Back to School Means Time for Haircuts

Isaiah Lafortune, 7, of Bloomfield, sits on a bench at the Celebrity You hair salon on Bloomfield Avenue. 

The soon-to-be second-grader looks a little nervous as he glances at the barber's chair. His summer Mohawk has grown out and he plans to get a tapered cut. "I'm afraid of how it will look," Isaiah said Friday afternoon as his father, Luke Lafortune, sits by his side. 

Isaiah walks up to the chair, sits down and follows the instructions of Steve Eugene as the barber uses electrical trimmer to shave his hair. After a half-hour, Isaiah walks away with a new hairstyle. He stares in the mirror, rubs the sides, then declares it "good." 

Luke Lafortune smiles at his son's new cut and he called it "a whole fresh look for a fresh start." 

"Now people who get a haircut probably feel better about themselves, their image," Lafortune said. "So at least when they start a new grade and new school, new clothes and a new haircut gives them a boost to deal with the nervousness in them." 

Isaiah, who attends Abundant Life Academy in Nutley, is one of hundreds of students who will be preparing for the new school year by getting a fresh hair cut or hairdo. 

Eugene, the barber at Celebrity You, said business has been slow throughout the summer but it has picked up the last two weeks with some children coming in for a haircut, which costs $8 to $10. 

The barber said he expects more students to come in the shop later in the school year from nearby Bloomfield College and Bloomfield High School. 

Carlos Gonzalez, the owner of Tangles Hair Studio on Bloomfield Avenue, said he's been getting more children in his shop for back-to-school haircuts and he expects more students will come to his shop next week. 

The most popular styles for girls have been layered shags and long bobs while boys tend to prefer Mohawks and fauxhawks, Gonzalez said. 

Here is a partial list of some Bloomfield barbershops and salons that offer children's haircuts. 

Cashel's Salon, 383 North Broad St., Bloomfield, 973-743-2222, children's haircuts for $15. 

Celebrity You, 547 Bloomfield Ave., 973-337-8862, barber cuts for $8 to $10 for children 

The Concorde School of Hair Design, 15 Ward St., 973-680-0099, children haircuts for $5 if accompanied by an adult 

Eva Hair Salon, 184 Darling Avenue, Bloomfield, 973-338-0818, children haircuts for $15, appointment needed. 

Gail Ann's Unisex Salon, 275 Glenwood Ave., 973-429-1704, haircuts for children 10 years-old and under $12, $18 for children older than 10 years-old 

Kolby's Place, 676 Bloomfield Ave., 973-680-1040, $10 children's haircuts 

Nita's Beauty Salon, 363 Bloomfield Ave., 973-743-6482, $18 for children haircuts, $35 with blowout. 

Rainbow Beauty Salon, 601 Bloomfield Ave., 973-429-3380, haircuts for children up to 8 years-old are $10, haircuts for older children are $15 and up, depending on styling. 

Studio One, 416 North Broad Street, Bloomfield, 973-743-4006
Ultimate Cuts Barbershop, 594 B Bloomfield Ave., 973-337-8603, haircuts for children up to 10 years-old are $10 and up, depending on styling.

Ultimate Visions Hair Studio, 21 Washington St., 973-259-1300, haircuts for boys under 12 years-old, $8, haircuts for boys over 12 years-old, $12, haircuts for girls under 12 years-old, $10, haircuts for girls over 12 years-old $15 and up.