Anyone know how to get Billie Joe's hairstyle from the 21st Century Breakdown video?

[D00M_2004]

As title says. 

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

Are you a two-dimensional black and white animation? I think it's gonna be hard otherwise

[Steven Seagull]

I don't think it would be legal to scalp Billie.

[Jimmy Strummer]

I used to have a similar style when my hair was longer, but then I switched to only short and trim hairstyles 'cause long hair is always frustrating for me to try and work with. What I do is a little time-consuming and potentially dangerous, but it's been working for me ever since I graduated high school, so I see no reason to quit now. And now I'll pass that wisdom on to you:
 

Spoiler

 

Step 1: Shower as you normally would with your regular shampoo and conditioner, blow-dry your hair, then brush it into the basic shape you want.

Step 2: Coat every part of your hair with a very generous amount of gel (the one I used back then, I still use it to this day and I highly recommend it, is L'Oreal Studio Out Of Bed Texturizer; so far I've only been able to find it at CVS for roughly $5.50 USD). Make sure when you apply the gel that you go with the shape you combed it in, not against it. Also, you don't wanna use too much gel, just enough to evenly coat your entire head with one nice solid layer.

Step 3, and this is probably the most important step: Let the gel air-dry for about 30 minutes, maybe longer depending on how much gel you put in. Sitting/lying down in front of a fan running at medium speed or simply blow-drying your hair on your blow-dryer's "cool" setting helps the gel dry faster if you're short on time or your room is a little too warm in your house. What I usually do is I have my ceiling fan running on high and I lie on my bed in front of my floor fan set to medium so I get my hair dried from both the front and the top (the back is a little tough to dry sometimes but it usually dries along with the top).

Step 4: Once everything is completely dry, take your flat-iron and start straightening every bit of hair that you covered with gel, section by section. This is why letting the gel dry completely is important because, seeing as how most gels are fairly flammable, you run the risk of burning your hair off if you try to straighten while it's still wet. If you're having trouble grabbing certain sections of your hair because you've gelled it down quite a bit, you might want to dig a little bit into your scalp underneath your hair with your fingertips (not your fingernails, your fingertips) and try lifting the section you want from the root up. This is probably the most time-consuming part of the process (and painful, though not too much), but trust me when I say it's definitely worth it.

Step 5: Once every bit of your hair has been hit with the flat-iron, tussle and shake your hair with your hands to remove all the stiffness that the gel/flat-iron combo left you with. This should give your hair a texture that's similar to what Billie's hair supposedly feels like*: crunchy but soft at the same time. If you're going for an upward spike like Billie's St. Jimmy style, it helps to do this process with your head hanging upside-down so your hair will stand mostly on end after you shake out the excess gel.

Step 6: Use your brush or your fingers to work your hair into the style you're going for, spray it down when you've got it just the way you want, and you're done!

 

* I only know what Billie's hair feels like because I follow someone on Tumblr (or maybe it was someone on here) who asked him after an American Idiot Musical performance if they could touch it (oddly enough, he obliged), and that's the way they described how it felt.

 

 

[Hermione]

That's a very in depth and helpful answer! I'm just going to take the opportunity to post the video of the Billie hair touching incident because you mentioned it

Oh and I'll also move this to Green Day Chat, for future reference that's where Green Day related topics like this should be made  

[BilIie Joe Armstrong]

this video always reminds me of the guy who patted Obama on the head 

[GenXIdiot]

That's really weird that someone asked him if they could touch his hair, and even weirder that he said yes...but I'm also strangely jealous of that person, too...

[Hermione]

I've touched it without asking and can confirm the description of the texture above is accurate

[Alan86]

You'd get that hairstyle by going to a hairdresser and asking for it.

 

/thread

[GenXIdiot]

3 hours ago, Hermione said:

I've touched it without asking and can confirm the description of the texture above is accurate

Now I AM jealous!Lucky!!!

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

Wow...this thread 

 

[BilIie Joe Armstrong]

13 minutes ago, st_trillie said:

Wow...this thread 

 

#qualitycontent 

I love this picture

[Pixus]

Jhirmack styling spritz 

[Ham Pascale]

16 minutes ago, Pixus said:

Jhirmack styling spritz 

In all seriousness, Billie used Jhirmack in as early as 1990...

[Hermione]

4 hours ago, Pixus said:

Jhirmack styling spritz 

That's how he gets it good and crunchy  

[Comrade]

Easiest way to do it is just straighten your hair, mix good quality sculpting putty and hair spray in your hands, work that into your hair and then just hairspray to oblivion. Takes like 15 minutes. 

 

Can this question not be answered in a pinned FAQ on the front page or something? 

[Kirsty80]

Definitely get a good quality picture and take it to a hairdresser to cut it - I've done so many "home jobs" myself and I always end up regretting it as it never looks the way it should. And they will also advise you on the styling products too and show you how to do it. good luck with getting it the way you want

[okotavio]

Don't

[Not a Salad]

You just kinda get the hairstyle, you know?