Long Island's hair yearbook: Throwback styles from the '80s

One thing a certain group of Long Islanders recalls vividly from their high school days in the late 1070s, ‘80s and early '90s? Their hairstyles. It was a time when, particularly for women, the sentiment was generally "the bigger the better."

Take Lori Campaisano, 54, who graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1989 and remembers everyone in her friend group having the same oversize hair; hers being the biggest.

"It was like a sculpted helmet that your boyfriend could not run his hand through," she says. "It was highly flammable and not humidity resistant," and touting the hairstyling must-haves of the era, she calls out, Aquanet hair spray, Aussie Sprunch Spray, L’Oréal Pumping Curls.

Even some guys caught the "supersize" me fever, like Steve Barrere, 64, who grew up in Merrick and graduated in ’79 from Kennedy High School in Bellmore.

"It started as a body wave/mullet with some swirls in it and then went into a full-on perm," he says of his mega-do. "I would sit between the grandmas with curlers in my hair with glue on them under a big giant hair dryer. It just seemed like part of the culture."

It’s true that today, hairstyles have drastically changed, but some of the emotions from the past remain strong. Campaisano, who maintains the tightest best friend group with her high school pals says, "I think you can ask any high-haired Gen X girl if they miss their big, crunchy hair. Most would say ‘no,' but I assure you all would say they wish they could go back to simpler times."

It’s true that when we sent a bunch of Long Islanders on a mission to unearth their high school yearbooks, dive into old cartons in the basement and fish out photos from their memory boxes to give a glimpse of their hair back then, many recalled the joy of high school and the effort (and products) their coifs entailed.

Class of '80

Ann Cutbill Lenane, Calhoun High School, Merrick

"The higher the hair, the closer to God. Farrah [Fawcett] was the queen and of course you had to have as much feather height as possible." She adds, "I’m a Leo so I had this big mane of hair. Hair was the important look. At one point I definitely had a perm, and it was all about teasing, mousse and hair spray. Your hair did not move that much."

Eric Stern, 63, Lawrence High School, Cedarhurst

"I would absolutely never leave the house without my hair being done," Stern says. "I would spend at least an hour doing it — I would wash it, condition it and pick it. People would say to me I looked like Willy Wonka, but I was obsessed with Roger Daltrey’s hair. It was everything to me, but I couldn’t get those ringlets."

Class of '82

Cathie Moore, 61, General Douglas MacArthur High School, Levittown 

"I did have very big hair in the '80s," says Moore, and she vacillated between coloring it black and blond. "When my hair was black, I thought I was Pat Benatar; when it was big and blond I thought I was Lita Ford."

Moore was proud of her technique. "I could really tease it and get it big. I’d use Aussie Sprunch almost like getting it to crunch and Aquanet. It was '80s Gorilla Glue for the hair and we used it like it was going out of style. You’d be afraid to light a cigarette near us."

Cesar Collier, 62, Brentwood High School

"I was trying to have my hair tight and right. It was still all about John Travolta in ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and ‘Grease’ for me. After that I just let it grow out. I used a lot of hair spray and, later on, a little bit of gel."

Class of '86

Mark Keigwin, 58, Shoreham-Wading River High School

Keigwin admits, "When you’re in high school everybody cares about their looks." His hair, feathered with a center part "was a reflection of the time. There were a lot of us that looked pretty similar to each other," he says. His inspiration may have come from Michael J. Fox in the movie "Back to the Future."

Lorraine Weiss, 57, Shoreham-Wading River High School

"It absolutely was the bigger the better. I used so much hair spray it was a nest. I used Aquanet every single day through high school and college. I haven’t bought it since."

Class of '87

Jamie Mazzei, 57, Manhasset High School

"At the time, I was really into music and played the drums. I was inspired by MTV and also Rob Lowe in ‘St. Elmo’s Fire.’ My hair had to be longer in the back. I remember my father cut it short a few times and I was so mad." (Dad is Michael Mazzei, the late owner of nuBest Salon and Spa in Manhasset, which his son runs today). "We used this hair product Sebastian Potion 9 by the gallon."

Class of '88

Claudine (Cerasuolo) Syrett, 55, Patchogue-Medford High School

While Syrett’s naturally curly hair didn’t require the products and work that her friends’ did, she says, "If you wanted to know what you’d look like on the Lido deck of the 'Love Boat' or any soap opera star of the '80s, you’d go directly to 'Head Shots,' in the Smith Haven Mall." She remembers that her "teased, curled, shellacked to the max" 'do was followed by a complete dress-up session (feather boa included). Syrett says, "My friends like to circulate my pics every now and again, so it’s sort of become my badge of honor for a good laugh."

Class of '89

Stephanie Jones, 54, Freeport High School

"I was absolutely proud of my asymmetrical haircut in high school," says Jones, who today owns hair salon Studio TEN31 in Baldwin. Jones cites Salt-N-Pepa as inspiration. "I was into hip-hop, and everything was about the trend and they were the style." She started cutting hair back then and even gave several of her friends asymmetrical haircuts. "I do believe I was a trendsetter at the time, and I got a lot of compliments on my hair," Jones says.

Leah Jefferson, 55, Patchogue-Medford High School

"I did perms, chemical straightening, shaved the sides, teased and sprayed my hair to go with my electric blue eyeliner," Jefferson says. "I sometimes wonder how I still have any hair on my head. It wasn’t just the chemical process but all the products I used." Jefferson says she was a "huge fan" of Prince's and New Wave music, both influencing her style. "My hair was just big. You did not leave the house without a comb and a can of Aquanet." 

Class of '91

Jennifer Sposato, 52, Lindenhurst High School

As a joke, "My mother bought me an entire case of Aquanet," says Sposato, who prided herself on her very big hair. "I used to get up three hours before I had to be at school, crimping and blowing it. Hair was very important to me and in those days, whoever could get their hair the highest was the winner," she says. Her influences included Madonna, "we’d wear bangle bracelets up to our elbow," and Michael Jackson — she even owned a red leather jacket and gloves. Though today her hairstyle is flat, back then, she says, "I stood strong with the tease."