Cut the crap

A new Bandra salon offering military-style haircuts has us ponder on the charm of the buzz, crew and undercut among civilians.

The door handle gracing the entrance to Shiva’s Salute, a new salon in Bandra West, is designed to make you stop and take a look. Shaped like an assault rifle, the knob is a giveaway to what lies within. The green walls are decorated with faux guns, helmets, ammunition boxes, and medals. The theme extends to the uniform of staffers and hairstylists, all clad in olive tees and military cargo pants. “I call it a barbershop with a difference,” says Shivarama Bhandary, 59, its founder. 

Last week, he launched the 22nd outlet of the salon chain in Mumbai, and has chosen to dedicate it to the Indian armed forces. “Last year, I was invited to the Republic Day parade in Delhi for the first time. Watching the tableaus honouring the Indian armed forces and the nation’s rich cultural heritage was a surreal experience. It inspired me to do my bit before I retire,” says the hairstylist. He may not have been hot on academics, clearing only class V, but he is one of the city’s more well-known hairdressers for men, including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. 

Shivarama Bhandary opened Shiva Salute after he was inspired watching the Republic Day parade last year. He says he plans to donate a part of the profits to the Army Welfare Fund. Pic/Shadab Khan

The latest outpost offers a range of military-inspired haircuts, along with run-of-the-mill services. A part of the sales, he claims, will be donated to the Army Welfare Fund. “Generally speaking, all military style haircuts are short and faded. It’s driven by a purpose; it’s  low-maintenance, hygienic, and will never block a soldier’s vision on the battlefield. Military men are self-disciplined and you can see that in their hair, too. However, you can experiment even with basic short and tight crops. I realised this when I visited London 20 years ago and saw a cop in a fade haircut, where the hair at the top did not exceed two inches and the sides were cut to the shortest length possible.” Other cuts like the burr and regulation are preferred among regimented men. In the former, the hair is trimmed down to just a few millimetres, it’s neat and easy to maintain, while in the latter the hair on the top is parted on the side so that it reveals a sharp line from the front to the back of the head. Thanks to his experience working for a sports club in Qatar, Bhandary is equipped to handle diverse hair textures. “My clients were mostly athletes and dignitaries from countries like Brazil, Korea, and Sudan, and their hair texture was markedly different from Indians. For instance, Brazilians have thick, beachy, wavy hair, while Koreans have a silky and smooth crop.”

Retired  Lt. Col Satyendra Verma, a pioneer in base jumping, says  the requirement for hair grooming standards is to maintain uniformity within a military population

Retired  Lt. Col Satyendra Verma, a pioneer in base jumping, says every unit in the army has its own barber. “As a young, new entrant, you’re first sent to the barber to demolish your mop. All that pride [you took in your hair] is quashed. It’s a rite of passage for junior cadets.”  The requirement for hair grooming standards is to maintain uniformity within a military population, he explains. “It’s not so much about tradition as it is about functionality. You want to avoid any hairstyle that does not allow soldiers to wear the headgear properly.” As per some regiments, the hair should not be visible out of your beret or P cap. Verma says, while at work, hair is the last thing on their mind. “When you’re on the battlefield, or going on frequent operations, or in a cold region like Siachen or somewhere in the Northeast, any surplus load that can be got rid of, is done away with. This includes your hair.”  

Kelly Osbourne, Rihanna. Pic/Getty Images; Tilda Swinton

According to Darshan Yewalekar, celebrity hairstylist and owner of Bandra’s D Shave Barbershop,  fades, undercut  and buzz cuts came into vogue around 2009-2010 in Europe and America, where barbers picked up the side short army style and blended it with the contemporary styles. “Schorem Barber, a barbershop in the Netherlands, played a huge role in bringing this in style. They called it Pompedore hair. So the undercut is nothing but a short side and long hair on top. We all know that when you see a side buzzed to zero, it is an army cut, also famously known as the crew cut in India.” He remembers the time when he visited Rishikesh to meet his childhood friend who serves in the 5th Rajputana Rifles.  “During my stay with him, I visited a local barber who mostly caters to army officials. When I sat in his chair, the first thing he said while looking at my long tresses was, ‘Kya sahab, badi lambi chhutti pe the’. I realised that he mistook me for an army personnel. So, I played along, and the next thing I know, is that he has started chopping my hair from the sides. I looked exactly like my friend,” he laughs. “This shows how deeply the hairstyle is embedded in the barbering community.”

Hairstylist Darshan Yewalekar at his Bandra salon. He says fades, the undercut and buzz cut came into vogue around 2009-2010 in Europe and America, where barbers picked up the side short army style and blended it with contemporary styles. Pic/Shadab Khan

In 2014, when the US Army updated grooming standards with the aim of ensuring uniformity among troops, it triggered a backlash on Capitol Hill. In doing so, they had reportedly also banned a number of natural hairstyles popular with black women. This year, the US Army decided to let its hair down a little by announcing changes to grooming requirements with the aim of fostering inclusion in the ranks. The new guidelines allow women to wear a short ponytail. It also removed minimum hair length for female soldiers, and will permit two hairstyles to be worn at once—twisted braids and a bun.

Bony Sashidharan

Although military haircuts have never gone out of fashion, they became popular in the lockdown, observes Bony Sasidharan, National Key Accounts Manager, Technical, at Schwarzkopf Professional.  “This was due to the sheer comfort and necessity at a time when reaching out to stylists was close to impossible. DIY videos added fuel to the fire.” According to him, military haircuts constitute classic, clean barbering, and have to be neat with zero texture allowed. “In the case of armed women, the hair needs to be swept away from the face with a clean bun or French twist if it’s cut in layers. Hair cut in bobs can be left open but no fringes or bangs are allowed,” he explains.  For Sasidharan, when it comes to the military cut, it is either a buzz or crew.  “Undercut and fade are actually an extension of those styles. The buzz and crew are getting popular because of the comfort of carrying them and avoiding a frequent visit to a stylist. But, when it comes to fade and undercut, you will have to visit your stylist more frequently to maintain it.”

Orange side fades is the new rage, Yewalekar shares. “Even women couldn’t stay away from this cool new trend. Most common [among women] was the back fade where they used to buzz the back of their head, two inches from the neck. Then they started creating designs in the buzzed area. I had so many requests for this. Some also went a bit bolder and buzzed one full side of the hair.” 

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