Last week, Baxter of California released the next installment of its Life Live True campaign, which puts the focus on its home city of LA. This time around, it spotlights the subcultures of the city of angels—skate, surf, art, music and indie—featuring models found via street casting.
Baxter enlisted 16-year barbering pro Julius “Julius Caesar” Arriola (@juliuscaesar) to create styles that enhance each model’s personality, acting as an avenue of self-expression.
“I took the time to really try to understand the subcultures that Baxter of California's ‘Live Lived True’ campaign is representing,” Julius said. “With these looks, I made sure not to alter the individuals away from their genuine ‘anything and everything goes’ lifestyles, but instead to bring their strong, unique features to the forefront. Nothing is worse than style that reads off forced—you can see the discomfort in it all. How one chooses to present themselves to the world through grooming is definitely a prominent expression of freedom and life lived true.”
Here’s how Arriola achieved each look.
Music: The Sophisticated Jimi
This look is reminiscent of Woodstock and revolution, rebellious with a modern twist. Arriola set hair to bring out the natural fullness in curls with Clay Effect Style Spray. Then he blow-dried with a diffuser on medium heat and lightly combed for a laser sharp side-part. “As a musician, it’s important to find inspirations from the legendary forefathers of the game, and innovate new waves for today’s era,” Arriola says. “This pertains to not only through developing iconic sounds, but custom-tailored imagery, even with the choice of hairstyle.”
Indie: Manchester Shag
“The resurgence of longer hairstyles has been quite evident, and feeling like a rock star has always held its place in prevalence in culture,” Arriola says. For this look, he cut hair past the shoulders and added medium to long layers, topping it off with a soft fringe to frame the face. He diffused Clay Effect Style Spray into damp hair to pull out layers.
Skate: Sunset Slick-Back
Arriola cut the hair so that it can be easily styled in a variety of ways. For everyday styling, apply Clay Effect Style Spray liberally into damp hair and blow-dry with medium heat using a vent brush. Then hand-apply Cream Pomade. A more sleek look can be achieved by applying Soft Water Pomade to damp hair.
Art: Texture El Naturale
This edgy look was created by cutting the hair short and square with texture and a wispy outline. Emulsify a small amount of Clay Pomade into the palm and apply onto damp hair. Let it air dry for a low-maintenance look.