Tattoo hair is trendy now, but you should understand its roots
Tattoo hair has etched its way into a wider cultural consciousness as of late. The trend, a process of shaving designs into undercut hair styles, is taking over social media.
But the practice is nothing new, and it's important to know why.
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Despite a cool new moniker, Meredith Chesney of Brooklyn's The Corner Barber, points out that these kinds of hair designs have been a staple of black barbershops for some time.
"I think it's sort of lame that [people are] referring to it as 'hair tattoos;' they're called designs, and they're nothing new to black barbershops," Chesney tells Mashable. "Why does it need a new hipster name, now that young, white women are doing them too? Regardless...I love them, and always have."
While "hair tattoos" are making social media waves more than ever, their history runs deep. Twitter was quick to remind Cosmopolitan of this when the magazine first covered the hair trend.
To get the look, Chesney said a barber must start by "preparing the canvas," or cutting the hair down to the desired length.
From there, barbers employ a variety of techniques to create the designs — razors, edging clippers, etc. — and time and price depends on the level of complexity of the work.
"Geometric patterns and abstract patterns look the coolest to me," Chesney told Mashable. "The most difficult, of course, are portraits or realistic images. Those are usually too corny for most people to wear 'for real,' but it does happen. Especially as tributes, or if they are big into sports and want some giant corny mascot type design."
At the end of the day, it's hair. It'll grow back all over again. At least now you can be more informed about its history.
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Topics Beauty
