For many Milwaukee Public School students, part of their back-to-school shopping list is a new hairdo. At Sam's Cutz Barbershop & Salon, the barbers, parents and kids say a first impression should be your best impression for the new school year.
Almost every seat is full, from kindergarten to high school, students are getting ready to look their best tomorrow. Latrell Boyd is going to his first day of K-5 and he says he must get his hair cut today.
"Everyone will see me and think I look nice," says Boyd.
Typically barber shops like Sam'z Cutz are closed on Mondays. Barbers Jovan Holmes and Mar Winston say having the shop open was the only option. Holmes notes that not everyone could find time to get in for a cut over the weekend. Since many customers or parents of customers have the day off, it was important to be available.
"I think the first impression is the best impression," says Holmes,"The way that people meet you is the way they're going to believe in you the whole year. So if they see they look good today. They think they're gonna look good tomorrow and the rest of the year."
Winston says having a fresh cut can boost esteem. He finds many of his young clients are able to avoid being targets of bullying, which causes more problems for the students.
"You're not even focused on doing your work or anything else. You're too busy being worried about what they're saying about you," says Winston.
Jerry Hobbs and his son Franklin come to the barbershop weekly. It's Franklin's first day of second grade tomorrow and getting a haircut was the last thing on his back-to-school shopping list. Hobbs says this haircut is more than a haircut.
"it makes them feel good about themselves. It makes them want to get up-you know. It's motivation to make them want to get up and go to school," says Hobbs.
At Sam's Cutz it's general consensus: when a customer looks good, he feels good, and when he feels good, he does good.
