Anas Gadelrab
The smell of hair products pervades his senses as junior Anas Gadelrab works on his latest work: a low-taper fade. Each client he comes across is unique, meaning he must deploy his diverse skillset to adroitly shape, style and cut all textures and lengths of hair.
Gadelrab was inspired to begin his journey in cosmetology after seeing his friends struggling with their hair. They shared their troubles with finding the proper hair care products to fit their hair textures as well as suitable hairstyles to fit their overall appearance. In the beginning, he watched YouTube videos and followed popular haircutting Instagram accounts online.
“I felt that I could do better than those videos, so I just decided to start cutting hair,” Gadelrab said.
Quickly, he moved on to working with human subjects, starting with his brother. It was a tricky experience, yet he was able to learn quickly by watching tutorials while he worked. Gadelrab’s journey toward his current mastery in cosmetology was one of trial and error.
“I messed up the first couple of times, but the more I practiced, the more I improved,” Gadelrab said.
Since then, he has dedicated hours to honing his skills to cater to a steadily growing clientele, one which he has worked to procure over a span of around four months. Across this interim, he has diversified his business services, from providing only fades to now giving a variety of haircut styles, advice on which haircare products to use and even facial hair trims.
“No one has the same head shape so not every haircut will work on them,” Gadelrab said. “I recommend what I think looks best for each individual.”
Part of the reason he has grown such a loyal customer base is because of his policy: he only takes payment from satisfied customers.
“I cut their hair a couple of times for free,” Gadelrab said. “If they like it, they can pay me for future sessions, but I don’t want to take money from someone if they aren’t happy with the service.”
His business model is successful because his customers, which mainly consist of his friends and acquaintances, have left his barber chair both more content and more confident.
“After the haircuts, I usually feel pretty good,” junior and client Liam Cobb said. “They’re usually done really well and I’m very satisfied with the results. He’s improved a lot over the last couple of months.”
Although Gadelrab’s journey has been smooth sailing as of late, this has not always been the case. There have been a number of advanced techniques that took him many rounds of testing to conquer.
“It seems simple but getting the blend, the different levers — apparatuses to change the length of cut — and the flicking motion to blend hair lengths evenly were definitely the most difficult parts of the learning curve to overcome,” Gadelrab said.
Still, for every struggle, he has an equally motivating reason behind his efforts to continue this work.
“I love seeing my friends smile at the end and hearing them say that they didn’t expect it to look the way it does,” Gadelrab said.
In the future, he hopes to continue developing his skills, expanding his services and creating social media accounts to advertise his work.
“I’ve thought about cutting longer hair and plan on taking a course later on to learn how,” Gadelrab said.
In any case, Gadelrab has simple advice for those who are also interested in cosmetology: “Practice, practice, practice.”
Shreyas Anand
The first time senior Shreyas Anand cut a client’s hair, he was excited and nervous at the same time. Anand had previously practiced cutting his own hair; however, the task of cutting someone else’s hair required an even more intense amount of precision.
“I wanted to see how it would turn out, but it was scary thinking about messing up,” Anand said.
Anand started his business, Cuts by Shrey, or cutsbyshrey on Instagram, due to the shortage of open barber shops amid COVID-19. He gained knowledge about the art of hair-cutting through YouTube tutorials and experimenting on his own hair. The process was difficult, and Anand made many mistakes while learning.
“I mostly learned from the internet, and there was a lot of trial and error,” Anand said. “I gave myself several bad haircuts.”
However, Anand persevered, and when his skills became more advanced, he opened Cuts by Shrey. The business allows customers to choose how much they will pay for haircuts, and the finished haircut may be posted on the official Instagram page. Anand’s customers typically ask for a taper, but his favorite cut to provide is a mullet.
The business has been a success, providing around 150 haircuts since Anand opened it during the summer after his sophomore year. Senior Sagar Bhatia, one of Anand’s clients, gives Cuts by Shrey reviews, praising the price and quality.
“The quality of Shreyas’s haircuts imitates a haircut that you would probably pay $30 or $40 for at a professional barber,” Bhatia said. “I typically pay $10 for my haircut, although Shreyas often offers them to me for free.”
The experience of getting a haircut from Anand is very enjoyable, according to senior Arnav Shah, another one of Anand’s customers. Shah received a low taper with a textured fringe and complemented Shreyas’ procedures. “We talked about things ranging from school to hobbies while he was cutting my hair, and we were able to connect while listening to music,” Shah said. “As for the cut, I didn’t ask for anything specific, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.”
Although Anand plans to keep haircutting as a hobby, Cuts by Shrey has made a significant impact on the community through giving affordable, quality haircuts.
“It’s fun to see someone within your own community branching out and doing something different in an area where most people focus on tech-related jobs,” Bhatia said. “Shreyas is able to provide you with a quality haircut that you get to rock for the next couple weeks before going back.”
