
Rodrick Samuels on The Silent Work, Modern Beauty Education and Why Empathy Wins
MODERN SALON sat down with Samuels to discuss the book, beauty education, mentorship and the habits that help beauty professionals thrive.
He's an artist with the clippers, crafting beautifully fluid designs. His hidden talent is his punctuality and this is the kind of boast we can get behind. Meet @Los_Cut_It, Carlos Estrella.


Carlos Estrella
@Los_Cut_It
He's an artist with the clippers, crafting beautifully fluid designs. His hidden talent is his punctuality and this is the kind of boast we can get behind. Meet @Los_Cut_It, Carlos Estrella.
Carlos Estrella
Official Cuts Barbershop, Chicago, IL
Specialty: Known for creating trendsetting haircuts and a master of hair designs.
Most viral: I’ve had a lot of posts go viral but the most recent that I’m proud of is the ‘Textured Beard’ video, with 200k views and counting. This video shows the first ever recorded textured beard on man!
Followers: 170k
Favorite apps: Lightroom would be my first go to app. It allows me to fully edit the color and lighting of the photo on all my images without them looking filtered. Final Cut Pro is my second favorite. This app makes it easy for me to edit all my video content like a professional when I can’t get to my Mac. We all want our Instagram photos to somehow flow with each other after we upload an image and Unum helps preview the picture you want to post before you actually upload it to you profile.
Favorite hashtags: #ChicagoBarber #LosCutit #HairTattoos
I follow:@MrOfficial@Arod23pr@pacinos@staygold31@robtheoriginal
Pro tips: My advice to those that are looking to post amazing content is to focus on all around beauty. Stop taking pictures of clients in your chair while they still have an apron on. Try to focus on how people would like to be seen when they see a hair cut, color or style they want. Shooting outside is best and using a high-quality camera. Use a photogenic person or someone who’s great in front of a lens and learn how to edit your pictures to give an all-around beautiful image that’ll be sure to capture the eye of others.
Hidden talent: I am one of the most punctual hairstylists, barbers out there. I can take up to 20 clients in a day and not once run a minute late for any of my appointments (if everyone shows up on time, of course).
Hidden talent: I am an artist at heart. I consider myself to be very creative. I can draw and at one point I was a tattoo artist. I also do photography and videography on the side that help visually complement my work with hair.
How social media changed my life: It has given me a platform to share all my creativity with the world. It is what brought on the sponsorships that allowed me to travel the world and get paid to educate others who share the same passion as I do. Most importantly, it allowed me to become the best version of myself.
The first time I was featured on MODERN’s Insta: I’ve been featured on Modern Salon’s Instagram a few times. Although the first time it happened I remember thinking to myself that I finally got featured on one of the top cosmo pages out rather than a just another barber page. It gave me a broader audience to showcase my work to.
See the full 2018 MODERN SALON 100 here!

MODERN SALON sat down with Samuels to discuss the book, beauty education, mentorship and the habits that help beauty professionals thrive.

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