This local barber/beauty shop offers cuts, snips and trims with a side of warmth and family love.
Barbershops and hair salons have become the mini hubs of the Black community over the years. Many a man, woman and child have spent endless hours getting their hair trimmed, cut, styled, shaved and “did” all while talking about what’s going on in the hood.
Established in June 2010, Crenshaw Barber & Beauty Shop (CBB) is one of those special places where you come in and feel like family. Timothy and Nikki Holmes, husband and wife, are licensed professionals that take their jobs to heart when it comes to hair care. The Holmes’ love each other and love their jobs.
Timothy has been cutting hair since the late 80’s and received his barber’s license from Healthy Care Academy. He started cutting hair when he was a freshman in high school.
“I started at the age of nine, sweeping in the barbershop that my mother used to take me to,” said Timothy. Later, he began cutting his friends’ hair and went on to pursue becoming a barber professionally. Since then, he has worked as a barber in Compton and won three barbershop trophies throughout his career.
Nikki has been a hair stylist for over 15 years, which started in junior high school. She started by doing her own hair and then she started doing her friends’ hair. “I’m also an instructor, I teach upcoming cosmetologists the proper state board procedures for doing hair,” said Nikki. She received instruction first at Culver City Beauty College through a program in high school. She also attended Marinello’s School of Beauty in Inglewood.
CBB takes pride in how they treat their customers, which is their number one concern. “Getting the results from the customers,” is what Timothy finds most rewarding about his job. “When they leave… and look at themselves in the mirror… it’s a big smile on their face… that’s a reward for me,” said Nikki.
Another fact about CBB is their concern for the health and well-being of clients’ hair. Many people come into beauty and hair shops with very damaged or unhealthy hair. CBB tries to address these issues to help customers maintain a healthy head.
“The first thing that I [ask] my clients… ‘What are you eating,'” said Nikki. “Everything comes from within, it starts with what you’re eating. She tries to encourage her customers that on top of taking care of your hair, you need to take care of your body. “I use a complete hair growth system… and it’s working very well for me and my clients.”
Barbershops have deep roots in the community. Many people go just for the company and to meet up with old friends. That same feeling can be found at CBB, which understands the tradition. “We are the cornerstone, next to the church, for the community,” said Timothy. He prides himself on using the old shaving methods and a hot towel service. “We do the hot towel service right after they get a shave.”
“Customer service is key here at Crenshaw Barber and Beauty,” said Nikki. “We want to focus on the customer, we want you to feel like you’re at home, we want you to feel like this is a family, and we want you to come back.”
“We’re more family-oriented, so when people come in, they can bring their kids,” said Timothy. “You don’t have to be worried about the rudeness of smoking, loud-talk, we have a lot of respect for our clients,” said Nikki. “We want to keep it as professional as we can.”
Many of his customers from Compton still seek him out to cut their hair. Now much older, they still seek Timothy’s skilled blade. “I must be doing something right for that generation,” said Timothy. “I want to keep doing what I’m doing for the kids and the community-and my seniors, they love me too.”
Crenshaw Barber & Beauty Shop is located at 3822 Crenshaw Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA. Their open Monday-Saturday from 9:00am to 8:00pm and on Sunday by appointment only. All walks-ins are welcome. For more information, please call (323) 296-6033. Be sure to add them on Facebook at Crenshaw Barber.