LADIES, brace yourselves: Big barnets are back – with a vengeance. You all thought you’d seen the last of the helmet hairdos when Maggie Thatcher closed the door of number 10 Downing Street behind her. Now all you have to do is open a celebrity rag or a fashion magazine to see that down is out and gravity-defying is in.

To complete this look, you need masses of hairspray and lots of backcombing, as celebs such as Scarlett Johansson, Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson will testify. They have all been seen sporting a version of the bouffanty bob.

When Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen stepped out recently with his wife Jackie at the Classical Brit Awards, the world was wowed by her newly-transformed body after she had lost an impressive five stones in weight.

Others couldn’t help notice that her hair resembled our former prime minister circa 1981.

Even catwalk model and fashion’s darling Agyness Deyn seems to have turned to Mrs T for big hair inspiration. Her peroxide crop is one of the most copied hairstyles in the country – but is she set to start another hair phenomenon, The Maggie?

When Agy attended the Met Museum’s Model as Muse event in New York last month, it was 30 years exactly that Margaret Thatcher came to power as leader of the Conservatives and it seemed the supermodel chose to mark the occasion with a high-volume homage.

Not everyone can carry off the often scary and rather unyielding look, however.

Helen A’Court from A’Courts Hair in Winton says: “Maggie’s hairstyle, like The Queen’s, is very harsh and it accentuates her hard looks. She has a prominent nose and, with the exposed forehead, the result isn’t flattering.

“A light fringe and some softness around the face would have worked wonders for her physical appearance when she was in power, but it wouldn’t have reflected her personality. With her it was all about power dressing.”

So why are more people reaching for the hairspray in favour of more structured locks?

“Like everything in fashion terms, things go around in circles, and some hairstyles now are echoing trends from the ’60s and ’70s,” says Helen.

“In the salon we are increasingly being asked to create more coiffured and finished styles, especially for formal occasions.

“Young people in particular are going for very very polished, smooth and full looks, and we are inundated with requests to transform their hair for prom nights.”

Helen admits that the strong, sharp shapes are ‘a dream’ for hairdressers and, surprisingly, much easier to achieve than tousled tresses. “We love anything involving backcombing to create an artistic and finished look.

“People worry that it will damage the hair but that’s a myth. Done properly with the right comb - one which isn’t metal – backcombing is fine for the hair if it’s only concentrated on the roots and isn’t done too often.

“It’s the foundation of any up-do and it can create any shape you like. We always educate our customers how to brush it out correctly, too.”

And what about all that hairspray?

“Again, people worry that it may damage their hair, but not if you choose a good quality product,” says Helen. “Don’t forget that hairspray is water soluble and washes out.”

So what are you waiting for, girls? Grab those velcro rollers and an industrial sized can of Elnett, have those door frames widened… But please, please, remember not to light a match….