The Evolution of a Mohawk Haircut (A Modern-Day Odyssey)
One of the perks of working for Ratner Companies (parent company of Hair Cuttery) is being able to enjoy a certain artistic freedom when it comes to my hair style. Prior to joining the company I kept my hair relatively short. Manageable and practical, yes, but also conservative and well…boring.
Then in Novemeber of 2009, I discovered music artist Frankmusick and his unique mohawk-esque hairstyle. On a whim I printed out a few pictures and took them to the Dupont Circle Hair Cuttery in Washington, DC. My delightful stylist, Erin, cheerfully and skillfully gave me the exact mohawk hair cut I was after: something a little different but not so extreme as to be labeled a social deviant (see pictures 1 and 2).
PICTURE 1
PICTURE 2
The novelty of my slightly-edgy new ‘do was intoxicating. My friends loved it, my co-workers loved it, even Dennis Ratner (CEO, Founder & Stylist) raved about it every time he’d walk by my desk. I decided to push the envelope a little farther.
I started by having the sides shaved close to the skin, thus, my faux-hawk became a fully-fledged mohawk, or as my friends started to call it: a ‘hawk. (see picture 3). While this might not have been the best idea for a hair cut in December I was rather happy with it.
My hair grows relatively fast and also has quite a bit of natural curl in it. It took some experimentation to find the right kind of hair styling product to make it behave like I wanted it to. I started with Redken’s High Rise Hard wax (it was a recommendation from my awesome hair Stylist). While it had great hold, I felt it would be a product better suited for summer.
The second product I loved so much I’ve stuck with it is Cibu Sticky Rice Pomade. It’s smooth, easy to apply with a slightly shiny finish that holds all day. I would be devastated if Hair Cuttery stopped carrying it.
After the novelty of this new ‘do waned, I decided I wanted some color. I’m not talking rainbows or hot pink, but something to liven it up a bit. Highlights were an option, but I decided to get it all one color: a startling platinum. Erin also cut the sides as close to the skin as possible (which I actually started shaving myself) to help the ‘hawk pop even more (see picture 4).
PICTURE 4
I continued to get great compliments from my friends, and even strangers on the Metro and in the streets. In fact, I took a trip to New York in May and I received no less than 5 compliments a day from complete strangers regarding my mohawk.
Fast-forward to June 2010. Perhaps I was tired of shaving the sides every few days, but I had let my hair grow out to the point that I couldn’t find any product short of industry-grade epoxy that would help it stay up straight. As I mentioned before, I have some curl in my hair and I don’t have to tell the ladies what humidity can do to that.
I was quite pleased to find, however, that my style was quite versatile. I began parting it on the side and brushing some straightness into it (see picture 5). Who knew ‘hawks could be so conservative! I don’t style it this way all the time, however. Sometimes I want to wash-n-go and since we’re still in the grip of summer it usually ends up looking like the style in picture 6. (View from the back in picture 7).
PICTURE 5
PICTURE 6
PICTURE 7
So where do I go from here? Do I continue to grow it out in the hopes that I can finally achieve the coveted Bradley Cooper look or should I go back to rockin’ the ‘hawk?
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