By Gabrielle Lewis
Ethan Jenkins planned on getting his hair cut on Feb. 3. He’d been going to the same hair salon twice a month for a year and a half. But before he went, he found out the hair salon — Today’s Hair — had been severely damaged in a fire that day.
“I was devastated,” Jenkins said. “I still haven’t gotten a hair cut, I’m afraid to go anywhere else.”
Today’s Hair has been serving College Park for over 20 years, and many University of Maryland students were regular customers. Since the salon is now temporarily closed because of the damages, students have been trying to figure out where to go next for their hair cuts.
Jenkins, a sophomore double majoring in finance and international business, started going to Today’s Hair because of its proximity to the business school. He said he continued going there because he’s never gotten a bad haircut from them.
“I like my hair more than I like a lot of things, and they never done me wrong,” Jenkins said. “You always know what to expect.”
Nil Patel, a senior aerospace engineering major, felt the same — although he hasn’t gotten his hair cut since the pandemic began, he used to go to Today’s Hair once every couple of months, which he’d been doing since his freshman year.
Like Jenkins, Patel said he never had to explain what he wanted since he would go to the same hairdresser, and that the salon knew how to style his hair type. He did not hear about the fire at Today’s Hair until the week after it happened — and he’s struggling to find an alternative.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Patel said. “I guess I’ll have to figure out when Today’s Hair is back in business or find a new hair salon … I’m probably just going to hit up the [UMD] subreddit and ask around.”
The fire, which started on the roof of Today’s Hair, damaged the whole salon, according to salon owner Pola Kry. Since the fire occurred on the roof, she initially thought it wouldn’t affect her business — until she saw the water and smoke damage inside the building.
“When I saw that everything is damaged… I was just very sad and disappointed,” Kry said. “I lost everything.”
Kry said she hopes to reopen Today’s Hair before students leave campus at the end of the semester. But the process could take months, as the building has to be repaired and all the equipment and furniture in the salon needs to be replaced.
Amir Kalantary, a junior economics and government and politics double major and another regular customer, was back in his hometown when he got his last haircut. He recently switched to Today’s Hair this past year when he’s in College Park and would regularly go because he could talk about current events with the staff while supporting a small business in the area.
He remembers the employees talking about their experiences working during the pandemic and trying to balance being safe with staying in business — and he hopes they can pull through the fire damages and wants to keep supporting them.
“They’re super nice, they know what they’re doing,” Kalantry said. “If they open up again, we should go support them, a nice small business in College Park.”
Jenkins, who doesn’t plan on going to another hair salon in the area, echoed Kalantary’s sentiments.
“I’m just upset that what happened happened, and I hope everything’s okay,” Jenkins said. “I hope they can bounce back pretty strong from it.”
Featured image: Today’s Hair remains closed after it was severely damaged in a fire on Feb. 3. Photo by Gabrielle Lewis.