Local tots rock the 'hawk

He's not quite 2 years old yet, but Calvin Nunn is the talk of the toddler set wherever he goes.

“Little kids have to touch his head when we're at the park or when we're playing,” said Calvin's mother, Jessica Nunn. “It's hilarious.”

That's because on and off for the past year, the little Leland resident has been rockin' a ‘hawk – in other words, a mohawk hairstyle, with his head shaved on the sides and carefully styled spikes down the middle.

Calvin's not the only little guy with tall hair. Delyn Fritz, owner of Ribbet Salon & Shop for Kids on College Road, said mohawks and especially faux hawks – where the hair isn't shaved completely on the sides but still styled toward the sky in the middle – have been a trend this summer among boys.

“You see a lot of celebrities doing that, too, so it's kind of found its way to the kids,” Fritz said, adding that she recently saw Ellen DeGeneres wearing a faux hawk on TV.

Bill Graham, owner of Graham's Barber Shop at 510 Castle St. for 20 years, said movies may have helped lead to an uptick in mohawk requests. “The A-Team” was released this month with one of the main characters, B.A. Baracus, played by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, wearing the Mohawk style made famous by Mr. T in the 1980s “A-Team” TV show. Various athletes, including soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham, have sported variations of the mohawk or faux hawk.

Named for the Native Americans who wore their hair that way in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York, the origins of the mohawk as a trend in the United States are often traced to the punk rock movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The hairdo was even discovered on the more than 2,000-year-old mummified body of a man in Ireland about four years ago. Experts said they believe the man, who was about 5 feet two inches tall, may have been trying to make himself look taller by using a substance made from vegetable oil and pine tree resin to style the strip of hair on his head, according to a 2006 National Geographic article.

At one point, Calvin's mohawk was 5 inches tall, his mother said. “He could ride all the rides if his hair counted,” said Jessica Nunn (who is no relation to the author of this story). She said the mohawk and long hair are the only styles she prefers for boys, and it takes care of the problem of two cowlicks Calvin has.

Graham said the majority of people who have come into his shop for mohawks are 13 years old or younger, and he's seen the style come and go two other times during the 48 years he's owned barber shops in Wilmington and Philadelphia.

At Cuttin' Up Hair Salon For Kids, the faux hawk is more popular than the mohawk for boys, said Courtney Wright, manager.

“As far as real, true mohawks, most parents don't go for it,” she said.

What's Calvin's opinion? He didn't say much about it at a recent photo shoot, but he was visibly disappointed when the photographer finished taking pictures of his ‘hawk. Of course, it was past his nap time. And if the style falls flat while he's asleep, Nunn will put it back together with a styling product called got2B glued.

“He loves getting his mohawk done in the morning,” Jessica Nunn said.