They’re not just haircuts. They’re hairKuts. And they’re not just anyone’s Kuts. They’re Kasrovi’s Kuts.

The owner of barbershop Kasrovi’s Kuts is junior Dara Kasrovi. Dara provides haircuts at least once a week, totaling more than 50 haircuts to male PHS students in his backyard since the last day of his freshman year. But “barbershop” may not be the most accurate title for it, because all of the haircuts are absolutely free.

Dara had been interested in hair since he cut his hair short in eighth grade, he said.

“I’ve always been very picky,” Dara said. “I don’t know, I just loved hair. I loved looking at hair, I loved seeing haircuts, I loved styling my hair too.”

Even so, the idea of actually coupling his love of hair and with a pair of clippers started as a joke.

His friend junior Jacob Watson had mentioned he needed a haircut a week before school got out. One thing led to another and Dara found himself at his house on the last day of school with two other friends, a clipper starter kit from Rite Aid that his grandmother bought him and Jacob’s head of thick, curly hair. He still remembers the moment he wielded his clippers for the first time.

“It was the coolest feeling,” Dara said. “That’s what I fell in love with.”

It felt amazing, but at first Dara just considered it a one-time memory, he said. It took a while for his next haircut to happen, which turned out far better than he expected.

“From then on, I was like, ‘I’m gonna start doing this. I like this,’” Dara said.

Of course, it took time to build his skills. That time consisted of watching YouTube tutorials and even turning to his own barber for advice (he entrusts his hair to Temescal Alley Barbershop).

“He told me all these little tips and tricks,” Dara said. “He was so happy that I was into it.”

Dara’s sister freshman Kiana Kasrovi remembers when Dara began looking up haircutting tutorials and ordering haircutting tools on Amazon the beginning of last year, she said.

“Every time I’d walk into his room [he’d be watching] YouTube on this guy cutting someone’s hair,” Kiana said.

Dara picked up more and more clients as time went on. His friend junior Alex Markowitz even created a Facebook account that he now uses as an outlet to advertise his business. The account has 54 likes on Facebook and six reviews with an average rating of 4.2 out of 5, as of Dec. 5.

Senior Gabe Watson found out about Dara’s barbershop straight from Dara himself, as got his first haircut after he mentioned to Dara that he needed one during soccer practice with him.

Gabe remembers going out to Dara’s backyard and seeing his equipment set up, which included disinfectant, brushes, a swivelling chair and even a hairdressing gown.

“It’s very official,” Gabe said. “I did break his buzzer the first time because my hair was too thick for it. That was a problem.”

Senior Mingwei Samuel had never gotten a haircut from anyone other than his parents before he visited Dara for a haircut on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

“He came out with a dozen little comb-things and spray and shavers and scissors,” Samuel said. “I said, ‘My head is your canvas.’”

These “little comb-things” caused big improvements in the quality of his haircuts, Dara said… but at a high price.

“I invested all this money — all my summer money — into just buying equipment,” Dara said. “The better my equipment was, the better my haircut was.”

With each successful haircut, Dara feels like he increases the credibility of Kasrovi’s Kuts.

“I also feel good for that person,” Dara said. “He’s looking good and I think it’s a confidence booster.”

Not every haircut has gone so smoothly: once, Dara lost focus and his hand slipped as he was holding his scissors over a comb, cutting a bald spot in his friend Nick Lee’s head. His other friends were there, Dara said, and he remembers they all started laughing, including Lee. Dara improvised by making a design with the trimmers, he said, but it was a low point for him.

“[I was] like, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty bad.’ I was just straight with him,” Dara said.

Dara said he learned the importance of focus and indeed, Lee trusted him enough to return to him for another haircut and it ended up a lot better the second time, Dara said.

What differentiates Dara from other barbers is his conversational skill, Gabe said. Talking with Dara made Gabe’s haircut much less awkward than going to a normal barber and sitting silently, Gabe said. Samuel, who sits next to Dara in Biotechnology class, similarly said that Dara is energetic and talkative, but added that haircutting reveals his other traits.

“It shows a more careful, or precise, passionate side of him,” Samuel said.

Gabe returned for a second haircut because it’s easy, high-quality and complimentary.

“My tip is my friendship,” Gabe said.

The importance of friendship aside, Kiana said that Dara should start charging his patrons.

“He has a tip jar,” Kiana said. “He gets maybe a dollar or two a week. It’s pretty sad.”

The most Dara has gotten for one haircut is $5, he said, but he only puts out the tip jar for people who want to leave a tip somewhere. More often, his patrons will hand him $1 or $2 as they hug him to thank him and leave.

By the time he gets to college, Dara said he’ll want to charge $10 for haircuts. But his sister predicted that because Dara has phased in and out of interests, such as yo-yoing in elementary school and Michael Jackson dancing, his haircutting will come to an end sooner or later.

As for his future clients, he said that anyone he welcomes anyone he knows, but probably won’t venture into the realm of women’s hair, even though three or four girls have asked him to cut their hair.

To others interested in learning to cut hair, Dara advises not giving up when mistakes happen.

“Watch a lot of YouTube,” Dara said. “Don’t worry about little fine details now. Get the bulk of the haircut done first, and then worry about it.”