While the look may have been previously identified as a disturbing case of bed head, today the urban chic are calling it cool. The term faux hawk refers to a hairstyle in which a strip (or patch) of hair across the top of the head is longer and/or higher than the hair on the remainder of the head.

In "Last Trends of Summer: The Fauxhawk" (Chicago Tribune, August 26, 2003), Whet Moser explains the preparation and cult-following of the style:

"The name is, of course, a play on the mohawk style, which it resembles only in principle: The hair is noticeably longer on top than on the sides. But whereas a proper mohawk is completely shaved on the sides and drastically high in the middle... the fauxhawk simply requires hair that's longer where the mohawk would be." The Extreme Version: A mohawk, but instead of a "real" mohawk where you shave the sides of your head, you just glue up the middle part of your regular hair so that it is in the style of the mohawk.

The definition of the faux hawk has evolved as it has been adopted by virtually all metrosexuals and other style-conscious modern men. More recently, women have embraced the faux hawk and elevated it to a whole new level.

Although the look demands far more effort than it would seem at first glance, the hairstyle is not highly manicureda contradiction of styles, and is best achieved when it comes off as fortunately unkempt.

Anyone can obtain this precariously coiffed 'do: Men and women with shorter styles should crop the hair on the sides of their head considerably shorter than on top, taking a page from Mr. T and then spackling spikes haphazardly in place with plenty of gel, pomade, or wax.

Women (or men for that matter) with longer hair can take advantage of an arsenal of product and pins to secure a slicked back look along the sides of their heads, crowned by a gloriously voluminous, texturized mass of waves. Warning: in some cases, hair extensions may be required in order to complete the anti-gravity style.

This exaggerated version of the faux hawk - which has been especially popular among young female celebrities and on fashion runways - is an interesting ultra-modern synthesis of the eras that have heavily inspired the direction of this season's fashions: The glamour of the 1950s pompadour fused with punk, bad-ass, big 1980s hair.