Cornelia Sarrys can spot a screamer from 50 paces.
She can trim the bangs of a squirming toddler straight as a ruler or coax a shy first-timer into a styling chair.
She is the owner and stylist at Kids Kuts, one of a handful of hair salons in the area that caters to kids.
The south Everett business draws dozens of families weekly who want a kid-friendly environment and a skilled stylist undaunted by tears, tantrums and the occasional gum- induced tangle.
Step inside the Kids Kuts salon and enter kid territory. The waiting room offers toys, tot-sized armchairs and a purple sofa. The bright-colored salon sports fun styling chairs, including a police car, a fire engine and a lamb for the littlest clients. Once the cut is done, there are stickers or a lollipop if mom and dad say it’s OK.
Some kids like it so much they scream on the way out because they don’t want to go, Sarrys said.
Like mommy’s salon, this one carries an assortment of hair care products, including a line of tear-free shampoos and conditioners in scents such as chocolate, root beer and raspberry.
Most children head to an adult salon or barber with their parents, but those businesses aren’t designed for small children, said Alpha Clinton Jr., an instructor at the Shoreline Community College cosmetology program.
“They may need a booster seat in the styling chair or to get their hair shampooed,” he said. “They’re so fidgety the stylist could make an error if they don’t keep their head still.”
Cutting kids’ hair takes a certain knack and the right personality, he said, and not every stylist has the right stuff.
Sarrys said it takes patience and the ability to work quickly on clients that don’t usually sit still. She gets a little help by showing kid movies and offering plastic bins of toys to play with.
“They scream, they wiggle, they move around,” she said. “You have to have quick reflexes.”
Most cosmetology programs don’t address children and Sarrys said that might be why there aren’t more salons like hers. She learned how to work with children in a similar salon in Seattle and opened Kids Kuts four years ago with a loan from her parents. Business is brisk enough she already has paid them back. She has considered hiring other stylists but she said it’s difficult to find someone with the right qualifications.
Speed is one of the reasons her business is doing well. Most appointments take about 15 minutes. On a busy day, she may do 30 haircuts. She charges a flat $20 fee for haircuts for children up to age 16. Bang trims cost $8, and a clean up between full haircuts for boys is $10. Adult haircuts start at $25.
Those prices tend to be higher than chain salons. A haircut at Supercuts in Everett, for instance, costs $12 for children 10 and under.
Sarrys said parents are paying for the atmosphere and for the quality of the cut.
She also provides special touches such as presenting parents with a Polaroid, a certificate and a lock of hair when baby gets her first haircut.
Most of her clients are ages 2 to 6, but parents, grandparents and even an 85-year-old wispy-haired great grandma have climbed into an adult chair in the salon.
Many dads choose to get their hair cut at the same time as their sons and some get matching haircuts.
Maurio Lewis of Mill Creek brought his 2-year-old son, Kai, in recently for a haircut. Lewis, 31, has been bringing his son here since he was an infant with a headful of long, curly baby hair.
This visit, Kai chose the fire truck chair. Sarrys snapped a zebra-striped cape around his shoulders and offered him a plastic tub of toys to dig through. As the stylist zzzed his brown hair into a tapered fade with the clippers, the 2-year-old calmly zoomed a small red car around the steering wheel of the styling chair.
“The atmosphere here is wonderful,” Lewis said. “I’ve never taken him anywhere else.”
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
