Super-Hair.Net: Style Profile

Super-Hair.net

Style Profile

July 2009: Farrah, Feathers and Flips

An admired U.S. actress died of cancer 25 Jun 09 -- admired by many Hair Fans for setting a style trend three decades before. Some considered it a fad, but traces of it live on today.

FARRAH FAWCETT had a style known by several names. Some people called it a "flip," because the ends could be flipped over with an iron. Others called it "feathered back," since the look around the eyes could be compared to feathers on a bird. But the Southern California stylist who created it in 1976 called it "The Farrah," after the woman who made it famous.

In a 2000 Allure magazine interview, Allen Edwards explained the style works best with naturally wavy hair. It's cut in long layers, then the ends are blown dry -- and the key to success is using a round brush. In fact, Edwards called this "the beginning of the round-brush era."

For lovers of Super-Hair, The Farrah was high-risk hair at its finest. Fawcett here depicts one of her classic Charlie's Angels moments -- a chase on a skateboard in a park. A breeze blowing the wrong direction or a quick turn seemingly would doom this style to dropping in Fawcett's eyes. But as we recall, the strands collapsed only as she sat on a park bench. If she used hairspray for hold in scenes like this, Edwards didn't say so in the interview.

Even if wind or a hard day of filming tried to muss the mane, this style still could find a way to hold. Fawcett's flip is noticeably weaker in this photo, yet enough curl remains in the critical area above the left eye and at the edge of the right eye.

HOW WAS "THE FARRAH" COPIED BY CELEBRITIES OVER THE YEARS?

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Is there a particular hairstyle you'd like us to examine? Your suggestions are always welcome. Simply e-mail us at this address: SuperHair@Gmail.com .

Photo courtesies: Inside Edition, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide.

Style Profile archives:

June 2008: Bangs in the Long Run

May 2007: Curls Gone Wild

December 2006: The Do's of Diana

September 2006: ALL-CAPS

May 2006: Mid-Length Masterpieces

December 2005: Permed to Perfection

March 2005: Bangs Swept Away

April 2004: Hair With A Flare

November 2003: The Sidewalls

May 2003: Sideparts With a Twist