The return of the mullet?

Billy Ray Cyrus

For those of us who are unfamiliar with this "business in the front, party in the back" hairstyle, because
A: You are too young to remember this, ahem, "unique" look
or
B: You have been living under a rock;

it is a style in which the front and side portions of the hair are cropped quite short, and the the back is left substantially longer, most of the time long enough to put up in a pony tail.

AC Slater

You are probably wondering, why has she chosen to write about such a horrid thing??
Recently,  I have had a few cases where my younger male clients have asked me to cut their hair into mullets. My first thought is, do you even know what that is? But when I proceed to cut my version of  a more blended mullet, I am told to "go shorter" on the top and sides. They want the real thing. Seriously?
Seriously. It has come to my attention that many young guys will see this old fashioned do' on someone at school, and the next moment they are sitting in my chair asking for one. Is this a good thing? I really don't know.

David Beckham

Now, all this being said, there are modern versions of the mullet that I find much more appealing. Yes, its true! These versions are less about tripling the length of hair on the back of the head. It is cropped quite short on the sides, a little longer on top, allowing for some movement and styling, and the back is usually just grazing the shoulders. These types of styles can be seen mostly on soccer players, David Beckham being one, but have also been seen on some Hollywood celebs such as Orlando Bloom, or even David Spade. (I kid about the latter!)

Orlando Bloom

Ladies, don't worry I am not leaving you out of this. While extremely popular in the 80's, I would not suggest leaving the house with a fresh, tightly permed, aggressively teased mullet. 

Female 80's Mu-leh

I do, however, love the modern "femmullet". (Of course there is a term for it!!) This version of the style is usually adapted to the wearer's natural hair texture, and is much softer than it's original form. Layered through the crown and sides, it is shorter on the top, but somewhat blended through to the back. This creates an edgy "rocker look" that can either be textured with some hair paste, or softened with round brush styling.

"Femmullet"

Taylor Momsen

A softer version of the modern mullet can be seen on some of Hollywood's stars such as Taylor Momsen from "Gossip Girl". I happen to love this style. It creates tons of movement within the hair, totally collapsing all the weight and bulkiness through the ends.It also adds some style to the hair when pulled up in a pony tail.

Taylor Momsen with pony tail

Although I love the modern mullet, this style is not for everyone. Do not attempt this style if you love the feeling of your thick long hair. It is layered as much as possible, so the ends of your hair will feel a lot thinner. If you love your long flowing layers, this is not for you. This cut tends to look choppy - think rocker, not Hollywood glam.

"Skullet"

In closing, if you are related or know someone who is wearing a style similar to this, please do the world a favor and creep into their room while they're sleeping to cut off that awful tale that's growing out of the back of their head. Even in the 80's, this was wrong.

Yuk.

Also, if there is any inclination that the person is balding, or chooses to shave the top of their head, and leave the back so it is flowing and long, please take my earlier advice of cutting it off. The "Skullet" is also very wrong, and if you are wearing this in public, expect people to scream, point and run away from you.


-A