Since the beginning of time, the fade (high or low, or a zero) has been the default haircut of the Filipino American male. It’s cheap, relatively easy and can be done at home. It goes with most outfits and isn’t all that hard to maintain.
I’ve tried variations, like the full head shave prior to my first trip to Europe, the mullet that all American children have at some point due to the carelessness of their parents and the high and tight military style during Army JROTC in high school (which ensured that we looked bald outside of the berets we wore for drum corps). But I always went back to this.
And now that the frequency of my haircut isn’t dependent on how nice I am to my brothers during any given week (we cut each others’ hair growing up, naturally fights would delay these procedures), I walk out of a barber on Geneva every 2-3 weeks feeling shorn and hopeful.
It’s kind of a nice rhythm.
