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Surfer hair is a tousled type of hairstyle popularized by surfers in the 1960s and 1970s.

Traditionally from the late 1960s to the 1980s in particular, the surfer style was characterized by thick long bleach blond hair bleached intensively by the sun and the saltwater. The image became stereotyped during the 1960s and 1970s as a "surfer dude" or "beach bum"

It is a relaxed style with little concern with close cutting or brushing achieved at a hairdressers. However whilst it is still characterized by a longer hairstyle, more recently the style also refers to a shorter style typically with a distinctly elevated fringe or hair on top in a bleached or highlighted quiff resembling that of James Dean. This style often requires more grooming and back combing and the heavy use of hair gels or waxes to achieve the permanent hair lift or intentional windswept look .^[1] Other variations of the style are the curtains style with a floppy fringe with far less application of gel worn for example by American big wave surfer Laird Hamilton.

Since the late 1990s hairstyling companies began to brand their own hair gels, shampoos and hair wax to achieve the "surfer look" notably the Garnier Frutis brand which specializes in certain products with a firmer but wilder look^[2]. Hair gel companies began manufacturing stronger holding hair products and adverts began to feature more extreme styles with the tagline "Get surfer hair" to sell the product.

The surfer style is often associated with a heartthrob or pretty boy male image. Famous men who have sported the hairstyle include David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Charvet, Jose Hernandez, Owen Wilson and David Chokachi.

As surfing has grown beyond Gidget to become a serious female sport, surfer girls are also sporting their version of the 'do. Check out the Coconut Girl Wireless article "How to Get Surfer Girl Hair."^[3]

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