Punk Hair – Not Your Mamma’s Mohawk

Today’s punk styles have their roots in the mid 1980’s English music invasion that swept the United States and the world. Mohawked young men in tight skinny leather pants complete with leather jackets adorned with spikes and chains made their impact on the day’s youth and their influence can still be seen today. Even today Emo, Goth and modern Punkers can trace their roots to the original punk movement from the 1980’s. Clothes and makeup followed the trends of London and the New Wave music movement. Young men and women alike started experimenting with their hair using gel and hairspray to get spikes that seemed to defy gravity. Some wore spiked Mohawks and others gelled and moussed their hair into all over spikes. Hair color was an important factor in the styles of the 80’s and the wilder the better. Makeup was dramatic for men and women. The lines of fashion between the sexes blurred and androgyny was the norm.

Punk has always been more than a fashion statement. It is a way of expressing your individuality and refusal to conform. It is a lifestyle more than just a way to dress. A true punk turns his or her nose up at convention. Shock and going against the mainstream is what a punk lives for. What society sees as weird and strange is embraced by today’s punk movement. Both sexes use black eyeliner and women’s eye colors are dark and smoky. Faces are pale and lips are red. Some punkers use makeup to draw intricate designs on their faces. Tats and piercings are plentiful and used all over the body. Many punkers have multiple facial piercings and wear earrings all the way up their ear lobes. Tats are popular and can be very intricate. Men and women sometimes get tats in places from head to toe.

Mohawks are still popular and as big as ever. Spikes down the middle of the head with color on the tips can be seen along with Mohawks that sport sheared sides and flowing tops. Men and women alike wear the style with pride. Men can be seen with short cropped sides and spiked highlighted “tips” on the crown and front. Assymetrical styles that have been razor cut for a fringed effect are popular with both sexes. Women may wear short or long hair. One of the common threads in punk hair is height and volume. No smooth slick styles for today’s punkers, the higher the better.

Height is achieved with today’s styling products that include gel, mousse, sticky paste and wax. Root boost and hair spray are a punker’s best friends. Haircolor plays an important role in the punker hairstyle. It runs the spectrum from black with bright colors shot throughout to palest blonde. Vivid red, pink, orange and yellow are popular colors. Both sexes use color to highlight their hair styles and accent the various heights and angles. Like their parents in the 80’s, today’s punkers are a varied and creative lot. We shall have to wait and see what the next incarnation of the punker style brings to the fashion world.
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