Courtesy of @magpatinahair
From Alysa Liu’s halo rings to Ena Mori’s shroom haircut, alternative styles are making their way into the mainstream.
Be honest, how many times have you watched Alysa Liu skate to PinkPantheress’ “Stateside”? Beyond her Olympic success, Liu has become a popular figure in beauty, going viral for the halo rings in her hair just as much as her skating. “You know how trees have rings for their age? I thought, every year I’m gonna add a new halo around my hair,” she says in an interview with NBC.
But long before Liu’s performance, alternative hairstyles had been slowly hitting the mainstream in the Philippines, especially in the music and art scene. Just take a look at Ena Mori, who started sporting a halo and shroom haircut last year, or IV of Spades’ Zild Benitez, who’s done colored hair and mod cuts throughout his career. In the short film Surface Tension, actress Mariana Serrano had pink and purple highlights and bobbed hair, which transitioned into a moto bixie cut after shooting the film.
During the pandemic, hair experimentation became popular. In a 2021 OnePoll survey (on behalf of Garnier), 33% of American women dyed their hair at home for the first time during the pandemic. Now, bright underlayers peek out from office-appropriate styles, unconventional cuts are no longer confined to subcultures, and salons are slowly adapting to a clientele that wants more than the standard menu.
For Rej Hidalgo, the stylist behind Magpatina Hair, alternative hairstyles are becoming more popular as people get more exposed to them. “Easier access to media, more inspiration, more experimentation,” she says. Once confined to niche communities or underground scenes, alternative styles are now available at a scroll.
Part of the appeal is its refusal to conform. Hidalgo defines it simply as “any style that traditional salons would normally not accept.” In that sense, going alternative is less about aesthetics and more about autonomy. That personal aspect is key. Unlike trend-driven beauty, alternative hair doesn’t operate on seasonal cycles or mass appeal, but invites interpretation. “There’s no rulebook in the alt world,” she explains.
For those hesitant to fully commit, she suggests styles like underdye or peekaboo color as a starting point. But at Magpatina, Hidalgo approaches each client as an individual case, someone whose lifestyle, interests, and personality inform the final look. “I follow what the client really wants,” she says. “I get to know them… all of that has a factor.”
Despite her openness to experimentation, Hidalgo is firm on one thing: there’s no need to rush. “If you’re not ready, that’s okay,” she says. “Do what makes you most confident at this moment.” As she puts it more simply: if you like it, do it.
