How to Get a Mohawk Hairstyle

Dramatically fanned and dyed Mohawks were a part of punk fashion.

The Mohawk hairstyle takes its name from the Native American Kanienkehaka people who lived in upstate New York. Their enemies called these fierce fighters Mohawk, which means "man-eaters." The men shaved their hair on the sides, leaving a strip of hair down the center of their heads. The modern Mohawk and its variations follow the same pattern.

Things You'll Need

• Comb
• Mirror
• Hair clip (optional)
• Electric hair clippers
• Razor (optional)
• Shaving cream (optional)
• Hair gel (optional)
• Hair spray (optional)
• Hair dryer (optional)

Instructions

Creating the Mohawk

1. Wash your hair and comb it free of any tangles. Clean hair will result in a clean shave.

2. Decide on the width of your Mohawk. Look at yourself face-on in the mirror and use your eyebrows as a guide. A narrow Mohawk will be no wider than the space between your brows, while a broad Mohawk will span the width between the highest point of your brow arches.

3. Part your hair along one side of your head from your forehead to your nape, following the imaginary line you traced upward from your eyebrow on that side. Do the same on the other side of your head, clipping the hair in the center strip out of the way.

4. Set the electric clippers to your desired length, according to the manufacturer's directions. Some Mohawk styles have a bald head aside from the central strip of hair, while others leave a short fuzz on the sides of the head. Which style you prefer is a matter of personal taste.

5. Shave your head with the clippers starting at a point farthest from the central Mohawk strip. Alternate sides, shaving one clipper-width at a time on each side so you'll keep the sides even as you go.

6. Apply shaving cream and go over the freshly shorn sides of your head with a razor if you want a smoother shave on the bare portions of your scalp.

Styling the Mohawk

1. Rub hair gel between your hands and apply the gel to your Mohawk. Use the comb to style it into a fan, press it against your scalp or tease it into puffs.

2. Spray the styled Mohawk in place with hair spray.

3. Turn a longer Mohawk into a rigid fan with a heavy application of hair spray, paying close attention to the base, which must support the weight of the rest of the hair. Use your hands to press the hair into a flat fan shape and hold it in place as the spray dries.

4. Part the Mohawk into sections, spray each section heavily with hair spray and dry them with a hair dryer as you hold the hair up in its spike to form "liberty spikes," long spines that resemble those on the Statue of Liberty's crown.

Tips & Warnings

• Try a "faux-hawk" with hair gel and spray before you go for the clippers to see how the look will work on you.

• Give spiked, teased or fanned Mohawks extra conditioner when you wash your hair, particularly if you also dye it.

• Use the carpenter's caution to "measure twice and cut once." Shaved hair takes months to grow out, so pause after each pass with the electric clippers to see if you want to go narrower with your Mohawk.

• Skip the white glue, starch and other products that are not meant for hair. Although those products were necessary in the early 1980s to create spikes, new hair products will hold your Mohawk in gravity-defying shapes without damaging it.

References

• Marianopolis College; Quebec History - Mohawk Indians; Claude Belanger; 2004
• CNN; A History of Bad Hairstyles; Ransom Riggs; July 2007
• "USA Today"; Mohawk Isn't as Hair-Raising as It Used to Be; Olivia Barker; June 2002