History of Hair Styles and Hair Bows in Cheerleading

The hair styles and hair accessories of cheerleaders, just like cheerleading uniforms, has changed drastically since cheerleading was first introduced. Not only have haircuts and trends evolved, so have the tools that cheerleaders use to style their hair. Hair When woman first joined cheerleading, it was still just sideline activity. The stunts and acrobatics that are commonplace today were not yet a part of cheerleading. While cheer was about raising spirits, it was also about look cute and being trendy. Many old cheer team photographs show a group of girls with very similar hairstyles. In the early days, the styles were short and simple, in more recent times there was more length, more teasing, more curls – a lot “more’ – in an almost stage show style. As cheer became more of a sport than an activity, the “pretty’ trend slowly began to phase out to more practical athletic styles. However, this process is far from complete, even today. While it did become more practical, and safe, for a cheerleader to pull her hair back, cheerleaders don’t rock just a standard ponytail! Pigtails, braids, braided pigtails and curled ponytails are very popular styles for cheerleaders. Some teams will require every member to have the same hairstyle, while other teams get creative and use zig-zag parts and hair dye in their school colors. Hair, in general, has come a long way since cheerleading’s early days, and the women in the sport have evolved their hair standards along with society and changed the look cheerleading. Hair Accessories Hair accessories have continued to evolve as well. When cheerleading started, women often kept their hair loose, but would use pins to hold back some pieces. They would even sometimes use pins with attachments, like flowers. As cheerleading became more athletic, more rules had to be placed on what was accepted regarding hair accessories. For the safety of the athletes, it is generally not permitted for a cheerleader to wear bobby pins, large decorative barrettes or any hair accessory that may become loose and fall out during a competition. As trends come and go, like the recently popular feather extensions, rules are constantly updated to address safety concerns. Hair bows have always been popular in cheerleading, and these days some cheerleading bows feature bright colors, metallic materials and rhinestones. The placement of cheer bows has evolved too, and you will typically see the bow being worn with the decorative side facing the front, not the back, at the very top of the ponytail.