Generation NEXT

Young hairstylists Justine Ocampo, Carlo Roblico and Dale Mallari are transforming hair into a powerful form of pride

- MIA CASTRO

Beauty is having a moment. We have gone through years of makeup and hair needing to look flawless, but today's youth is bringing back the total freedom and joy that comes with expressing our identity through how we look. When it comes to hair, leave it to our up-and-coming hairstylists to shake up old beauty rules and unlock a whole new door to hairstyle possibilities.

Some can make a blown-out mane look effortless, while others are experimenting with what our trusty straightening iron can create. But one thing they do have in common is that they are pushing the conversation around the hair in ways both awe-inspiring and audacious. By taking what they learned from their mentors and creating their own techniques, their work is going beyond the surface of superficiality and straight to the real roots of what hair can be a symbol of one's pride, which we can wear every day.

JUSTINE OCAMPO

With a natural intuition that hairstyling was his calling, Justine Ocampo was determined to enter the beauty and grooming industry. This led him to personally message industry experts if he could learn from them first-hand.

"I knew that I had to step out of my comfort zone and learn from people who specialize in hairstyling," he shares.

This courageous act allowed him to learn under veteran celebrity hairstylist Mark Anthony Rosales: "He guided me on how the whole industry works, which I think is one of the most important things as a newbie in this field."