In San Diego, CA, the land of long, beachy waves, Reno Prezio (@thatguyreno) is seeing an uptick in clients requesting the big chop.  

An award-winning stylist (he took home a North American Hairstyling Award in 2018, and has been a NAHA finalist five times), Prezio sees hair trending upwards. His clients come to him for beautiful bobs and  perfect pixies, for his masterful makeovers and his face-framing finishes which bring out the best in every one of them.

Caption: Prezio accepts his North American Hairstyling Award for Haircutting

Building a Business Around Short Cuts and Pixies

Born in Toronto, Canada, Prezio is an entrepreneur who has opened a restaurant, got into farming and has plans to produce his own olive oil. He has also been an educator (with Paul Mitchell Schools and Bellus Academy) which is obvious in his ability to break down a cut and explain the “why” behind it.

When he first started posting his pixies and short cuts on Instagram, the positive responses to the transformations he was sharing brought him back into the salon.

“When I was teaching, and sharing my work on social, people were asking, where's your salon?  I decided I needed to find a place. I gave myself a year, because I figured if I could build a pixie clientele in that time, I’d be happy.”   

At Rinse Salon in San Diego, he says he does seven or eight haircuts a day, and maybe two of those will be going for a “big chop.” “I also do a minimum of one men’s cut, a day, because I love barbering,” Prezio adds.

To make sure he and clients are on the same page when it comes to outcome, Prezio says he advocates a thorough consultation.

 “I like when people bring in a few photos and I ask, what do you like about this photo?," Prezio continues. "They may say I like the bangs, or I like how the back here is cut, so I take a little bit from each and I explain that everyone’s hair is different.

"For instance, many clients bring in blondes but they have dark hair and they’ll say, I love that texture and those layers. I explain that with a blonde you’ll see the layers but in darker hair, you might not see it as much.

"I want to make sure that if you leave not liking your haircut, you leave not liking it on you.  I want them to know that, for my part, I’ve hit every angle.”

We asked Prezio to walk us through his Instagram feed, and talk to us about some of the cuts that stopped us, mid-scroll.

Ginger Pixie

“She had found some images she liked on Pinterest as inspiration and she was ready to go shorter. She has kind-of fine hair, and she likes it a bit longer on top. Fine hair bobs are the best with really solid lines. They give the illusion of thickness.   

"A lot of my cuts are longer on top, from the parietal on up, and then shorter so it lays sleek."

The Big Chop

“She told me,  I used to have curly hair and I said, I think it's in there. If we chop it off, we’ll find it again. She walked by the salon the other day, knocked on the window, pointed at her hair and did a little dance.”

Low Graduated Bob

“She is one of my models that I use in my photo shoots. She was growing her hair out and she wanted to remove the bulk in the back, but not take out a lot of length. I thinned it out and this will prep her for a good grow out. I would call this a Graduated Bob or Triangular Graduation.”

The Perfect Little Bob

Color done by @ndc_

“Women come to me all the time and say, my face it too round, I’m too fat, I’m too this, and I say, put that shit away.  If you have confidence, you can rock the short cut.  If you have confidence, you can shave your head.  Your beauty comes from the confidence, not the cut.”