Brave new hair at the weekly Makattak

Thursday afternoon at The Collective in Makati is eerily quiet. The restaurants are open, but no one really eats at four o'clock. The shops are open, too, but it's way too early and the dry summer air is soporific. Everything is still except for Blackbook, where Hair x Makattak is just beginning.

A pixie-sized girl sits on a stool while haircut artist Macky Angeles snips away. Similar Objects' Jorge Wieneke is in charge of the beats, and The Drums' Let's Go Surfing fills the small room. In a corner, Joey Alvero snaps photos of the images before, after and in-between the styling session. The song is light and happy, the kind that makes you want to run along the shore and try to hug the waves. But if you're stuck in the humid city, the next best thing might be to get a haircut. And if you're feeling adventurous, not just any haircut. Get one by Makattak. One look at Angeles and you know you won't be getting the usual salon experience. That is, of course, if you couldn't tell at once from the set-up. The absence of girly magazines and the intoxicating smell of nail polish, the single stool, and the exclusivity of a once-a-week hair cutting event are more than enough assurance that you won't look like anything you've looked before. If you've ever gone to the salon and ended up wishing you'd done your hair yourself, Makattak may just be who you need. "I started cutting hair because I like cutting my own hair. The salon never did it properly for me," says Angeles, whose friends usually really like how her hair turns out. Angeles then tried cutting hair for her friends. "I can connect with them more, because I know their kind of style," she says. One of her greatest successes is Alvero's haircut. "Everyone loves Joey's hair. That's the one I get the most comments on because, it's like a big change for him. A lot of people tell me even his personality has changed," says Angeles. Alvero recalls that he was forced into it, and it gave way to the idea of having haircuts and selling them. "She cut my afro in half and it worked out really well. I was peer pressured into it, but I'm actually very glad it happened. I look more like a drug addict now," he jokes. "Apparently my hair suits my practice of photography. Apparently it makes me more legit. So it works naman," says Alvero. For the conservative type, Angeles can also do simple trims. Dia Tan, who comes in every week for a trim, says that Angeles is very easy to talk to. "You can tell her what you want to do with your hair. So far people come here and they're like, oh I want to shave my hair or I want this design on my head, or cut it really short, or I wanna look edgy or can you just trim it? And she's like yeah, sure," says Tan. Sometimes people come in because they want their salon cuts remedied, or they simply want to try something new. "Either that or there's something too crisp or salonesque about it," says Angeles, who describes her style as very d-i-y. "Like, punk scene, it's really jagged. The cuts are super clean but it's part of the style I guess, that genre," she says. Despite her adventurous style, many people put complete trust in her judgment. Angeles says that she expected people to come in bringing pictures, which would make it easier for her. Instead, she observes, "Lately a lot of people have been coming to me and saying, so what do you think would look good on me? Or like, you know what, you have creative freedom to do whatever you want." When this happens, she talks to them for a bit longer. "I really don't know anything about the person sometimes. When it's a complete stranger I don't know what they'd be comfortable with, or like, you know, what style would suit them with their personality or if they need an extreme haircut or anything like that," she says. Angeles explains that her haircuts aren't for everyone, either. "It's something that people can do for themselves, they don't have to stick to the plane Jane or you know, regular hair. If they feel that they want to express themselves in that it's fine. They shouldn't try to make their hair look like everyone else's," she says. Haircuts x Makattak is on its second month, and since its beginning, customers have doubled. At first it was simply haircuts and headshots, with Angeles snipping hair and Alvero snapping photos. Two weeks ago they decided to make it bigger, bringing in beats by Similar Objects and burgers from Offbeat Cafe. Initially, it was free, but now, the cost of a haircut depends on how difficult it is. "One time we had this guy come in with this very crazy rococo design, with curls and everything. He had the design etched onto the side of his head. It took her a while and it was really arduous work but she performed really well," says Alvero. In around five hours, Angeles can cut hair for up to eleven people. So far, no one's complained. – YA, GMA News Hair x Makattak happens every Thursday at 4 p.m. at Blackbook Design, The Collective, 7274 Malugay St. Makati City. All photos are by Joey Alvero. For more information, visit http://www.makattak.tk