2008 Woodie Awards
Total Image Salon barber gives quick cuts to students, alumni
Lindsay Lorenz
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: News
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Though Ciccone never attended the University of Rhode Island, he's certainly no stranger to the school.
"I partied here a lot in the '90s," he said. But aside from that, he's been keeping the campus looking good for the last nine years.
Ciccone, who works in the Memorial Union's hair salon, said he prides himself on his "fast and precise" cuts. He said often students come between classes asking if he can work with their time frame. "You're out quick with a good haircut," he said.
Ciccone, a Cranston, R.I. native, said it was his mother who spurred his interest in cutting hair. When Ciccone was young, she would cut his hair. All it took was one really bad hair cut when he was 9 years old for Ciccone to take matters into his own hands. He started cutting his own hair, and by the time he was 12 years old, he was even cutting his friends' hair. Little did he know his knack for hair care would become his passion and profession.
After high school, Ciccone studied psychology at community college. He also joined a band and grew his hair out. After he cut his hair, he was eventually convinced by a friend to get his license to cut hair. At 26, Ciccone went for it. "I just figured I'd go cut hair," he said. "It took all that time to figure out what I wanted to do and I was doing it all along."
Ciccone said he loves his job. But that's not how it always was. Ciccone worked at another salon before taking a job in the Total Image Salon.
"After building shelves for [my boss] and [her] wanting me to wear leather pants, I was like 'I gotta get out of here,'" he recalled. He's been here ever since.
And the best part of Ciccone's job? "Making people look good," he said.
So far, Ciccone's given just one bad hair cut-and don't worry, it was years ago.
When he was starting out, Ciccone said he was giving a hair cut to an antsy little boy. "He was hyperactive," Ciccone recalled. So much so that the boy's mother had to hold him down. At some point the boy moved his head suddenly and Ciccone snipped off the top tip of his ear. Ciccone confessed he probably scarred the kid for life. "That was the worst of it all," he said.