Popular haircut 'the Edgar' becoming a cultural phenomenon among young Latinos
ALAMEDA -- Keeping up with social trends among teens and young adults can be tough at times. But this is hard to miss – it's a haircut that has gained tremendous popularity in the last few years in the Bay Area. It's called "the Edgar" cut.
Gilberto Mozqueda is a barber in the East Bay. He goes by Cutz by Gil He says he used to get the Edgar cut before it was even considered an Edgar.
"You could either do it with a fade which is a haircut all around the sides. Doesn't really matter the type of fade – low fade, mid fade, high fade. But pretty much what an Edgar is is a lineup in the front, which is what it's really known by. You could also get it with a taper," Mozqueda said.
He said can get around 15 people a week asking for this type of haircut.
One of his clients that visits him at The XIII, a barbershop in Alameda, is Armán Ortíz. He says he goes in to get his hair cut about every 2 ½ weeks.
"I just stuck with this for the reason that I felt like this was the right cut for me," Ortíz said.
If you type in "Edgar haircut," many videos will pop up of young men who have this hairstyle. Mozqueda said he mostly gets Latino men asking for the cut.
"TikTok does miracles when it comes to blowing up things. It just makes everything get really noticed," Mozqueda said. "In the beginning, everyone was making fun of it, and they were just like, 'You look like an Edgar!' But all of a sudden, everyone started getting it. Even the people that made fun of it. It's everywhere now."
It's not an easy cut. KPIX 5 spent about 45 minutes to an hour as Mozqueda cut Ortíz's hair.
"I remember when I was a little younger, I used to get it. My mom was like, 'I could have done this at home,'" Mozqueda said. "But it's not really that easy. They think there is no effort into doing it, but there really is."
It's a mystery where the name Edgar came from for this cut, but the one thing for certain is the popularity around it is not showing any signs of slowing down.
However, there is a problem associated with the haircut. KPIX 5 spoke with Alexandro José Gradilla, an associate professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at CSU Fullerton. He said negative traits are starting to be associated with someone who has the cut.
But he thinks coming out of the pandemic, it's been about young Latino men trying to find their identity.
"Psychologically and socially, you have to reconcile the fact that, 'OK, I'm not a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American.' So when we talk about Americans, I feel like I don't fit in. And I speak so much English, and all my references are kind of American. I'm not really Mexican, especially if I'm born in the US," he said.
But Gradilla adds that the cut is an unapologetic, powerful statement in terms of being proud to say, "I am who I am."
"Some people act with their haircut, if that makes sense. So say if someone has an Edgar haircut, and they walk a certain way, or a certain way they talk or anything. But for me it just all depends. Someone could have an Edgar haircut and they could act totally different," Ortíz said.
And there's variety in style.
"Now a lot of people get it with the long hair in the back, the mullet and stuff, there's a lot of different styles with it," Mozqueda said.
Ortíz said when his cut is done, he feels more confident.
"Getting the haircut makes me feel fresh, makes me feel new, it feels good," he said.
And for Mozqueda, that's what he wants. He wants them to be happy with the result.
"Makes me feel like I did a good job," he said.