Sick of the typical haircutting experience? Junior Tiago Bonchristiano is leaving the barbershop behind for the quad, reinventing the experience for Menlo students.

Zoey Lieberman | A&L Editor & Maudie Frye | Staff Reporter

The memories within a barbershop are often considered a staple of childhood; the scent of detangler wafting through the air, the smooth, nylon capes to prevent hair from sticking to clothing, and of course, the free lollipops at the front desk are unforgettable components of the barbershop experience.

Apart from a beauty salon, barber shop, or home, this barbershop experience, or any piece of it, can be hard to come by. However, thanks to his longtime haircutting hobby, junior Tiago Bonchristiano has brought this experience to a school setting.
When asked how he started cutting hair, Bonchristiano informed us that his haircutting antics began as a prank on his friend in Brazil. “It started as a prank on my friend when I was younger, and he said ‘wow that was really good,” Bonchristiano said. This prank transformed Bonchristiano’s pranking ways into a hobby, where he began to develop his skills by shaving the hair of his water polo teammates.

While Bonchristiano feels confident in his mastery of the shaver, he hopes to learn how to use scissors to cut hair to be able to expand to girls hair in the near future.
While haircutting could be a potential career path for Bonchristiano, he considers it as just a hobby for now. “[I wouldn’t cut hair for] a real job, but maybe when I go to college and need to make some money, I could be the barber of the hall and cut their hair for $5,” Bonchristiano said.

This plan is a sound one considering the recent practice Bonchristiano has had cutting hair on the quad at Menlo. Deciding to risk their hair for a new haircutting experience, Julian Garcia-Mendez and George Pike agreed to let Bonchristiano shave their heads in mid-November. “I am a very impulsive person, and I was really scared that he [Bonchristiano] was going to mess it up,” Pike said when asked about his most recent hair cut. Luckily, Bonchristiano’s skills prevailed and Pike’s haircut was a success.

Like everyone else, Bonchristiano is capable of making mistakes while using his clippers. However, he has never given a truly bad haircut. “If you do something bad you can always try to fix it,” Bonchristiano said with a smile. While Bonchristiano has learned how to shave lines into hair and fade cuts, he admits that shaving letters is a style he has yet to master. However, with more practice at Menlo and later in the future, Bonchristiano is hoping to progress his design skills soon.