What Makes a Legendary Haircut… and HAIRCUTTER ???
Nov 28, 2025Last Sunday I received this Wonderful Testimonial below from a former client of mine named Kim who used to come to my Doylestown Salon in 1996.
As you can read for yourself, she recently found me online and felt the need to reach out to me after almost 30 years of getting a haircut from me to let me know how much she loved her haircut and has ever since been trying to find someone to duplicate the haircut that I gave to her.
~ How does this happen?
~ Why does this happen?
~ And how can you make it happen for yourself?
What is it about a certain haircut that makes someone remember you and your work from 30+ years ago.
For those of us, who have been in the Hairdressing industry for 30-years or more, this is not unusual…Many of us have had Clients come to us for 10, 20 or even 30+ years or more.
Not only that, but over the course of those years, they have also sent us their mothers, sisters, friends, cousins, children and grandchildren to get their haircut by us…. I called these “generational customers”, and I’ve had many families like this over the years.
What is it about the work that we do that has such a lasting memorable effect on people???
When I moved from Tampa, Florida to New York City in the late 70s, every once in a while, a client of mine from Tampa would visit New York City and they would come in to get their haircut by me once again…Getting their haircut with me in New York City may not have been the main reason for their trip to NYC, but it was definitely on their “List of Things to Do in NYC“.
Likewise, when I left New York City to move to Doylestown, Pennsylvania to open my own salon, I had about 20 NYC Clients who would drive almost 100 miles every six weeks to see me at my Pennsylvania Salon, even if it meant driving through the snow or taking a train instead of driving, they always seem to come… and this went on for many years.
And who do you think is one of the first service providers that these people call when their daughters are getting married?...I have a hairdresser friend in Tampa (Robert Gandarilla) who recently went to Italy for 3-Weeks to do the hair for his Clients Daughter’s Wedding Party. All the while, staying at high-end, luxury hotels and attending elaborate dinner parties… completely paid for by the family… fact is, they even consider him part of their family.
I’ve taken Clients on my own time, to buy wigs and then proceeded to cut their hair very short or shave their heads, in preparation for their dreaded hair-loss due to the effects of Chemotherapy….and in many cases, not charged them a penny…. it’s just what we do…. I’ve actually had women tell me that the worst part of getting breast cancer, was losing their hair…
Also, during my career, I have been called 3-different times by family members of Clients of mine, asking me to come to their homes and cut my clients hair as a “final last request” while they lay on their death beds, heavily sedated in hospice the night before their passing…..In what other industry can you touch people's lives in such a profound way?
In Kim’s Testimonial below, we have some clues about what makes a Legendary Haircut and Haircutter… So, let’s break it down…
1st -She loved the way I cut her hair; she loved the style that I gave her. No doubt she also found it very easy to manage herself without having to work too hard. And she probably got tons of compliments from her family and friends about her haircut.
2nd - And this is a Very Big Point…She says: “You made me feel beautiful. And I will never forget you”…..She loved the way it made her FEEL. !!!
The haircut itself was Physical, but the “Feeling” she got was Emotional!
In other words, it’s not just about what we do, it’s also about how we make people FEEL after we do what we do.
There are many factors that go into creating a Legendary Haircut and Haircutter, but as I see it, there are two main ones that rise to the top. Without these two elements in your workflow you might as well forget about ever becoming a Legendary Hairdresser, creating Legendary Haircuts.
These two elements are:….Superb Haircutting Skills and Your Personality
The good news is that both of these skills can be learned…
Yes, there are some people that naturally have outstanding personalities or an innate ability to cut hair, but most of us have to be taught how to do these things.
Your personality is a huge factor in whether or not you will become successful as a hairdresser. That’s mainly because hairdressing is a “Communication Business”…Yes, we do hair as our craft, but if you can’t communicate effectively and connect with your clients on a friendly and emotional level, you will never build a large and thriving clientele.
I know hairdressers that are unbelievable haircutters and stylist but because they are either arrogant or poor communicators, they never built a successful hairdressing business. And by the same token, I also know hairdressers that are very average at the craft, but because they have tremendous personalities, they became successful… Obviously, the golden standard is to have both of these qualities in your arsenal…
So, if you feel that your personality can use some improvement or you’re an introverted, quiet and shy person, there are a couple things you can do. One is to observe and study people who are more outgoing than you are and tend to have engaging personalities. Do what they do, say what they say, and soon you’ll have a great personality yourself…Also, you can buy books or watch some YouTube videos on personality development.… With all the resources out there today there’s no reason that you can’t develop this skill just like any other skill.
Now here’s the thing, as important as it is to have a good, congenial personality as a hairdresser, if your goal is to be a Legendary Haircutter, one where clients will still remember your haircuts 30+ years from now, you need to be able to cut any haircut asked of you with ease and perfection every single time a client sit in your chair.
That’s were having a “Haircutting System” comes in… When you learn to cut hair by using a Haircutting System like mine, you are never confused… You’ll always know exactly where you are and exactly what you’re doing next. You have a complete Step-By-Step plan from start to finish in your mind before you even take the first cut.
A systematic, logical method for executing the exact haircut that you want to create… No Guesswork involved… You’ll know the exact sectioning pattern you’ll be using, you’ll know what holding angles will be used, you will have defined starting and ending points to every haircut and when you’re done, you put your scissors down and start blow-drying the hair….Period!..... My “Velasco Haircutting System” will get you to this point, and it can happen in just a few short weeks… instead of years of trial and error…
If you would like more information about what the “Velasco Haircutting System” can do for you, Click the link below, and Download my Free e-Book “The Path to Haircutting Mastery – A Hairdressers Journey into the Art of Haircutting” and let me know if you have any questions.
https://www.velascohaircuttingsystem.com/free-ebook
P.S……By the way, Kim has been an advocate for Autism for many years, and has published a book about what is been like raising 3-Daughters with Autism… Here’s a link to her book if you’re in need of this information or know of someone it may help. https://amzn.to/4rg46oq
Cheers,
David
