Meet San Antonio barber who creates portraits on heads

joan

June 29, 2016 5:22 PM

Rob Ferrel has mastered his craft so well, he doesn’t just cut hair, but he can actually create beautiful life-like shaved portraits on people's heads.

Rob Ferrel doesn’t just cut hair, but he can actually create beautiful life-like shaved portraits on people's heads

"I was always an artist, and just picked up barbering as a side gig," the Texas-based barber who goes by the super-cool Instagram name Rob The Original, told BuzzFeed Life.

"Since I can remember I had a pencil or markers or something to draw with in my hand. My parents were very hard to please, but one day I drew something for them and they were very impressed. I realized then that this is what I wanted to do. I took art classes here and there in high school and stuff, but it was all really developed myself through practice."

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“I use eye liner pencils to add vibrant colors for special occasions. People do this usually for sport games or parties to catch attention. It’s perfect because it’s not permanent,” says Ferrel. “Color is a huge commitment so this allows for people to be a little more spontaneous without the long term effects, because it can be washed out whenever, but the design will still be in the hair so you’ll still have a sharp image as well.”

Reports say Ferrel can do almost anything from Albert Einstein to the Joker to Kimye (yes, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West).

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"The hardest part is making sure the client has the right hair,” Ferrel said. "The darker the hair, the better.”

The now popular barber however admits that these works of art aren't exactly quick work, either. They can take up to two hours to complete and range anywhere from 30 to 300 dollars. The best part is that no subject is off-limits. The sky is the limit!

“I probably wouldn’t do any portraits of evil dictators or anything disrespectful to people’s culture,” he said.

joan