Big Hair? . It is quite funny and would make a good gift for a Dad who looked like this in his youth.
June 4, 2009
Originally published in "ffwd Weekly"
When we think of a book, even a picture book, it’s usually got words to describe the pictures. But not every text is made up of words. Many texts in our everyday world are devoid of words – the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the photos in our newspapers – so why not publish a picture book that’s word free?
James Innes-Smith and Henrietta Webb seem to have struck on the perfect concept for their picture book – bad hair. It’s a tour through the worst hair cuts of the seventies – the craziest, spookiest or just plain goofiest dos ever styled. Whether it’s the boys growing their facial hair until it meets the hair on their head or the girls turning their hair into organic hats, bad hair is a thorough examination of follicle idiocy.
The first time through bad hair it’s impossible not to laugh out loud. Some hair cuts border on the mythical. One of the male models actually looks like an hedgehog caught sleeping on his wood shavings, and every single female looks like a reject from a fifties sci-fi movie, too unbelievable to do battle with Flash Gordon and too frightening to woo Buck Rodgers.
The second time through, however, the pictures reveal something less than humorous. This book isn’t really an attack on bad hair and the geeks who were foolish enough to sport horrendous hair-dos. Instead, it’s a celebration of bad taste and the popular culture that turns everything that’s shabby – like TJ Hooker and the Care Bears– into gold.
This book is oblivious to the fact that there is something wrong with a society that produces the leisure and riches which make this kind of self-indulgence possible. This is a celebration of the rich few, a celebration of hedonistic self-expression, a celebration of hair products and bad clothes. The coifs in this book could never be maintained by the average Joe. During their decade, these hair cuts were the height of fashion worn by only the cool few, not the uncool many.
But bad hair is offering another, slightly less troubling, disservice to its readers – or, rather, viewers: it is practically begging moronic, retro-boys and retro-girls to revive the tacky, hair product-heavy, missile defense shield style hair-dos of the past.
So if you see a boy who looks like he’s stolen a David Cassidy wig or a girl whose forehead covering braids have holes for her eyes to peek through, you’ll know you’ve seen someone who has taken Innes-Smith and Webb’s book way too seriously. The only thing for it is to follow them home, knock them over the head (if you can penetrate the force field of their hair spray) and steal bad hair from the top of their toilet.
Think of it as an humanitarian act, an act of mercy, an act of protest.
Stamp out bad hair!
When we think of a book, even a picture book, it’s usually got words to describe the pictures. But not every text is made up of words. Many texts in our everyday world are devoid of words – the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the photos in our newspapers – so why not publish a picture book that’s word free?
James Innes-Smith and Henrietta Webb seem to have struck on the perfect concept for their picture book – bad hair. It’s a tour through the worst hair cuts of the seventies – the craziest, spookiest or just plain goofiest dos ever styled. Whether it’s the boys growing their facial hair until it meets the hair on their head or the girls turning their hair into organic hats, bad hair is a thorough examination of follicle idiocy.
The first time through bad hair it’s impossible not to laugh out loud. Some hair cuts border on the mythical. One of the male models actually looks like an hedgehog caught sleeping on his wood shavings, and every single female looks like a reject from a fifties sci-fi movie, too unbelievable to do battle with Flash Gordon and too frightening to woo Buck Rodgers.
The second time through, however, the pictures reveal something less than humorous. This book isn’t really an attack on bad hair and the geeks who were foolish enough to sport horrendous hair-dos. Instead, it’s a celebration of bad taste and the popular culture that turns everything that’s shabby – like TJ Hooker and the Care Bears– into gold.
This book is oblivious to the fact that there is something wrong with a society that produces the leisure and riches which make this kind of self-indulgence possible. This is a celebration of the rich few, a celebration of hedonistic self-expression, a celebration of hair products and bad clothes. The coifs in this book could never be maintained by the average Joe. During their decade, these hair cuts were the height of fashion worn by only the cool few, not the uncool many.
But bad hair is offering another, slightly less troubling, disservice to its readers – or, rather, viewers: it is practically begging moronic, retro-boys and retro-girls to revive the tacky, hair product-heavy, missile defense shield style hair-dos of the past.
So if you see a boy who looks like he’s stolen a David Cassidy wig or a girl whose forehead covering braids have holes for her eyes to peek through, you’ll know you’ve seen someone who has taken Innes-Smith and Webb’s book way too seriously. The only thing for it is to follow them home, knock them over the head (if you can penetrate the force field of their hair spray) and steal bad hair from the top of their toilet.
Think of it as an humanitarian act, an act of mercy, an act of protest.
Stamp out bad hair!
May 19, 2024
I suppose this is what many would call a stocking filler/bach book/toilet read/reception book - depending on where you are or whatever?...This short book offers us a small and curious journey which seems part retro-part grooming parlour visit, as we get a short and dated collection of wonderful and in many cases creative hairstyles from back in the day.
It would have been nice to have some text in here, to give it some angle, shape or intent, but instead this just feels like nothing more than a lazy, token collection of old random photos put together and put out there?...
It would have been nice to have some text in here, to give it some angle, shape or intent, but instead this just feels like nothing more than a lazy, token collection of old random photos put together and put out there?...
January 20, 2009
This is a great coffee table or bathroom book!!
August 1, 2024
When you look at the pictures in the book you don't see anything remarkable. There are no bad hair pictures that will make you laugh because all the pictures are from the same bland, dated, safe source. I would expect to see florence henderson in there or britney spears or some hairstylist mistakes. You will do far better googling bad hair pics then looking at this book. Hard pass.
May 25, 2018
Because even I am a fan of looking at pictures of bad hair...and I am slacking on my Goodreads reading challenge so I need to rack up some books.
August 3, 2020
I guess everything is subjective
September 19, 2022
Some of this hair is good. Some of this hair is artsy (to varying levels of success).
All in all, most of this book fails to give me the "OMG" that it should.
All in all, most of this book fails to give me the "OMG" that it should.
July 12, 2024
Funny stuff, its mainly a picture book. Wish it was more color photos than B&W.
October 29, 2008
The pictures were quite funny, but it was a very small book filled ONLY with pictures. I think this could've been better if maybe they had people comment on their hair do and why or how they styled it in that manner. All in all this book has very little substance. I also was expecting to see more female hairdos but the male hairdos took up most of the book. Kinda disappointing.
October 25, 2008
Ok, this is really just a coffee table book full of pictures of bad hair, but I'm not ashamed to admit that it just takes some pictures of old, outdated hairstyles to make me laugh my ass off. I only gave it three stars because, due to the lack of words, it's impossible to actually read it.
Want to read
May 31, 2008...this looks highly entertaining
Read
July 7, 2008Read and be happy you do not look like this.
Do you?
Do you?
July 31, 2012
Can't recommend this enough.
August 20, 2015
Too verbose, wordy, difficult to follow.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews