Hair care in New York City is expensive. A $45 haircut every other month can add up quickly, especially for those on a budget. Some NYU students have found a solution: classmates offering haircuts in their dorm rooms for as little as $5.

But a high price tag isn’t the only reason a student might avoid a New York City barbershop. For Tandon first-year Ashiq Rahman, the larger issue is finding a barber who understands his hair.

“They’re not used to my hair type or hair texture and they would go in a direction I didn’t want,” Rahman said. “Just going to the barbershop creates so much anxiety for me.”  

Rahman’s haircutting journey started small. During high school, he trimmed his own hair with kindergarten scissors. After moving to college, he bought clippers and began cutting his suitemate’s hair for free — mostly quick cleanups around his neck.

One day, Rahman seated his first client in the bathtub and got to work. When he finished, his suitemate offered to pay — that’s when Rahman realized he could turn his act of kindness into something much bigger.

“I just texted this big Brooklyn group chat and kind of advertised myself,” Rahman said. “I was like, ‘If you need a haircut, just pull up to offer. DM me, follow me back.’ And I actually did get a few texts, so that’s when the ball started rolling.” 

Since then, he has ordered a haircutting kit off of Amazon and built a solid base of clients who come to him before going to parties or other important events. In the week leading up to Halloweekend, for instance, multiple people reached out looking for a quick touch-up before donning costumes and bar-hopping. 

One of those clients, Tandon sophomore Labib Mahmud, has been friends with Rahman since high school. In addition to letting Rahman practice on his hair, Mahmud also pitched in to help Rahman get his first set of professional-grade tools. 

“In the city it’s really hard to find a barbershop,” Mahmud said. “I need a cut every five to six weeks and before Ashiq, I would go to a place where it was $31.”

Rahman isn’t the only student offering hair services on campus. While she doesn’t have a set charge, GPH junior Sophonie Blaise braids hair for much less than salons around the city. Conscious of financial difficulties, she is also willing to drop prices for friends and long-standing clients.

“If it’s being done in my house, I cook for the people that I’m braiding for,” Blaise said. “I’m personable, I would say. I care a lot about the person’s hair that I’m doing, and I’m actually enjoying doing it.” 

Growing up, Blaise was insecure about her hair and, like Rahman, started by practicing on herself in high school. She later branched out to doing her cousins’ hair, which she didn’t charge for, before finding clients at NYU.

“I would do my sister’s hair or my friend’s hair, then when they would come to school they would be around my friends,” Blaise said. “They could see the hair and that would allow me to get new clients.” 

As hairdressers, Rahman and Blaise share a love of the connection between themselves and the person in their chair. At NYU, which lacks aspects of traditional college life and can make connection with peers difficult, Rahman found cutting hair to be an unexpected way to make friends.

“The setting of cutting hair definitely allows for more social aspects to come out,” Rahman said. “I definitely value small talk.”

Contact Iris Miller at [email protected].