Whether you're a shoulder-length conservative or you like to clip it back, hairstyles are something that change with the times. One year, it might be the "in thing" to wear braids or cornrows... the next, may be pony tails high on your head or some wildly teased hair from something out of a horror show. No matter what the style, one thing remains unchanged. People continue to wear styles pertinent to their time, their idea of what's "in," their likes and dislikes. We are a very eclectic, fussy bunch of hair types.

The first settlers to the United States, the Puritans, having come from England, were a very conservative people. The hairstyles the people wore then were based, primarily, on political/or religious beliefs. It was an idea of the Puritans that anyone with long, flowing hair was "uncomely" or not a person for the "greater good." A law was actually passed, when the Puritans gained respective power, banning anyone from wearing long locks. Instead, they wore short, tailored cuts, a sure sign of their staunch, christian beliefs.

The 18th century, though, changed this idea of conservativeness vastly. People began wearing wigs, hair extensions, crimping and powdering their hair. It was acceptable now for men to wear their locks long, flowing or tied back... au natural, or powdered gray or white. Women, too, took hair to new heights... literally, speaking. They began styling their hair with cushions, padding, wire... anything to get it high upon their heads. By the end of the 18th century, though, men began searching for a simpler way to style their dos.

If mens hairstyles were to change, women's remained right along with their former, elegant and royal styles. They continued the up-dos... adding new styles, like chignons, braids, curls and wigs. By the end of this century, the women had added new height to their dos. They began using hair extensions to create a top knot that would sit on their heads. This style later became known as the "Gibson Girl."

In the early 1800's, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Butler was court-martialed for favoring the longer hair style, disobeying General James Wilkinson's decree that military men's hair should be short. In another similar incident, James Palmer, who wore a beard, moved to Massachusetts. Palmer outraged the people of Fitchburg so much, that he was assulted, denied communion from the local church and jailed.

At around the same time as Palmer's dilemma, Walt Whitman, one of America's greatest poets, began wearing a beard. Beards then became so commonplace that, in 1853, the War Department issued regulations approving the once-controversial hair style. General Ambrose Burnside wore a sideburns during this time, which later gave him the nickname "Sideburns." By the end of the 1800's, however, this newly-approved style faded with the sun.

Fast-forward to the 20th century, which many of us have lived through. Hairstyles during this century became popular due to the social revolution. Women began to experience much more freedom in regards to their locks, than in centuries past. In the "Roarin' 20's," women experimented with the short bob. The 60's brought long, flowing locks back in... along with the ideas of peace, freedom and liberty. The Black Liberation Movement (during the late 60's/early 70's)- with their "Black is Beautiful!" motto- ushered a new type of hair freedom... the Afro. In previous centuries, fashionable African-American hair had to be "conked," or chemically treated to straighten the natural, tight curl. From the 80's onward, though, black Americans showed a renewed interest in their African roots, by wearing braids.

Generally speaking, the remainder of the 20th century gave freedom to people and their hair that had never been seen before. Styles have come and gone. One day, a certain hair style is "in," the next year... it may not be. We are living in the midst of freedom... social freedoms, religious freedom, freedom to wear what we want and to listen to the music we want, freedom to date/marry who we want and the freedom to say no to something we don't want to do. Along with these freedoms, and the tendency we have to pick and choose... we will also pick and choose our hairstyles. "Hair today, gone tomorrow!"