'First Barber' Zariff Talks About Obama's Custom Cut, Graying Hair

'First Barber' Zariff, of the Hyde Park Hair Salon, spoke to Essence magazine about the president's $21 custom coif.

On the invention of 'The Obama Cut':

The Obama Cut is a custom cut. It came about in 2004 when Mr. Obama came into the shop and said he was speaking at the Democratic National Convention that evening. So I had to make him look sharp. Before that he was wearing his hair longer and a little curlier. I took it down to a short cut, tapered on the sides, back and neck. I wanted it to look more natural.

On whether stress is making the president go gray faster than average:

Not at all. It's average for men in his age group. I don't see a lot of the changes that other people see since I cut his hair regularly. He's not really big on vanity so I don't think he notices that much.

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Comments

[riverhouse]

Obama is going to be one of the best presidents ever. He's going to put this country back on track.

[2centsplain]

I feel a whole lot better now knowing this..

[PresidentRobertBooth]

Obama should try shaving off all his hair and growing a goatee.

Glasses would complete the "look"

[tel8034]

It would have been nice if Dubya had found a barber with a $21 priced haircut, than telling the TRILLION DOLLAR WMD LIE.

[ThomasMc]

Wow, The Great Hope doesn't do a damned thing he promised to do during the campain, and the most HF can come up with is "he's getting gray hair."

Wow.

[ellenst]

How can he get anything done when you have a bunch of rethugs and misfits they call constituents criticizing everything he does. You wouldn't get anything done if you supervised a team of workers didn't support your efforts.

[jennylynn]

Thought he was a leader?? The republicans are doing nothing the dems didn't do to Bush. The only difference is leader vs. follower. Wake up.

[AlwaysFair]

Darn..do you haters ever read? This isn't all HuffPo could come up with; this is the Style section; if you want something else just go to Politics or Home..do you have to be led by the nose for everything­..geez?

[jennylynn]

Wonderful. Thank you.

[dillydawg]

Oh, what a SourPuss. Give it up Jenny, your not as mean as you pretend to be. President Obama is the President of The United States. At some point you'll have to accept that.

[dillydawg]

The premise of your argument is flawed therefore, so is your entire statement.

[Yurdelite]

Wow. Nine months in and President Obama has not fixed all the problems the republicans with supporters like you have done to this country. The republicans have FUBARed this country and now they want the Democrats to clean up their disasters yesterday. You people never change. You bring nothing to the table and you have no morals or conscience.

[CitizenKane16]

Co-signed

[teron678]

LOL .. nice little article ...

Seems he gets a paid trip to DC say every 2 weeks ... don't think Obama goes to Chi-Town to get his hair cut .......

[jaydeedub]

I wonder how often Obama gets a cut.

[teron678]

seems every 2 sweeks

[teron678]

weeks*

[dillydawg]

Sooo cute.