Hairy Styles Trivia Quiz

Answer: mostly male

The comb over is associated with male-pattern baldness, where the top of the head has little or no hair. The remaining hair is grown long on one side, then the long hair arranged to lie sideways over the crown, reducing the amount of skin that is visible. I won't even try to list some familiar faces that have sported this style - just watch the evening news on television almost any day.

People have put a lot of effort into being creative with the comb over, making it look more natural. In 1977 Donald and Frank Smith were awarded a US patent for their technique which conceals baldness by growing long hair all around the head and dividing it into three sections, each of which is combed in a different direction.

While some balding women use a comb over technique, they are far more likely to have overall thinning of the hair, rather than crown baldness, and comb overs do not work in that case.

Answer: mostly male

Its alternative nickname of G.I. haircut will tell you that this cut is predominantly sported by men. It allows a bit of creativity of style, while being consistent with the hair length requirements associated with military service. The hair on top of the head is cut short so that it can stand up, rather than falling over. The hairs at the front are usually somewhat longer than at the back, allowing the creation of a short pomp (section that appears to be elevated). The back and sides are tapered, with varying lengths given different designations. The style had widespread popularity in the 1920s-'30s, and again after World War II when returned servicemen continued to sport the style. The '60s saw a swing to longer hair, but crewcuts returned to favor in the 1980s.

The crew cut is thought to have gained its name from the crew (rowing) teams of Ivy League universities, as the short hair did not blow into their faces as they competed with both hands on the oars, when they could not wipe it clear. Competitors in other sports had their own styles: football players in the 19th century, for example, grew their hair long and thick, to provide some protection; the introduction of football helmets reduced this imperative, and their hair once again became shorter and easier to maintain. In French, a crew cut is called 'coupe à la brosse' (cut like a brush), comparing the top of the hair to the bristles of a brush. The Russians call it a hedgehog, another prickly comparison.

Answer: both genders

This hairstyle, which is short in the front and long in the back, has been around for a long time - it was described in the 6th century by Procopius of Caesarea, an affectation he attributed to young men being influenced by the Huns, for whom a hairstyle that kept the face clear while providing warmth for the neck was quite practical. Descriptions of Europeans' first meetings with a range on indigenous peoples also suggest they had haircuts similar to what we now call a mullet.

The hairstyle had widespread popularity during the second half of the 20th century, sported by David Bowie in the 1970s and the television character MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) during the 1980s, its peak of popularity. While it was everywhere, the cut did not have a specific name. Then, according to the OED, the term was "apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by American hip-hop group the Beastie Boys" in songs including 1994's 'Mullet Head'. This term of derision is an insult used to describe someone who lacks common sense - you can see it used by Mark Twain in 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' (1884).

The Beastie Boys were not alone in poking fun at the "business in front, party at the back" hairstyle. In 1997, Pansy Division released 'Hockey Hair'; in 1998 the Vandals gave us 'I've Got an Ape Drape'. But the mullet hasn't gone away - in 2013 Rihanna made news when she sported a mullet at New York Fashion Week.

Answer: both genders

Bleaching parts of one's hair to provide a contrast in color to the rest of one's hair has special names depending on how the contrast is made. Streaking, for example, is done on hair that is long enough so that a visible blond strip has an impact. Frosting describes a style in which the hair is cut short and formed into spikes, with the hair bleached to make just the tips of each spike be pale blond. While streaking started as a female style, and frosted tips as male, they are now both worn by both genders.

Variants on this look include dying the bleached tips with color (red, pink, purple, green, blue) and thawed tips, in which the tips are made darker than the rest of the hair. This is popular with natural blondes, on whom frosted tips would not be noticeable; those with darker hair need to have it all bleached before darkening the tips again.

Other variants, such as inverted or "thawed" tips, where dark highlights are applied to the gelled ends of the person's hair that is otherwise heavily bleached, also exist.

Answer: mostly female

This hairstyle, popular in the 1960s, required a lot of backcombing and teasing of the hair so that it could be arranged in a vertical cylinder on top of the head, usually sloping slightly towards the back of the skull. It then resembled (with some imagination) the shape of a traditional beehive or (the source of its alternative name B-52) the nose of an airplane. It was first officially developed in 1960 by Margaret Vinci Heldt, who had been asked by a hair magazine to come up with a style for the new generation. She took the bouffant style to a new level, but did not give it a name - that came from the magazine's cover story. This was not the first time a similar style had been worn (Brigitte Bardot sported something along the same lines in 'And God Created Woman' back in 1956), but it was when it was recognised as a thing.

The 1970s saw more casual styles come back into vogue, but the beehive still makes appearances. Marge Simpson may be a cartoon figure, but her blue beehive is spectacular. Amy Winehouse took inspiration for her hair from Ronnie Spector, one of the earliest to wear it in the Ronettes forty years earlier. British fans of 'Absolutely Fabulous' will recall Patsy's beehive do as one of her trademarks.

Answer: mostly female

This cut is very short on the back and sides of the head, longer on top to create a bit of a tousled look, accompanied by very short bangs. The impression is whimsical and childlike, reminiscent of the mythical pixies.

Audrey Hepburn wore a pixie cut in her film debut, 'Roman Holiday' (1953). The 1960s model Twiggy, Mia Farrow in the 1968 film 'Rosemary's Baby', Goldie Hawn on 'Laugh-In' and Halle Berry in 'Die Another Day' (2002) are only a few of the women associated with the look.

Answer: mostly female

When this style came into fashion in the 1920s, it represented a rebellion against the tradition of women wearing their hair long (although girls often had bobs, as can be seen in photographs from the 19th century). Before World War I, short hair on a woman was considered shocking, but during the war women who worked in factories had good reason to cut their hair, and it became somewhat more acceptable. But the bob was a definite statement of fashion, not practicality.

The standard bob has hair cut completely level around the head at about chin length. It can vary in length, but is always short enough that the hair clears the shoulder, and the back of the neck is exposed. It often has straight-cut bangs. Think flappers, and you will get the idea. (Although the 1920s also engendered other more daring cuts such as the shingle.) Longer hair became fashionable again in the 1930s, but the 1960s saw a resurgence of popularity for the bob, more or less the female equivalent of the mop top for men as epitomised by the Beatles in their early years.

Answer: both genders

What does a pompadour look like? Think early Elvis or Betty Grable. There are a lot of variations, but they share the concept of hair swept up from the face so that it sits high over the forehead; the sides and back may also be upswept, or they may be formed in other modes, such as the duck tail which was a popular accompaniment to the pompadour in the 1950s. It is not at all clear why the style is named after Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France during the 18th century, as she did not wear the style, which had been popular at the French court both earlier (the Duchess of Fontanges sported the style at the end of the 17th century) and later (Marie Antoinette at the end of the 19th century). To achieve a high pompadour, it was common to use a pad over which the hair was arranged.

Men started wearing pompadours in the 1950s, when it became a symbol of rebellion. It was, however, not generally given the name of pompadour at that time, because that term was associated with a female cut. Instead, people called it a quiff, ducktail, or just Elvis cut. Depending on where you lived, you might have called it a greaser cut or a rocker cut, referring to the youth subcultures for which it became a symbol.

Answer: both genders

The name Afro is an abbreviation of African-American, the group of people who first adopted this style as a way of emphasizing the natural way their hair grows. Rather than straightening the hair to produce a smooth look that fits with European ideas of an ideal appearance, it emphasizes the hair's natural kinkiness. Leaving it natural and combing it out, you can produce a cloud effect, a large ball of hair surrounding the head.

Obviously, many African-Americans (not to mention Africans) had worn curly hairstyles for a long time, but in the 1960s there was a strong movement in the United States to reclaim pride in African roots, and this hairstyle became a clear statement. Its popularity faded somewhat in the 1970s, as white people started getting their hair permed so as to be able to wear the style in support of the Civil Rights movement and as a statement of rebellion against the social establishment. African-Americans then turned to other hairstyle statements, such as braiding and weaves, although the natural look is still popular as an easy-care option.

Answer: mostly male

Payot is the anglicized version of the Hebrew pe'ot used to describe the sidelocks worn by men and boys in some Jewish communities, especially Orthodox groups. The Yiddish word for them is payes. Leviticus 19:27 has an injunction forbidding the cutting of the hair on the sides of the head. This is understood to mean that men should grow the hair that will lie in front of their ears, and wear it long.

Exact details of what hair is meant, and how it should be worn, are a matter of debate, and answers have varied over time and across communities. How long they should be, how thick or thin, curled or straight, worn hanging free or in coils or wrapped around the ears or tucked up under the yarmulke, all of these are areas of disagreement.