In a global survey of football fans across eight nations facilitated by Head & Shoulders, David Beckham’s cornrows masterpiece was voted #1 narrowly pipping former Newcastle United manager Ruud Gullit’s trademark dreadlocks to the top of the hairstyle table.
In his playing days in the late 1980s and early 1990s Gullit captained the Dutch national team while sporting iconic dreadlocks, earning him the nickname ‘Captain Dread’.
While the hairstyle is more common in today’s society, Gullit was a pioneer of the look. Captain Dread was one of the first recognisable athletes to sport dreadlocks and at the time it was a revolutionary statement.
The dreads were a nod to Gullit’s Surinamese heritage and also reflected the player’s love of reggae music. Gullit was an amateur musician himself and even released a single in 1984, ‘Not the dancing kind’, the record made it in to the Top 10 charts in the Netherlands.
While the hairstyle has become more popular over time, the poll showed that an overwhelming majority (68%) of football fans still prefer more conventional hairstyles for themselves. The Polished Pompadour made famous by the likes of Olivier Giroud is the most sought after look this summer.
In promotion of the Men Ultra range and as part of the Head & Shoulders #JUSTWATCHME campaign, football hairstylist Landry Agres is giving fans exclusive football hairstyle tutorials so they can replicate any one of Beckham’s lids.
“Treating their scalps as blank canvases, footballers have long given their hairstylists full creative license in crafting artistic masterpieces that make statements, set trends and that grab the headlines when gracing football’s biggest stages,” commented Agres.
As part of the #JUSTWATCHME campaign, fans can now visit www.headandshoulders.com for exclusive tutorials from Agres.
