I’ll Take A Number 15 Please! Sanctioned Hairstyles Menu From North Korea Revealed

From the Rachel to the Farrah Flick, sometimes bringing a photo of your favourite hairstyle to the hairdressers can be a good idea but what if it was the other way round and you had to chose from a menu of styles.

And couldn’t deviate from them?

Well that’s exactly what happens in communist North Korea!

In an effort to encourage women to do their bit for the state, 18 officially sanctioned hairstyles have been chosen by communist officials in an effort to clamp down on western influences.

And judging from the choices, they obviously think the 80s was the safest decade!

Featuring mullets, bobs and various permed styles, the selection is limited and to top it all off, unmarried women have to go for the shorter styles.

However, married women can be a bit more playful with their choice of style and can opt for plaits, braids or even a ribbon!

So many styles, so little choice... 

But it’s not just the females who have to conform. North Korean men also have to follow strict guidelines but only have 10 styles to choose from.

Back in 2005, North Korean state TV launched a five part series entitled 'Let us trim our hair in accordance with Socialist lifestyle' with the aim of promoting short back and sides for its male population.

One to four look pretty much identical to us!

At the same time, a number of reports appeared in North Korean press and radio urging tidy hairstyles and appropriate clothing and the state station even sent out teams with hidden cameras to catch 'rebel' North Koreans who were breaking the North Korean strict hairstyle code. 

The makers of the program went so far as to name and shame those who had the audacity to get their hair cut differently and even claimed there were health reasons not to grow long hair including the bizarre claim that long hair would rob the brain of energy!

This takes getting rid of your split ends to a whole new level!