Daily Life Timeline

Hairstyle Timeline of India: Oiled Braids → Bob Cut → Salon Styles → Unisex Salons → Home Grooming

In the 1950s almost every Indian girl wore long, oiled hair in neat plaits. Bold women tried bob cuts in the 1970s, city salons brought colour and styling in the 1990s, unisex salon chains and beard culture boomed in the 2010s, and in the 2020s a haircut can be booked on an app and delivered to your doorstep.

This timeline covers champi and Ayurvedic hair oils, shikakai and reetha, gajras and parandis, village barbers, 1950s braids, Dev Anand’s puff and the Sadhana cut, 1970s bobs and beauty parlours, shampoo sachets, 1990s hair colour, film and cricket hairstyles, unisex salon chains, beards, lockdown haircuts, and home grooming apps in the 2020s.

1950s Braids → 1970s Bob 1990s Salons → Unisex Salons 2020s Home Grooming Apps

Why the Hairstyle Story Matters

Hair has deep meaning in India — in religion, marriage, festivals, and identity. How people wear their hair shows changing ideas about beauty, gender, work, and freedom. The journey from the village barber and the family champi to beauty parlours, salon chains, and home grooming apps also reflects India’s changing economy, media, and technology.

Big picture

India’s hairstyle journey in one view

For centuries Indians cared for long hair with oils, herbal cleansers, and flowers, while village barbers served men. Films shaped hairstyles from the 1950s, beauty parlours spread in the 1970s, and liberalisation brought salons, colour, and global brands in the 1990s. Unisex salon chains and men’s grooming grew in the 2000s and 2010s, and the 2020s brought lockdown haircuts and app-booked grooming at home. Related timelines: television, mobile phones, the internet.

1814

Indian “shampooing” reaches Britain

1960

The Sadhana cut craze

2014

At-home services app UrbanClap founded

2020

Lockdown haircuts at home

Split image with a mother combing and braiding her daughter’s long oiled hair beside a bowl of coconut oil in an old courtyard on the left, and a beautician with a portable kit trimming a young woman’s layered hair in a modern living room, with a phone on the table, on the right
From a mother’s oiled braids to an app-booked stylist at home (artistic illustration).

Hairstyles Then vs Now at a Glance

FeatureThenNow
Women’s hairLong, oiled, braided or in a bunAny length — bobs, layers, curls, colour
Men’s hairShort, oiled, side-partedFades, undercuts, long hair, styled beards
CleansingShikakai, reetha, soapShampoos, conditioners, serums
Hair careWeekly champi with home oilsSalon treatments, masks, and oiling revival
ColourHenna for grey hairSalon colour, highlights, home kits
Where men groomedVillage or roadside barberBarbershops, unisex salons, or at home
Where women groomedAt home with familyBeauty parlours, salons, and home services
BookingWalk in and waitPhone call or app
Trend sourceFamily, community, filmsFilms, cricket, Instagram, YouTube
ToolsComb, scissors, razorDryers, straighteners, trimmers, curlers
🌼 AdornmentsAncient – 1946

Oils, Buns & Adornments

Long, well-oiled hair was prized in India for thousands of years. Hair was washed with natural cleansers, massaged with herbal oils, and decorated with flowers and ornaments, while barbers served men in every village. Indian head massage even gave the English language the word “shampoo”.

Heritage room where an older woman ties a jasmine gajra around a young woman’s bun in front of a carved mirror, another woman’s long braid ends in a colourful tasselled parandi, and a brass tray holds a bowl of oil, a wooden comb, shikakai pods, and reetha nuts
A jasmine gajra, a tasselled parandi, oil, shikakai, and reetha (artistic illustration).
  • Harappan period (c. 2500 BCE): The bronze “Dancing Girl” from Mohenjo-daro wears her hair in a bun, and combs are found at Harappan sites.
  • Ancient and classical times: Ayurvedic texts recommend oils such as amla, bhringraj, and coconut; the Ajanta paintings show elaborate buns and braids decorated with jewels and flowers.
  • 1699: Uncut hair (kesh), covered by a turban, becomes one of the articles of faith for the Sikh Khalsa.
  • 1814: Sake Dean Mahomed opens a “shampooing” bath in Brighton, England; the word comes from the Hindi champo, to press or massage.

Technology

  • Herbal oils: Amla, bhringraj, coconut.
  • Natural cleansers: Shikakai and reetha.
  • Combs and razors: Wood, ivory, iron.

Features

  • Long hair: Beauty and tradition.
  • Flowers: Gajra and parandi.
  • Village barbers: Served every home.
🎀 Braids1947 – 1969

Oiled Braids & Film Puffs

In the 1950s long, oiled plaits were the rule for girls and women, and the weekly champi was a family ritual. Men kept short, oiled hair — until film stars began to set trends, from Dev Anand’s puff to the famous Sadhana cut.

Three schoolgirls in white uniforms with oiled hair in two long plaits tied with red ribbons walking with cloth bags down a tree-lined street, while a mother at a doorway holds a comb and a small bottle of oil
Two oiled plaits with ribbons — the classic 1950s school hairstyle (artistic illustration).
  • 1950s: Most girls and women keep long, oiled hair in one or two plaits or a bun; schoolgirls wear two plaits tied with ribbons, and jasmine or marigold decorates buns.
  • 1950s: Men wear short, oiled, side-parted hair from the local barber; film star Dev Anand’s high puff becomes a much-copied style.
  • 1960: Actress Sadhana’s short fringe in Love in Simla starts the “Sadhana cut” craze among young women.
  • Late 1960s: Bouffant and beehive hairdos worn by heroines such as Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz become party styles, using backcombing, hairpins, and hairpieces.

Technology

  • Bottled hair oils: Household brands.
  • Ribbons and hairpins: Neat plaits.
  • Hair cream: Shiny men’s styles.

Features

  • Long hair norm: For women.
  • Weekly champi: Family ritual.
  • Film trends: Puff and fringe.
✂️ Bob Cut1970 – 1989

Bob Cuts & Beauty Parlours

In the 1970s young women in cities cut their hair into bobs and layers, while young men grew theirs long with thick sideburns. Beauty parlours opened in city neighbourhoods, and cheap shampoo sachets took shampoo to small towns and villages in the 1980s.

1970s beauty parlour where a young woman admires her new chin-length bob in a round mirror as a beautician with scissors stands behind her, another woman sits under a hooded hair dryer, and a young man with long hair and sideburns reads a magazine
A fresh bob cut in a 1970s beauty parlour (artistic illustration).
  • 1970s: Bob cuts and shorter layered styles appear among college and working women in cities, inspired by western fashion and film heroines.
  • 1970s: Young men wear longer hair covering the ears and long sideburns, a look popularised by stars such as Amitabh Bachchan.
  • 1971: Shahnaz Husain opens a herbal beauty salon in Delhi; women’s beauty parlours offering haircuts, threading, and facials spread in cities.
  • 1980s: Low-priced shampoo sachets, pioneered by brands such as Chik, take shampoo to small towns and villages; perms and feathered, blow-dried hair are in fashion.

Technology

  • Hooded dryer: Parlour staple.
  • Perm lotions: Curls that last.
  • Shampoo sachets: One wash, one rupee.

Features

  • Short hair: A bold choice for women.
  • Long hair: For young men.
  • Beauty parlours: New careers for women.
💇 Salons1990 – 2004

Salon Styles & Hair Colour

After the 1991 reforms global hair-care and colour brands arrived, and city salons offered colour, highlights, and blow-dry straightening. Satellite TV, films, and cricket made hairstyles national trends almost overnight, and more men began visiting salons instead of only barbers.

Busy city salon with bulb-lit mirrors where a stylist applies foil highlights to a young woman’s hair, a young man with gelled spiky hair sits in a barber chair, and another woman gets her long hair blow-dried straight, with hairstyle posters on the wall
Highlights, blow-drying, and gelled spikes in a city salon (artistic illustration).
  • 1990s: After liberalisation, global hair-care and colour brands expand in India; salons offer colour, highlights, blow-drying, and straightening.
  • 1990s: Young men use hair gel for spiky styles and start visiting salons; satellite TV and fashion shows spread new looks quickly.
  • 2001: Aamir Khan’s goatee in Dil Chahta Hai starts a trend of styled facial hair.
  • 2003–2004: Salman Khan’s long, centre-parted hair in Tere Naam (2003) is copied across India, and cricketer M. S. Dhoni’s long hair soon becomes famous too.

Technology

  • Professional colour: Highlights and shades.
  • Flat irons: Straight, sleek hair.
  • Hair gel: Spikes and wet looks.

Features

  • Colour craze: Burgundy and highlights.
  • Men in salons: Beyond the barber.
  • Star trends: Films and cricket.
💈 Unisex2005 – 2019

Unisex Salon Chains & Beard Culture

Unisex salon chains where men and women are served side by side spread from big cities to small towns. Men’s grooming boomed — beards, fades, and beard oils — while women chose keratin, smoothening, and colour, often learning styles from YouTube.

Modern unisex salon with backlit mirrors where a stylist shapes a young man’s beard and fade haircut, a female stylist applies a smoothening treatment to a woman’s long hair, and a couple waits on a white sofa
Men and women styled side by side in a unisex salon (artistic illustration).
  • 2000s–2010s: Unisex salon chains such as Naturals (founded in Chennai in 2000), Lakmé Salon, and Jawed Habib expand through franchises into smaller towns.
  • 2008: Aamir Khan’s shaved-head look in Ghajini sets a trend among young men.
  • 2010s: Full beards, fades, and undercuts — popularised by cricketers such as Virat Kohli — fuel men’s grooming brands, beard oils, and trimmers.
  • 2014: UrbanClap is founded, offering at-home beauty and grooming services; keratin, smoothening, and rebonding treatments are popular with women.

Technology

  • Keratin treatments: Smooth, frizz-free hair.
  • Cordless trimmers: Beards at home.
  • Online booking: Reserve a slot.

Features

  • Side by side: Men and women.
  • Franchise chains: Small towns too.
  • Beard culture: Grooming boom.
📱 Home Grooming2020s – Future

Home Grooming Apps

When lockdowns closed salons in 2020, families picked up trimmers and scissors at home. Since then apps have made it normal to book a trained stylist who comes home with a sanitised kit, while natural hair care and traditional oiling have made a comeback.

Apartment balcony where a groomer in a uniform, mask, and gloves trims a man’s hair with an electric trimmer, a portable grooming kit on a folding table, and a woman holding a phone showing a booking app while a small boy watches
A haircut booked on an app and delivered at home (artistic illustration).
  • 2020: COVID-19 lockdowns shut salons for weeks; people cut their own and their family’s hair, and sales of trimmers and home hair-colour kits rise. UrbanClap renames itself Urban Company.
  • 2020s: Apps such as Urban Company and YesMadam send trained beauticians and barbers home; salons reopen with masks, gloves, and single-use capes.
  • 2020s: Curly and natural hair care, sulfate-free and Ayurvedic products, and traditional oiling return as trends; hair donation for cancer patients grows.
  • Future: AI apps that preview a haircut on your photo, scalp-analysis devices, and personalised hair products point to the next chapter.

Technology

  • Booking apps: Salon at your door.
  • AI try-on: Preview a style.
  • Rechargeable trimmers: DIY grooming.

Features

  • Convenience: No waiting.
  • Hygiene: Sanitised kits.
  • Back to roots: Oiling returns.

Traditional Hair Care & Adornments

Practice or itemRegionPurpose
ChampiAll IndiaHead massage with warm oil
Coconut oilSouth India, coastal regionsEveryday hair oil
Amla and bhringraj oilsAll IndiaAyurvedic oils for hair and scalp
Shikakai and reethaAll IndiaNatural hair cleansers
Henna (mehendi)All IndiaNatural colour for grey hair
GajraSouth and West IndiaJasmine string for buns and braids
ParandiPunjabColourful tasselled braid extension
Jadai nagamTamil NaduBridal braid ornament
Kesh and dastarSikh traditionUncut hair covered by a turban
MundanMany Hindu communitiesFirst head-shaving ceremony of a child

Hairstyles That Became Trends

StyleWhenMade popular by
The puff1950s–1960sDev Anand
Sadhana cut (fringe)1960Sadhana in Love in Simla
BouffantLate 1960sSharmila Tagore, Mumtaz
Ear-covering hair and sideburns1970sAmitabh Bachchan
Bob cut1970sCollege and working women, film heroines
Goatee2001Aamir Khan in Dil Chahta Hai
Long centre parting2003Salman Khan in Tere Naam
Long hair2004–2007M. S. Dhoni
Shaved head2008Aamir Khan in Ghajini
Fade and full beard2010sVirat Kohli and other cricketers

From Barber to App: Grooming Services Compared

Elderly barber in a white vest shaving a customer with a straight razor under a large banyan tree, with a mirror nailed to the trunk, a tin tool box, a brass bowl and shaving brush, and another man waiting on a bench with a newspaper
The roadside barber under a tree — still part of Indian street life (artistic illustration).
ServiceWhereTypical servicesCommon from
Village or roadside barberUnder a tree or at homeHaircut, shave, head massageCenturies old
BarbershopSmall town and city shopsHaircuts, shaves, beard trimsEarly 1900s
Beauty parlourCity neighbourhoodsWomen’s haircuts, threading, facials1970s
City salonMarkets and mallsColour, highlights, styling1990s
Unisex salon chainCities and townsEverything for men and women2000s–2010s
At-home app serviceYour own homeHaircuts, colour, grooming, beautyLate 2010s–2020s
DIY groomingYour own homeTrimming, home colour kits2020s (lockdowns)

Hairstyle Timeline Summary

Year / EraMilestone
c. 2500 BCEHarappan “Dancing Girl” with a bun
Ancient timesAyurvedic hair oils; shikakai and reetha
Classical eraElaborate hairstyles in Ajanta paintings
1699Kesh becomes an article of Sikh faith
1814“Shampooing” introduced in Britain
1950sOiled plaits; Dev Anand’s puff
1960The Sadhana cut
Late 1960sBouffant hairdos
1970sBob cuts; long hair for men
1971Shahnaz Husain’s herbal salon in Delhi
1980sShampoo sachets reach villages
1990sSalon colour and highlights
2000Naturals salon chain founded
2001–2003Dil Chahta Hai and Tere Naam trends
2008Ghajini shaved look
2010sUnisex salons and beard culture
2014UrbanClap founded
2020Lockdown haircuts at home
2020sHome grooming apps and natural hair care

Test Your Knowledge

20 quick questions from the hairstyle timeline. Click each question to reveal the answer.

Answer: Champo (to press or massage).

Answer: Sake Dean Mahomed.

Answer: Shikakai and reetha (soapnut).

Answer: In a bun.

Answer: A string of flowers, usually jasmine, worn in the hair.

Answer: A colourful tasselled braid extension from Punjab.

Answer: 1699.

Answer: Two oiled plaits tied with ribbons.

Answer: Dev Anand.

Answer: Love in Simla.

Answer: The 1970s.

Answer: They made shampoo cheap enough for families in small towns and villages.

Answer: Henna (mehendi).

Answer: Dil Chahta Hai.

Answer: Tere Naam.

Answer: A salon that serves both men and women.

Answer: Naturals, Lakmé Salon, or Jawed Habib.

Answer: UrbanClap.

Answer: COVID-19 lockdowns closed salons.

Answer: It shows how a new hairstyle would look on your own photo.

Classroom activity

Students Tasks

Use these prompts for discussion or projects on how Indian hairstyles and grooming changed over time.

Timeline understanding Culture and identity Media influence Oral history
  1. Ask your parents and grandparents how they wore their hair as teenagers and where they got their haircuts.
  2. Make a timeline poster: braids (1950s), bob cut (1970s), salons (1990s), unisex salons (2010s), and home grooming apps (2020s).
  3. Collect old family photos and describe how hairstyles changed from one generation to the next.
  4. Find out how shikakai, reetha, and amla are used in traditional hair care.
  5. Interview a local barber or beautician about how their work has changed.
  6. List three film or sports stars whose hairstyles became trends and explain why.
  7. Discuss how the “shampoo” story shows the exchange of ideas between India and the world.
  8. Compare the cost and convenience of a roadside barber, a salon, and an at-home app service.
  9. Research hair donation and how it helps cancer patients.
  10. Debate: “Home grooming apps are better than going to a salon.”

Continue exploring

Hairstyles changed with television, mobile phones, the internet, and digital services. Explore these connected timelines next.

Television timeline Mobile phones timeline Internet timeline Digital India timeline More India timelines All timelines

Moments Through Visual Stories

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India’s hairstyle journey in pictures — gajras and parandis, 1950s oiled plaits, a 1970s bob, 1990s salon colour, unisex salons, the roadside barber, home grooming, and then versus now.

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Disclaimer: This content is AI-generated for educational purposes and may contain errors or outdated details. For correct and authoritative information, please refer to official and reliable sources such as government publications, manufacturers, museums, and academic references.