Youngstown students get Picture Perfect Hair Day care of local stylists

YOUNGSTOWN

A smile spread across Kaelyn Spell’s face as she gazed into the mirror at her new hairstyle.

“She got four cornrows going to the back,” said stylist Tasha Hicks of All in One Beauty.

The rows meet at the back of Kaelyn’s head.

Hicks is one of several stylists and barbers who worked from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday to make sure students at Discovery at Kirkmere look their best for school picture day today. It’s the second year at Kirkmere for Picture Perfect Hair Day. The event started at the former Discovery at Volney school three years ago.

Stylists and barbers contribute their time and talents to give back to the community.

Kelan Bilal of Excalibur Barber and Grooming Lounge in Southern Park Mall has participated every year since it started. This year, he recruited several other barbers to help, too.

He knows how important it is to have good hair on school picture day.

“I always had terrible pictures when I was in school,” Bilal said.

He created a sponge curl on the crown of Kevin Bell’s head and cut in a fade on the sides.

Kevin, 13, and an eighth-grader, said he liked the new cut but was more interested in finishing “The Lightning Thief,” a novel by Rick Riordan.

Bilal said the sponge curl and fade will be easy to maintain.

“Kids want something that’s easy,” he said. “They don’t want to take a lot of time.”

Read more about the event in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.