Atlanta master barber says a fresh cut can change more than a person's appearance

For master barber Ali Da Barber, a haircut is about more than what a client sees in the mirror. It's about how they feel when they get out of the chair.

Ali says that understanding started with his own haircut years ago when he was in the eighth grade and preparing for prom. His barber made a mistake, and Ali went home determined to fix it himself.

His mother brought him clippers.

"I had to fix my own cut, bro," Ali said.

The experience gave him confidence that he could cut hair. Before long, his classmates wanted to see whether he could do the same for them.

"Two weeks later, everybody that went to the prom was like, 'If you really cut your hair, then shake me up, bro,'" Ali recalled. "I was like, 'Have a seat.' And that's how it all started."

Those three words eventually became a career.

Ali went on to barber school and earned his license. But over the years, he said he learned that clients often bring more than their hair into his chair.

"I mean, a fresh cut, it relieves a person from any and everything that they're going through," Ali said. "I done cut people that lost their job. I done cut people to have interviews. I done cut people that got raises. I done cut people that went on tour."

For Ali, those experiences are part of what makes barbering personal.

"The cut makes you feel alive," he said. "It makes you go get yourself together."

That philosophy was on display as Ali worked on a client named Red. From the wash to the clippers, edge-up, and final look in the mirror, Ali said the visible transformation is only part of what he hopes a client takes away.

"Just knowing that the person is satisfied, man, and knowing whatever they're going through is going to be all right," Ali said.

Then he put it more simply.

"A cut is like magic," he said. "It's magical."

Ali also sees his work as part of a tradition that extends beyond individual haircuts. He remembers a time when the neighborhood barber was a fixture in the lives of families and children.

"The barbering was a staple in the community," Ali said.

He said that's one reason he cuts so many children and tries to remain involved in their lives.

For Ali, the finished haircut may be what people notice first. But some of the work he values most can't be seen in the mirror.

It shows up in the way someone walks out the door.