Barber shaves WC dreams into Brazilian fans' hair

In a barbershop in Resende, in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state, World Cup fever is going ​to people's heads, quite literally. Barber Washington Santos, 27, has ‌created a haircut featuring the Brazilian flag to celebrate the country's bid for a sixth World Cup title, or "hexa" in Portuguese.

The "Hexa Cut" has become a hit among ​local fans eager to show their confidence in the national ​team's campaign.

Santos first introduced the style during the 2022 World ⁠Cup, when videos of his work began circulating online. He revived it ​for this year's tournament and has already painted the green, yellow, blue ​and white flag into the hair of about 30 customers, most of them children and teenagers.

"I wanted to create something different," he said.

The process begins with a ​haircut and bleaching the hair until it turns white. Santos then uses ​homemade stencils of his own design to outline the flag before painting the blue ‌circle, ⁠yellow diamond and green background, finishing the finer details by hand.

Santos, who entered the profession more than a decade ago after a friend invited him to take a barbering course at a local residents' association, now ​sees about five ​customers a week ⁠requesting the style. Demand surges ahead of Brazil's matches.

Since creating the design, Santos has expanded his repertoire to ​include the flags of other countries, spider webs, and ​soccer ⁠club colors.

During a visit to the barber this week, Gleizyane de Souza, a 27-year-old fan, said she believed the haircut could help bring Brazil its ⁠long-awaited ​sixth World Cup.

"We're doing our part," she ​said. "Now it's up to the players to do theirs."