h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Throughout the majority of the twentieth century and into the new earth millennium, adolescent males have had the strange urge to saturate their hair with a colloidal substance known as Hair Gel.

In the 1920's, young men slicked their hair back with a substance known as "slickum", they also wore odd coats made of animal hides called "beaver coats". It was also fashionable for girls to dress as "flappers", but that is another topic.

This trend continued until after World War II, because while in battle, young men found it difficult to slick their hair back while firing at enemy soldiers.

In the 1950's, adolescent males went for the "Rebel Without a Cause" look by using hair gel to shape their hair into an unusual shape called a "pompadour". The shape is very undescribable and must truly be seen in order to believe it.

Hair Gel usage declined in the 1960's due to another war when young men had no time to fix their hair in a battle zone.

In the 1970's, hair gel came upon a worthy adversary, hair spray (but this is obviously another topic).

In the 1980's, anything seemed to go. The "Flock of Seagulls" look seemed to be named for the fact that the hair was styled in such a way that a bird was either taking off or landing on the person's head.

After a very schitzophrenic decade (all of the looks from the century appeared to make some sort of a revival in the 1990's), the new millenium brings a new wave of hair gel users. This generation of adolescent males seem to find spiking their hair up in the shape of a cactus to be quite fashionable indeed.

I think the hairdo you mention for the 1950s is called "Entenarsch" ("duck-arse") in German!
I think that describes the style pretty well!

@

In the words of that great rapper "Larry Love Ton Locks"

""LOVE, PEACE AND HAIR GREASE""