Hair we go again

 1980s styles are the new wave again

Poufed, permed or punctuated with pink and purple spikes, the hairstyles of the 1980s exemplified the decade of excess. "It was all about big and extreme," says Snooky Bellomo, who with her sister Tish owns the Manic Panic stores, famous for their hair dyes in shades evocative of the Lite-Brite palette.

Now, with miniskirts, leggings and neon fabrics once again wardrobe staples, ready your Aqua Net: Teases, crimps and other stiff coifs are rising up like "Thriller" zombies.

You won't see reinterpretations of the decade's ubiquitous, unisex perms or Michael Jackson -esque Jheri curls. Today's style savants don't want anything so "rigid," says Redken creative consultant Guido, who styled Marc Jacobs' fall 2009 neon runway show. "Today, women want to change their hair from day to day, or night to night," he says.

But many other '80s 'dos are no longer don'ts. Here's a look at some of the vintage hairstyles, as well as modern interpretations.

The mullet: Although this, um, business-casual style evolved from cuts of previous decades, fans and members of groups such as Guns N' Roses and Quiet Riot ensured the metal mullet's place as a subcategory of what Linda Wells, Allure magazine's editor-in-chief, calls "one of the more memorable and regrettable hairstyles" of the '80s.

Alli Denning, who owns the Web site Like Totally 80s, says the mullet was the boy-band look of the '80s; it just happened to be a harder-edged boy band than we have now. Zac Efron's hair, which is "long in the front but creeps down in the back" is a mix between the Beatles' '60s mop top and an '80s mullet, she maintains.

The Mohawk: If you wanted the fun of volume and hair product but without a perm's priss, there was the Mohawk. "Some people even did the faux hawk," says Tish Bellomo of Manic Panic. Slicked back and up, the style "looks cute, but it's not very daring," she says. Rocking out for one night only? Allure's Wells says the modern Mohawk twists seen at runway shows previewing 2009 fall fashion were done with "high, teased pieces in the middle and then tight on the sides. They give you that Mohawk look without any razors being involved."

"Closer to God" bangs: Denning, who gave these sculpted, round bangs their nickname on her Web site, considers this "the defining '80s hairstyle," saying the goal was bangs as "big and as far away from your scalp as possible."

"It even transcended genders," Denning adds. "On the one hand, you had the Wilson sisters from Heart, who had humongous hair, and then you have the 'hair bands' (Poison, Def Leppard) and you have men with that hairdo."

Side ponytails: Although the Bellomos say some considered the sprouting, high-side ponytail to be a punk rock look, they insist that you'd have never found one at CBGB. British socialite Savannah Miller went high and mighty last spring, but Denning says that today's incarnation sees a side pony closer to the neck  and pulled near one ear.

The fade: Shorn around the sides and high on the head, the fade got its 1980s sensibility from black artists such as Grace Jones. And later in the decade, the higher the hair, the better, says Erica Blevins, who owns the Oh! My Nappy Hair salon chain with her mother, Rosario Schuler. Variants such as Bobby Brown's Gumby, which resembled the bendable green guy's sloped head, shepherded it into the '90s.

Asymmetrical bob: Wells says this 'do featured hair "shaved close to the head on one side, and the other side was a traditional bob. It was a totally acceptable buttoned-up hairstyle on one side and then destroying it and being really punk on the other." Look to Victoria Beckham or Mary J. Blige for today's version, but Wells says you have to be daring for this cut because "the hard thing ... is that they become cartoonish in a matter of seconds."

Pompadours: "It was much more a man's thing in the '80s than a woman's," Wells says of the front-end head fluff, the kind worn by Brian Setzer of Stray Cats. "It has a connection to rockabilly and a kind of retro look more than the '80s." Runway shows for women's fall fashion had several sky-high pompadours, which Wells says were necessary theatrics, but "if it's in a French twist or chignon or even a ponytail, then it can look good."