- Yo, Kwesi.
- Let me guess, you shooting a Worth It video?
No, leave it, leave it on.
Leave it on.
This is what people gotta go through with this guy.
- Anyway, I'm looking for the fresh guy at BuzzFeed.
You wanna come along?
- I would love to join you on this road trip.
- Today, on "Worth It Lifestyle"
we're gonna try three haircuts
at three drastically different price points to find out
which one is the most worth it at its price.
- Ain't that the truth?
- You say "Worth It."
- Oh, worth it.
- [Steve] Kwesi!
- What's up, buddy?
- You're looking fresh, as usual.
- Thank you, Steve.
- You wanna say anything about me?
- Um...
- No?
- You look good, man.
- That's why I was digging for it. (laughs)
I got sticks here, and on the
bottom here are the dollar amounts.
- [Kwesi] Right.
- Whatever you choose, you get, alright?
- This one.
(dinging)
- Oh man!
Alex, you get the next one, you ready?
(fast funky music)
He got the cheap one.
The idea of the show is cheap, medium, expensive,
these are the best at the price point.
- Okay.
So, it's not like a cheap one is going to be a bad haircut.
It's just that some of us like to live the life of luxury.
- Like ya boy.
- Our first spot is called N Spot Barber
here on Crenshaw in Los Angeles.
- The most staple black business, everyone knows,
is the spot where you get your haircut.
- Really?
- Barbershop is like your half-way therapist,
half-way guy who makes you look fresh.
- That's a good rate, you get a haircut and you get therapy
for like 20 bucks.
- And sometimes, she massages my head and pops pimples.
- Woo.
(light rhythmic music)
- My name is Chico.
I work at The N Spot on Crenshaw and 48th
and I will be cutting Alex's hair today.
- How long you been cuttin'?
- I've been doin' this since I was 15.
My mom's best friend gave me a bowl cut, so--
- That was it.
- Right before school, and then
I started practicing on my friends.
It became something where I was comfortable
dealing with different personalities and different people.
- Can you tell us about The N Spot?
- It's been here since 1999.
It was opened by Nakia Burns.
And this is a woman we're talkin' about,
runnin' a barber shop.
She's got history behind this.
- Was it exciting to start a business here?
- It was scary, the hardest part is
getting people to work here, building a clientele.
You have to really hustle.
- What's unique about, like,
this area and this neighborhood?
- [Nakia] People.
- Yeah, and really we're down the street from Crenshaw High.
Some of my customers, I've been cuttin' them
since they was in high school.
Watchin' them grow up to be decent grown men,
that's the best part about it.
- Alex is gonna be getting the haircut today.
What do you think will be good for him?
- The top of the head needs to like, half way, at least
(laughs)
- [Kwesi] That needs to go.
- [Chico] And we can give him a clean fade on the side.
- [Kwesi] Yeah, you need to get a little cohesive
with the cut.
- You gonna get, like, a good shadow fade.
I'm going to start with the bottom fade,
then work my way up to the medium fade.
And when we get to the top, cut the top down,
so I'll know how to fade the sides in to the top,
and blend it all in.
- [Kwesi] Who's your top three rappers, dead or alive?
Alright, Steven?
- Nah, you go first, I don't have enough
street cred on this one, Kwesi.
- [Kwesi] Who's your top three?
- I got Andre 3000, Black Thought, and Jay.
- You know I'm going with Pac, all day.
- Number one. - Number one.
- Number two's gotta be Snoop.
Knives would have to be three.
- [Steven] Alright Kwesi, who you got?
- Jay, number one.
Kendrick, number two.
Number three, can't even front man, Drake.
His rap thing has--
- I don't think he been in the game long enough.
- [Steven] Alright Kwesi, you want my three?
I had time to think about it.
One, Biggie.
Two, Drake.
Three, Chance, sorry.
- [Kwesi] There's no judgment here man.
- Yes the hell there is.
(laughs)
You on the West Coast, you gonna say Biggie?
Come on, bro.
You done with the scissoring the top edge,
that's when you go with the line up.
Once we're done with that, brush 'em off
and put the alcohol on 'em.
- What is the importance of a good haircut?
- The fade and the crispy line up.
You could have a good line up, but if you have a bowl cut,
man, that's kind of, like, throwin it off.
That's $15 for the cut and with the shave it'll be $20.
- [Steven] What do you think?
- Hopefully you're not just sayin' that for the camera, man.
- [Steven] You just sayin' that?
- For real? Thank you.
- Can you take off your headphones for a second?
I wanna admire Chico's work.
Nice.
- You gotta appreciate that detail and, like,
the vibes were right, too.
It was all love in there.
- Haircut fact!
- Oh my God, I'm part of the (bleep) fact, part of the show.
What's the fact, Steven?
- In the Middle Ages, barbers,
- Yeah.
- Weren't just barbers. They also were professionals in
bloodletting, bone setting, and teeth pulling.
- All one person?
- Yeah.
Chico, I would trust him to pull my teeth.
- Chico's a good guy.
I won't trust Chico to pull my teeth.
I don't think Chico has any experience with pulling teeth.
- I'm a little bit stale,
so we're going to go freshen me up.
Go to a private salon.
- You gonna get your hair recolored?
- Oh yeah.
If we're going to do this, we gotta do it right.
I'm gonna go all out.
Stay fresh.
It's not Subway, it's Steven's hair.
- Oh, let's be quiet.
Let that joke die.
Shh, shh.
It's still not dead yet, hold on.
(bright rhythmic music)
- Hi, I'm Tiffany, and we're at Studio Tilee.
And I'm going to give you a haircut,
but we're also going to bleach your hair
and give it a really cool color.
- We were just at a barber shop.
- [Tiffany] Okay.
- Now we're here at a salon.
What is the experience like for a customer
walking in the door?
- I say, "Hello", make sure that they're comfortable.
It's really that first, initial minute
is building that trust.
I'm sitting with them
and I'm touching areas that nobody touches.
I typically don't ask, like,
the superficial things of their lives.
It's more like,
how do you want to feel at the end of it really.
- So, are you ready to get your hair styled and dyed.
- Can you help me out here?
I want length and I want layers
and I just want it to look natural.
- I feel like you want to be low maintenance,
but you also wanna have style.
- Yeah, I wanna versatile hair cut.
- What's your biggest struggle with your hair?
- Making it have volume.
- So, when your hair is wet, if you want that volume,
you know how you wear it down,
blow dry it the opposite direction.
And then you can control it with wax and other products.
- What should I do for color?
- I want to do something where you have a gradient,
kind of like a storm on your hair, something fun.
- [Steven] Here we go.
- So, we're going to bleach your hair.
I'm just going to start at your root, and then blend it out.
- [Kwesi] Top three rappers of all time, go.
- Of course, Tupac and I did like Biggie as well.
I mean, there's a lot.
Jay-Z, I do like Jay-Z a lot.
It's looking promising.
Ready to get rinsed out?
- Yeah. - Okay.
- One hundred percent relaxed.
- Alright, so yeah.
- Whoa. (laughs)
- [Kwesi] So, what's next? The process is a--
- Again, rarely it's one time.
(upbeat driven music)
Alright, let's wash your hair.
- Oh man.
Whoa!
It's, like, not even blonde anymore,
it's almost white.
- I wanna get my hair washed so bad.
- Sometimes, the shampoo bowl is, like,
the best place to be in the salon.
- Can I just go into the shampoo bowl?
- Yeah, of course.
- Solid. Cool.
- Have you not ever gotten your hair washed--
- Never, ever in my life.
- Okay.
- I'm really happy right now. (moans)
(uplifting music)
Oh, even this feels good.
Thank you.
- [Tiffany] You're welcome.
We're gonna start with your color.
- [Steven] What are you gonna do here?
- Dimensional silver, grays, lilac, gotta see how I feel.
It's like a recipe.
- I like that.
Here we go.
- [Kwesi] So, it's purple now until you wash it out?
- [Tiffany] There's some lavender in there,
but it will be silver, actually.
- [Kwesi] Why does it come out lavender?
- [Tiffany] He pulls, naturally, a lot of yellow,
you want purple to make it the softest white
tone of silver that you can.
- [Kwesi] Wow. So, the purple cancels it out?
- [Tiffany] Yeah, exactly, color correction.
- [Kwesi] Look at him.
Don't get used to this, man.
(laughs)
- Are you ready to see?
- Oh, I can see a peek, oh!
Yeah, yes.
Wow!
It's, like, as if a crayon box of pastels
exploded on my hair.
- [Kwesi] Yeah, the grays look insane cool.
- And we haven't even gotten to the cut part.
Are you scissor cutting everything?
- Yes, I'm cutting length, but I'm also creating
shorter pieces within that length, so that
you have texture, you have volume.
- How do I not lose hair?
- Massage your scalp verses rubbing those areas
that maybe you are losing hair.
It will re-stimulate it.
Brushing is the easiest way to do it, actually.
- I don't even recognize myself, to be honest.
- [Kwesi] You've never had a haircut like this, before?
- It's the combination of everything.
The color, the cut.
Watching you watch me.
- Watching you, watching me.
- [Tiffany] It's supposed to be silver,
but once we dry it, it'll be different too.
- Oh my gosh, nice!
This great, wow.
- Hold on, don't touch it.
- Oh sorry.
- (laughs) Just kidding.
(laughs)
- [Kwesi] You look great, man.
- Thanks, Kwesi.
Oh my goodness, you were right.
I feel so fresh right now.
It's shaped so well back here.
Are you ready to go to San Antonio?
- I'm ready to get rid of this.
All of this.
- You're up next man.
We've made it to San Antonio, and it is--
- Hot. - Yes.
- Very hot.
I can't believe we're in San Antonio right now,
just to get a haircut.
- That's right, it's how the show works man.
- Haircut fact.
- The average men's haircut cost
in the United States is 20 dollars.
- That seems right, I pay about 30 bucks for my haircut.
- Oh, you live in Los Angeles.
Guess the average cost of a haircut in LA.
- Probably, 45 bucks.
- Wow!
You are on point.
- Yeah boy.
- We're going to Rob the Original Barber.
He's known for primarily hair sculpting.
- Sounds expensive.
- What're you gonna get carved in your head, though?
That's the thing you gotta figure out.
- It should be a privilege that I have Rob the Barber
cut a portrait of your smiling face.
- My face?
No.
- Yep, so everyone knows you're my pal.
- No, no, I cannot live with my face in your head.
What are you going to tell your mom?
- "Mom, look at my pal.
"Look at my friends." (laughs)
(quick orchestral music)
- I'm Rob Ferrel,
better known as Rob the Original
and today we're going to be doing a crazy hair design
in Kwesi's hair.
- What makes your shop, you know, different?
- We mainly target clients that get detailed haircuts.
We do, you know, from beards, to eyebrows, to hair designs,
no matter what it is.
- What prompted you, to like, start doing
designs on people's heads?
- I wanted to kind of set myself apart
and I started designing out portraits.
And now it's become a thing to where barbers do portraits.
- People get people's faces on their hair.
- Yes.
Life-like portraits.
- So, it's like a temporary tattoo that'll grow back in.
- Exactly.
So, if you were going to get your girlfriend's
portrait done, I would recommend
get it on your haircut first.
- And what was the most intricate haircut
you ever gave someone?
- "The Last Supper" on a haircut, on my Instagram
it got almost three million views.
- I obviously need a haircut.
- First of all, you have less than a centimeter of hair.
What do you mean, you need a haircut?
- I know, this looks good, but it could get better.
- After the haircut's done, you'll see the difference.
- Any recommendations on what I should get?
- What is it that you like to get, or inspires you?
- The only thing I can feel that is me,
is I'm very New York, thick and thin.
But, I'm a transplant of Los Angeles.
- You've got that California love,
but you're New York by heart.
We could do something dope on your head.
- Okay, my head is in your hands.
(laughs)
- You're in my hands, bro, you're in my hands.
- Before we start, top three rappers, dead or alive.
- Tupac.
- Boom.
- Eminem, Jay-Z.
- At least Hov makes it in to the top three, every go.
- Whenever I do hair designs, I use a image off my phone.
We're gonna not use the phone
and we're just going to freestyle this.
- [Steven] Kwesi, how you feel about that?
- I feel fine, I think I'm in good hands.
Let's do this.
- We're going to start with prepping my canvas,
'cause your hair is my canvas today.
When I do designs, I like to listen to music
that helps me a lot.
- I mean, if you want to listen to some music, do it.
- I'm definitely going to jam out, then.
(rhythmic orchestral music)
- I'm gonna to be using my trimmers to freehand
and start carving a NY then a CA
and do some detailed designs in there.
By the way, I carved these, bro.
- [Kwesi] Oh yeah?
- Yeah, I carved these.
I carve images on them.
- That's amazing.
- Yeah.
- You got a lifetime of work ahead of you, man.
- (laughs) Thanks, man.
- Yeah, man.
- [Rob] We're gonna straight razor.
I'm gonna go ahead and shave all the detail
inside the letters and the edge up, and the beard.
Clean it up nice.
At first, when I was cutting hair
I thought it wasn't looked at as in a good career.
But, obviously now, there's people that don't even speak my
language that literally have to type in translator
on a phone and tell me, "I became a barber, because of you."
- [Steven] It's crazy how social media just totally
created so many jobs for people.
- Yes, I agree on that.
I'm gonna go ahead and apply body paint color onto his hair,
to bring out some of the contrast areas,
to give a more precise image.
Let's check it out.
- Good looking out Rob.
That's amazing. (laughs)
Best of both worlds, in a sense.
Damn man.
It's like normal from the front, but the from the back it's,
like Do the Right Thing and its
Boyz in the Hood on this side.
- Alright my G, so that's it man.
- [Steven] It looks sick, Kwesi.
- Thank you, man.
This is the most extreme haircut I ever had.
- I hope you enjoy your haircut.
Now you can rep New York and Cali at the same time.
- Cheers to the tone.
- (laughs) Cheers to the tone?
- San Antonio.
- Oh!
- Which haircut was the most worth it at its price, to you?
- Wow, this is pretty hard.
We all have really great haircuts.
"N spot", it feels like you're at
a family thanksgiving dinner.
It feels super comfortable.
But, my worth it winner has to be
Rob the Original.
The detail of Rob, you gotta admire that.
- Watching him slowly chip away at each hair you had
was insane.
Tiffay, Tilee Studios, she not only gives you an amazing
haircut and amazing color,
but she teaches you to maintain it.
For me, my Worth It winner,
Tilee Studios, Tiffany Lee.
Just because, this color that she achieved with my hair,
I've never been able to get this before.
Hold up, Alex, who's your worth it winner?
What, so we all trust our own spots.
- Oh, we did.
- Good trip?
- It's a good trip man, thank you.
- You comin' back on the show?
- We'll see what happens.
- What do you mean, "we'll see what happens?"
That was an invitation to the next episode and you said--
- We'll see what happens. - We'll see what happens.
- You're out.
Good night.
- (laughs) Good night, folks.
Oh we should do a Lethal Weapon.
Me and you, like this.
- [Steven] No!
- Back to back.
Do that, do that, do it, do it dude.
Steven please, Steven please, do it.
Do Lethal Weapon with me, please dude.
Lethal Weapon, me and my pal, and there's Alex too.
- This has gone too far.