Mohawk hairstyle

The Mohawk hairstyle (Mohawk or Mohican) is a hair style often thought to have been worn by the Mahican and Mohawk tribes. In reality it appears that the Huron were the first to sport the hairstyle. Like many indigenous tribes in the Great Lakes region, in times of war they plucked out their hair, except for a narrow strip down the middle of the scalp. Though today popularly called a "Mohawk," when worn by American Indians it is more correctly known as a "scalp lock."

During World War II, members of the Allied Airborne soldiers shaved their hair into mohawks. This, along with "warpaint" was intended to give them an intimidating appearance to German soldiers.

Modern Mohawks

In modern times, when both sides of the head are shaved or buzzed and the remaining hair is long and (often) spiked in the middle, the hairstyle is known as a Mohawk or, somewhat less commonly, as a Mohican. In punk fashion, the Mohawk is often dyed brilliant colours and the centre strip of hair worn so that it points straight up often to impressive height. Also in the gothic subculture, a descendant of punk, the mohawk style appears, with the remaining hair spiked or long.

Besides punk fashion, the Mohawk became known with the popularity of Mr. T, the actor who first became famous playing the boxer Clubber Lang in the movie Rocky III and later as Sgt. B.A. Baracus in the television series The A-Team. In the Eighties this type of African Mohawk was called Mandinkan or Mandinkan Mohawk after the Mandinkan Warrior haircut. Another well-known popular culture depiction of the Mohawk came from Martin Scorcese's film Taxi Driver. Plasmatics guitarist Richie Stotts is quoted as saying, "It was the summer of '78. I was watching Taxi Driver one night and the instant I saw Travis Bickle I thought, 'This is it. This is the look!'"

In the famous "Punk On Bus" sequence in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, associate producer Kirk R. Thatcher was shown dressed as a punk with a bright orange mohawk.

Varieties

Liberty spikes

Liberty spikes are so named because of their resemblance to the spikes on the head of the Statue of Liberty, though they first popped up in the London scene. In this style, the unshaven parts of the hair are formed into thick spikes that may radiate outwards in all directions or all point up in the same direction. They are favoured for their durability in extremely long hair. Liberty spikes are not only a Mohawk style, though they are commonly created by Mohawk-wearers; liberty spikes may be created all over the head, and shaved sections of hair are not required to create the look.

Devilocks

A devilock is a Mohawk that is worn pushed forward and down across the forehead. The band The Misfits created this style. The style was invented by band member Jerry Only.

Dreadhawk

A Dreadhawk is a mohawk where the hair is dreadlocked instead of being spiked upwards.

Fanned

Fanned Mohawks are so named because they resemble a fan: all the unshaven hair is fixed upright in an even fan shape from the front hairline to the nape. An early user of the style was Wattie Buchan of The Exploited. Another term for such a style, originating from Britain, is "charged". For example, punk rock veterans GBH officially referred to themselves as "Charged GBH" to avoid confusion with another band who used the GBH moniker. The term is still in use today in many punk circles.

Bi-hawk & Tri-hawk

While a traditional Mohawk has one centre strip of long hair, bi-hawks and tri-hawks have two and three respectively, with shaved portions between. Bi- and tri-hawks can be worn in any of the variant styles.

Deathhawks

Deathhawks are wider-than-average mohawks that are often worn in a looser style, frequently backcombed but not often formed into stiff fans or spikes. They may feature long, loose tendrils. Deathhawks are associated with death rockers and goths. Sometimes referred to as a goth hawk.

Polish Mohawk

Polish Mohawks are reverse mohawk haircuts (the opposite of a mohawk), essentially a shaved straight line (usually wide enough for a disposable razor or electric hair clippers) from the forehead to the nape of the neck leaving hair on either side of the line. This haircut is also known as a "Reverse Mohawk", "HawkMo", and "Nohawk". Famous Polish Mohawk wearers include Keith Flint (the vocalist from The Prodigy) and Sean Davis (the guitarist from The WasteLands).

Maintenance

The Mohawk, by its nature, and depending on the type of hair the wearer has, is typically not a low-maintenance style, although after practice can become quite routine for the wearer and done in a much shorter amount of time. Depending on the specific look desired by the wearer, regular, careful shaving may be required to maintain a clean line between the shaved and long parts of the hair; this can be especially complicated in bi- and tri-hawks.

If the hair is to be worn up, twenty minutes or more of laborious styling, including brushing, backcombing (teasing), twisting and so on, may be required. Some styles are particularly difficult to put up, requiring the use of very strong-hold hair gels and sprays, and in some cases other holding agents like shoe polish, tooth paste, white glue, egg whites, cornstarch or Knox gelatin. The amount of time required for styling may increase considerably with longer hair or styles that require even spikes and lines.

Some wearers enhance the look of their Mohawks using hair dyes. This, too can require a great deal of initial effort and maintenance, especially in styles where the colour(s) form an integral part of the style. In some cases, for example, Mohawk-wearers who normally wear their hair up in a fan style dye the hair in even lines or stripes of colour, either horizontal or vertical.

In 2005, the Mohawk received a brief and small revival among the mainstream, as documented in Eric Wilson's Sep 1, 2005 article in The New York Times, "The Mohawk Becomes Cute." In it, Wilson argued that part of the revival was caused by Angelina Jolie's adopted son, Maddox Jolie.

The "fauxhawk"

The Mohawk hairstyle inspired the fauxhawk hairstyle, an approximation of a Mohawk made without buzzing or shaving the sides of the head. The fauxhawk is typically worn with a small but noticeable spike in the middle, though usually considerably shorter than many traditional Mohawks. In most punk circles this hairstyle is frowned upon and considered a form of "selling out".

This hairstyle has been worn by The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers,Tre Cool(Drummer of Green Day) David Beckham, Joel Madden from Good Charlotte and Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira. This style allows for a less punk and more "metro" look.