By Stephanie Farr
The Philadelphia Inquirer
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Neijae Draham-Henries may be just 8 years old but she refuses to let her age get in the way of her dream to one day cut Kevin Hart’s or LeBron James’ hair.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Meet Neijae Graham-Henries, an 8-year-old aspiring barber from West Philadelphia.
-Child’s play: Neijae’s favorite movie features a character with very bad hair, and intentions, Chucky.
-Why being a girl barber matters: “You can show people that you can do something that you haven’t done before,” she said. “I have a point there, right?”
At 8 years old, Neijae Graham-Henries is almost as tall as this reporter. She told me so. She also asked to cut my hair, about eight inches of it. We did not have an appointment for her to do so.
She asked me to dance The Shoot and The Floss in broad daylight on the side of MacDade Boulevard in Darby.
I failed. Spectacularly.
Then Neijae took my notebook and began asking me questions.
That was just the first ten minutes of our interview.
Neijae is the kind of confident, inquisitive, energetic kid that reminds you of what the world was like before doubt set in; the kind of kid who makes you believe in yourself, and her, without question.
There’s only one time when she quiets down, when the questions stop and she becomes fully focused. It’s when she’s cutting hair.
“I get in a zone. I’m not really one who talks to the client, not the person who says ‘How’s your day? Blah, blah, blah,’ ” Neijae said. “I like to be quiet in my comfort zone.”
When Neijae’s brother decided not to follow through with the Junior Barber Academy in North Philly last year, she took his spot in the class. Then 7, Neijae was the only girl in the six-week course.
In the nine months since finishing the academy, Neijae has spent time giving free haircuts to those in need and shadowing Philly barbers to learn all she can.
Last year, footage of Neijae cutting hair went viral on social media and she received national attention from outlets like BuzzFeed and Inside Edition. She’s even been invited to speak at events like the ESSENCE Beauty Carnival in New York City.
In March, the World Record Academy, a Florida-based organization that claims to maintain the world’s largest detailed database of records, bestowed upon her the title of World’s Youngest Barber.
So where does Neijae get the confidence to pursue a career at this young age in a male-dominated profession?
“I was confident since the day I was born,” she said.
Neijae’s mother, Jaime Graham of West Philadelphia, estimates that her daughter has coiffed about 28 heads of hair since taking up the craft. While Neijae has styled a few women, most of her clients have been men, whose hair she enjoys cutting more.
“They have better texture,” she said. “No offense.”
None taken.
Since the minimum age for securing a barber’s license in Pennsylvania is 16, for now, Neijae must provide her haircuts for free under the watchful eye of a licensed barber.
On a recent weeknight, Neijae brought her iridescent pink roller case of barbering tools to Fred Cottman’s shop, Supreme Clientele Hair Gallery in Darby, where she cut 14-year-old Rymir Ware’s hair as Cottman observed.
Neijae and Rymir met when he interviewed her for his internet radio show called “My Dad & Me” on Blazin267.com.
While she was focused, serious, and gentle for most of the haircut, there were moments where it was evident that Neijae is still just a kid. After doing the angles above one of Rymir’s ears, Neijae asked Cottman if she could cut the part on his head.
“Slow down, you still have to do the other side first,” he told her.
And after she finished the cut and swept the floor, Neijae spun the broom around like she was in color guard. Strike that. Not color guard.
“Ninja broom!” she said.
As for Ware, he was pretty happy with his first haircut from a third-grader.
“Honestly, she did better than I thought … I didn’t expect it to be this sharp,” he said.
Aside from barbering, Neijae enjoys sleeping, eating, dancing, and playing video games like Minecraft.
She dreams of one day cutting Kevin Hart’s or LeBron James’ hair. While she plans to pursue her barber’s license when she’s old enough, she’s also interested in a career that involves sewing.
Graham, who is documenting her daughter’s journey on Instagram, said she takes great comfort in knowing that whatever career Neijae pursues, she’ll always have a skill that will allow her to be self-sufficient.
“I think she’s also learning to be extremely confident and, more importantly to me, she’s learning how to communicate,” Graham said. “She’s understanding the power of her voice, the power of choice, and the power of focus.”
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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
