1992-1993: The wave
It took me forever, but I finally got around to digging out my fifth-grade school picture to close out this series about 1992 and 1993.
What’s so great about my fifth-grade picture? It features an excellent example of “the wave,” my signature hairstyle when I was a kid:
Look at that thing! It was perfectly sculpted with LA Looks styling gel for picture day, supposedly September 22, 1993, according to what my mom wrote on the back of the photo. I was no doubt ready to write about aliens invading my neighborhood, play The Oregon Trail and Number Munchers, and drain threes in my driveway after school—all while the wave of brown hair crashing across my forehead stayed perfectly formed.
The wave was my signature look for a long time, and I developed it by accident sometime in 1992. I saw in the mirror after waking up one morning that my hair was pushed up and stuck in a cascading wave at the front. I sleep on my side, so the hair was set like that while I slept on my left side. I thought it looked really cool and decided to leave it the way it was. It was literally the best case of bedhead ever.
The next morning was a different story, of course: I slept differently and the wave was not perfect. Thus began my obsession with recreating the wave every morning using different sprays and gels. It took some time, but I finally mastered the art of sculpting the wave with the help of LA Looks.
I stopped using styling products sometime around seventh grade. I combed my hair into a wave every morning, but I was not as fussy about it. Sometime in early 1999, I abandoned the wave and let my hair fall naturally, letting it do its own thing in a type of mop top au naturel.
However, the wave made a comeback after a 17-year hiatus. On September 10, 2016 (yes, I remember the date), I parted my hair into the wave for the first time since high school. It took time to master the morning sculpt again, but I’ve gotten the hang of it with the help of another LA product: Imperial Matte Pomade Paste. What I wear now is more of a modern take, with shorter sides and a distinct part, but the spirit of 1992 is always there.
What’s so great about my fifth-grade picture? It features an excellent example of “the wave,” my signature hairstyle when I was a kid:
Look at that thing! It was perfectly sculpted with LA Looks styling gel for picture day, supposedly September 22, 1993, according to what my mom wrote on the back of the photo. I was no doubt ready to write about aliens invading my neighborhood, play The Oregon Trail and Number Munchers, and drain threes in my driveway after school—all while the wave of brown hair crashing across my forehead stayed perfectly formed.
The wave was my signature look for a long time, and I developed it by accident sometime in 1992. I saw in the mirror after waking up one morning that my hair was pushed up and stuck in a cascading wave at the front. I sleep on my side, so the hair was set like that while I slept on my left side. I thought it looked really cool and decided to leave it the way it was. It was literally the best case of bedhead ever.
The next morning was a different story, of course: I slept differently and the wave was not perfect. Thus began my obsession with recreating the wave every morning using different sprays and gels. It took some time, but I finally mastered the art of sculpting the wave with the help of LA Looks.
I stopped using styling products sometime around seventh grade. I combed my hair into a wave every morning, but I was not as fussy about it. Sometime in early 1999, I abandoned the wave and let my hair fall naturally, letting it do its own thing in a type of mop top au naturel.
However, the wave made a comeback after a 17-year hiatus. On September 10, 2016 (yes, I remember the date), I parted my hair into the wave for the first time since high school. It took time to master the morning sculpt again, but I’ve gotten the hang of it with the help of another LA product: Imperial Matte Pomade Paste. What I wear now is more of a modern take, with shorter sides and a distinct part, but the spirit of 1992 is always there.
