An earlier version of this story originally appeared in The Blaze.
With shears in hand, Santiago Pinto Vazquez, a junior at Rock Ridge High School in Loudoun County, Virginia, skims his hands over a student’s head to familiarize himself as he readies for a haircut.
Across town in a bathroom in his home, sophomore Noah Fuentes is also preparing his haircutting tools for an afternoon of good conversation and hospitality.
Vazquez and Fuentes are part of a growing trend. As students seeking buzzes, fades, and soft mullets to tidy up their ends face high and rising prices at the barbershop, fellow students are stepping into hobby cutting with shears and razors. They’re learning for fun on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and offering friendly conversation to go with the trims.
Across the country, haircuts have gotten pricier. The national average for a men’s haircut was $34.56 and $51.71 for a women’s in 2024 — and many barbers report having had to increase prices this year due to rising costs. Some blame the rising cost of gas, like Ja’Derrio White, the owner of a mobile barbershop in North Carolina, who told Spectrum News 1 that he hiked prices from $30 to $40 so he could afford to fill up the tank. Others are reportedly raising their prices because of the inflation by tariffs on products they have to buy. “Some of our products we use… just last year, they probably were, you know, $4 or $5s, now they’re like 10 bucks,” Michael Johnson, owner of Bigg Mike’s Hair Studio in North Carolina, told the same outlet.
Rock Ridge students have felt these price increases. Junior Aidan Lita said that when he went to a professional barber, he paid around $60. “And this was without tip — I felt scammed.” Junior Fransisco Rodriguez felt similarly. Going to a salon “usually costs me $45,” he said. “With a tip, it would cost me $70.”
Those high prices and the desire for good vibes have drawn some students to barbers their own age. “I’ll post [my cuts] on Snapchat,” Fuentes said. “People from school will see that, and then they will ask for a haircut.”
He and Vazquez said social media was the inspiration that got them started. “I just looked up [barbering] on TikTok, and luckily, [I] got interested,” Vazquez said.
Fuentes picked up initial tips that way, too, when he started 3 1/2, in eighth grade. “I started from just looking at other people doing it and seeing how young people work, cutting hair,” he said.
Teens barbers in other parts of the country are also developing the hobby through social media platforms. Found commonly through search terms like “blendz”, “trims”, or “cutz,” they display their work, showing off crew cut taper fades, modern quiffs, and layered textured crops.
Learning how to cut hair takes more than scrolling through a few how-to videos — it took practice and talent for both Rock Ridge teens. “Doing [cuts] was a struggle; doing people’s fades in the back was [especially] kind of hard,” Fuentes said. “Trying to get everything even was super hard … It looks easy, but it’s really not once you get in behind the chair.”
Repetition helped Vazquez, too. “I started in my bathroom, and it was horrible, but I just kept practicing,” Vazquez said. “As time went on, I got … more experience, [and] more quality cuts.”
Part of the appeal of getting a haircut from a fellow student is the friendly atmosphere they create. Lita prefers Vazquez to other barbers because, “I connect with him more.” He added, “I’m able to play whatever music I want … I don’t have to listen to some old people’s music, and it’s always fun spending more time with him.”
For Fuentes, what motivates him to continue cutting hair is the joy he finds in the conversation he shares and the craft he performs. “I love doing it,” he said. “It’s just for the love of the game, honestly.”
