Okay, so I have shaved a mohawk into my head. It is the first one I have had since the 80s. I like it, BUT, I can find nothing that will hold it up properly. I have tried hair glue, Rave4 spray etc. Nothing works. It will form a “devilock” or near Flocl of Seagulls do okay, but will not stay up in the 'hawk properly.
It is around 10 inches long. My hair is very very thick - this may be part of the problem. Way back when, we used to use egg whites to stick them up. It worked okay but I am a little loathe to do so these days (the reasons should be obvious).
My brother uses clear elmer’s glue to get his mohawk to stay up. His hair is at least 7 inches long. He usually does a fan, or liberty spikes (I’m not sure if that makes a difference). I know his friends say they’ve used a mix of hair spray and gelatin.
I used to get my mohawk up with either green soap or hairspray. I used Wella Ultra Strong, no idea if you can get that brand where you live, or even if it’s still sold here in the Netherlands, but it worked.
Problem with hairspray: choking from the gasses.
Problem with soap: rain. It’s not much fun to walk around with soap in your eyes, especially when wearing contact lenses.
My cousin used to have a 9" mohawk and found that white rain and mrs breck hairspray worked pretty damn good. It was a lot cheaper than some of those hair glues.
A friend of mine used to use a mix of egg whites and elmer’s glue. It took awhile to dry, but once it was done it was rock-hard. It’s still pretty easy to wash out, but don’t make the water too hot or it will make the egg harder to remove.
I should probably read the OP a little better next time, huh? A mix might still be better than straight-up egg whites, though. He also used paint, but that was to get it to glow in black light, and I have no idea how he got it out, as it made his hair cement-like (he MUST have washed it somehow, because he couldn’t leave it up for work, so I know he didn’t have the pain in during the week). I wouldn’t bother with hair glues - if you’re going to glue, Elmer’s is just as good, and much cheaper. In my experience, the cheaper the product, the stiffer the results. More expensive products, for the most part, are formulated to give hair movement AND hold. A big tub of ultra-cheap gel will work better than the expensive stuff for your purposes.
Also be careful using glue or spray paint - I had friends who lost due to breaking entire chunks of hair due to both.
Knox is far better if you need more hold than hairspray alone can provide.
With backcombing I almost never needed to use anything but the cheapest hairspray, and my hair would still be up in the morning (over 24 hours hold) after putting my hair up.
You mention that your hair is thick, so I’d have a stylist cut some of the weight out of it. My friends usually used geletin or glue and then kept a can of this hairspray called Stiff Stuff in the car for emergencies. I used that for my non-mohawk style and it held up to everything except swimming in gym class.
The trick with whatever you use seemed to be to get it right down at the roots so you won’t get any flopping about.
The highest I ever had one was around 6 or 7 inches (I’m guessing here; I never measured), but cheap gel worked for me. I believe it was one of those tubs of the clear stuff you can get at the dollar store. Just use lots and make sure it’s saturated all through your hair and not just applied as an outer shell.
I once read that Tim from Rancid would turn his head sideways, lay his hair on a piece of plywood, and superglue it. I’m pretty sure his was up in the 15+ inches range at that point though.
I love the irony of what some people will go through (including me, when I was younger) to make it look like they don’t care how they look :).
I used to use I.C.E. hair glue. That stuff dries pretty darn solid, and washes out without pain, since it’s intended for hair. See if you can get a free sample or little trial tube from the hairdresser’s.
I have nothing helpful to add, but I want to express my admiration. I’ve wanted a mohawk since I first heard Minor Threat in about 1983 (at the age of 12), but never had the cojones to do it.
Early to finish, I was late to start
I might be an adult, but I’m a minor at heart
I have tried the I.C.E. with limited success. I think I may have to get my hair thinned a little more to help it stand up. Having said that even liberty spikes (we called them candle sticks) will not stand right now.
I am going to try the gelatin trick and conbine it with I.C.E. and Rave4 spray and see what happens. I will also go back to laying down, covering my mouth and nose and getting it sprayed for me, then dried, then turning over and doing the other side.
