Barber Makes Portrait Masterpieces on Scalp

Visalia, Calif. -- A California barber says he’s taken hair clipper artistry—fancy beards, stripes, and the like—to the next level.

Fredo Olan shaves portrait images based on photographs into his clients’ scalp. He says he started making his masterpieces two years ago, after he convinced his cousin to let him experiment on his hair.

“I wanted to set myself apart from everybody else, so I started doing these designs and they didn’t come [out] that good at first,” said Olan, owner of East to West Artistry.

Olan doesn’t do any sketches before he starts shaving, free-handing the whole piece by using clippers to shave shapes into scalps.

“The faces, that’s my new thing it’s something I don’t see nobody else doing out here. I just want to keep doing that and bringing that out here,” said Olan.

He says he prefers to recreate black-and-white photos because it allows him to see the shadow hues more clearly. Sometimes for the finishing touch Olan will use a cosmetic eyeliner pencil, in order to enhance and highlight the image.

Steven Arredondo says he has been coming to Olan for years and has had four different portraits shaved into his scalp.

“It totally just boggles my mind, I’m speechless, I can’t even tell you how impressed I am,” said Arredondo.

Olan says his clientele is very eclectic—from doctors to lawyers to kids. Haircuts cost $15 for adults and $13 for kids, but if you want a masterpiece that can cost you up to $100.

He says he started cutting hair 15 years ago in his mother in law’s backyard and today has a successful business.

“A lot of people sit in my chair and realize how much I love it and how much I want to do it and it keeps bringing them back,” Olan said.