Very clear memory for me. Karen Jean, an aspiring model in her 20s (in the late 70s early 80s era) with fine hip-length brunette hair.

I found the several-years-old magazine article as a kid, and remember being unnaturally interested in it. Several years later around junior high, a few months after finding some old playboys, I found the magazine again and the photos of Karen Jean were my first hair-focused experience.

This woman's hair was also a major influence on me in another way, because the article was a "makeover of the month" and the magazine issue included a 14-step photo series where she was dressed with a towel around her breasts, had her long wet hair pinned up, and had it scissored in sections to a bob above her shoulders. That was the beginning of my conflicted feelings toward loving very long hair, yet feeling both sad and attracted to seeing it cut off. To this day, a favorite setting is a woman wearing a towel with very long wet hair.

A while back I found a scan of most of the photos (but not the article and the after shot) on the net. I'll post it in a reply to avoid offending those who are squeamish about cutting.