How to give my blonde husband a mohawk?

February 10, 2006 7:57 PM

How to give my blonde husband a mohawk? I have clippers (and i know how to use them), scissors, hair wax (for stiffening, not removal) and some violet temporary hair colour. What's the simplest way to keep the mohawk even, both in length and width? Also the best way to dye only the mohawk.

Oh, he wants this, so I don't need to be able to know how to do it while he's sleeping.

posted by b33j to clothing, beauty, & fashion (12 answers total)

By the way, he has dints in his head, so I won't be able to shave it to skin. I'll try the smallest comb though. Which is why the question about not spreading the dye.
posted by b33j at 8:11 PM on February 10, 2006

Are you cutting the 'hawk? are you just dying the hawk part and asking how to not dye the hair around?

as i'm waiting for the answer to that...to make it look violet and not pansy-ass purple, dye blue below the purple.
posted by nadawi at 8:34 PM on February 10, 2006

When I had my hawk I used to put it in multiple elastic bands, basically like non-product enhanced liberty spikes. This would keep it away from the sides of the head for both trimming and dye purposes. I recommend a tint brush - any beauty supply will have one. Failing that, a toothbrush will work, but do wear gloves and watch your sink/tub. Manic Panic and Punky Colours type dyes are notorious for staining. Don't go straight to the smallest clipper attachment unless you've used the clippers before. They cut off a shocking amount of hair when you're unfamiliar with them. Link us to pictures of the finished hawk :)
posted by 12XU at 8:41 PM on February 10, 2006

Duh, I just reread that you know how to use the clippers! As for the width of the hair strip, start bigger and work down to a size that works with the bone structure. Anything below about 2" in width is very hard to keep fanned properly, unless you the hawkee has very coarse wiry hair. The back of the head is hardest to learn to fan at first.
posted by 12XU at 8:45 PM on February 10, 2006

Oh! and how long is the hair that you're leaving? But I totally agree with the tinting brush and washing everything right afterwards. To keep the blond hair from dying around the hawk, cover it in beeswax and don't try to get all the roots.
posted by nadawi at 8:55 PM on February 10, 2006

Thanks very much.

He does not have a hawk at the moment.

I think perhaps mohawk might be too adventurous a term given that his hair is about 5 cm long all over. I will take the non-hawk hair down to a couple of millimetres.

Given the 5cm length, dividing and clumping into rubber bands might not work. Another site suggested putting a strip of duct tape along the mo and shaving either side. I'm doubtful as to efficacy.


Pansy-ass purple sounds great! :)

I hope i've covered everything.
posted by b33j at 9:00 PM on February 10, 2006

The best way to put a hawk up IMHO is to get a piece of cardboard, lay the hair against it and Aqua Net the crap out of it. If you have really long thick hair or want to do some creative spiking glycerin will hold it better than anything- dissolve in hot water, apply to hair and wait for it to set like Super Glue. I never had any luck with wax, it always got soft when it got hot.

btw nail polish remover is your best bet for remvoing Manic Panic and it's ilk from unwanted areas. And check the gloves for holes ~stupid cheap gloves~
posted by fshgrl at 9:03 PM on February 10, 2006

NOT duct tape! You could use plastic wrap and masking tape, tape to the scalp after you shave and then to the plastic wrap so you stay off the hair.

As far as keeping it straight, try your best to eyeball it, as the middle part grows longer you will be able to straighten it out better. Definatly shave from the middle down and the middle up so if there is a wider part it will be in the middle and not at the top or bottom.

Lastly, the only problem with pansy-ass purple is that it fades a hell of a lot sooner. if you put the blue down first it will last a lot longer.
posted by nadawi at 9:04 PM on February 10, 2006

I forgot- a good way to make it straight is to take a piece of string, have the person hold it at the side of their nose and you hold it at the side of the spine on the nape of their neck. Repeat for the other side. Chalk will draw on hair so you can use that to make lines. And masking tape won't stay stuck like duct tape.
posted by fshgrl at 11:33 PM on February 10, 2006

I always used a bit of vaseline around my hairline in my Manic Panic days. It would probably be gross on the scalp if there's still a little bit of hair after you cut the non-mohawk parts. But careful use of a tint brush (you can get them cheap at Sally's or another beauty supply shop) shouldn't be much of a problem. It's much easier to do more elaborate/careful hair dying if someone else is doing it (like, you). You can also get those little bits of highlight foil pretty cheaply, which might be useful. Like, lay the hair you want to dye on the foil, brush the dye on, and wrap it up. Like doing highlights. I never quite got the hang of doing it on myself, but it shouldn't be hard to do on someone else's head.

My boyfriend had a mohawk for years and he just shaved it pretty straight from practice. I don't have any advice there. For putting it up, a blowdrier and about half a bottle of cheap hairspray was sufficient, even when it was appx. 12 inches tall. And he has pretty thick hair.
posted by ruby.aftermath at 12:25 PM on February 11, 2006

Trim/razer the sides first, so that just the hair that you want into a hawk is long. Dab vaseline, cold cream or another barrier cream (they even sell that stuff, but vaseline works well enough, and it's pretty easy to get out with shampoo after dyeing, especially with the short, buzzed hair) around the base of the hawk. Get tin foil strips: the pre-cut foils for hair work well and are a bit more malleable than the thick tin foil - if you're just using regular kitchen tin foil, go for the slightly thinner/better quality foil, rather than the heavy duty ultra thick stuff. It wraps better.

Are you bleaching first? I'd suggest it, even if he's blonde. It a) roughs up the hair, making it more condusive to tricks like mohawks and b) keeps the dye way, way longer. Bleach first, if you're doing that, wash, rinse, dry well. Then, to dye: using a tint brush, do small sections at first. Stick the tin foil under the hair, use the pointy end of a comb to get a piece of hair, brush dye down over hair. The idea is to be saturated without being goopy. It only absorbs so much, and a minimum of drips will prevent random glops of dye all over the hair. Paint, paint, pain, roll up the tin foil, start on the next one. As you get better at this, you can do bigger and bigger sections, but just remember that too much dye will ooze out the bottom.

When you're rinsing it out, have him put his head over the sink - do your best to take the first segment by his forehead out first, rinse it thoroughly, then move to the next one back. Keep the hair bits in line with the dyed hairline - it will certainly give a light tint if you're rinsing out the whole head the first time around. It's better to do it in two go-arounds than try to get lots and lots of dye on the first time - it can only absorb so much, and it won't be as deep as if you do it again in a day or two. So the comments do do a deep blue first, then a purple (or red) on top are on the mark, for deepest colour pick-up.

The first few times are awkard all around, but you'll both get the hang of it quickly. Have fun! I like little hawks - 5cm can be cute. Don't trim it too thin - it'll look good if it's a few inches.
posted by fionab at 1:05 PM on February 11, 2006

Hair that's only 5cm long isn't going to flop everywhere and dye everything - cover the rest of the hair with plastic and bobby-pins. You may want to cover the dyed area with tinfil [again, use bobbypins to attach it.] Rinse off any accidentally-dyed area with water - if you're using semipermanent dye, along the lines of Special Effects or Manic Panic, it doesn't set immediately, and should wash out quickly with water and maybe some soap. Personally, I find that leaving the dye in the hair for several hours [generally under plastic or tinfoil] allows for a longer-lasting and more intense dye job, but this does of course vary by person.

I find that blue fades much slower on naturally light hair than it does on bleached hair, and you're less likely to get that ugly greenish color as it fades. At the very least, my dyed hair seems to last longer than that of peers who have to bleach before they dye [I have lightish hair, and dye my hair dark blue and red without bleaching.] Note that you'll probably get deeper colors if you don't bleach - I like that, but if he wants day-glo purple, he'll need to bleach. If he's fine showering without using shampoo every day [or without using much shampoo], he'll be avoiding the biggest source of dye loss. Shower, yes, and rinse well, but don't shampoo the hair every single shower.

Regarding keeping the line straight: it's actually easier to deal with this when hair is short. A mistake is more costly in longer hair, and the hair goes everywhere. Do it right and do it very carefully the first time, and do your best to follow it afterwards. Cut very slowly, and figure out beforehand exactly where you're going to cut. You may want to trim the area that'll be cut shortest with scissors first.
posted by ubersturm at 1:51 PM on February 12, 2006