Dads learn to braid

[tillyjoyceさん]

On a recent Monday evening, 10 men left work early to attend class on the
Upper West Side in New York.

The narrow space was at maximum capacity; others were turned away. They would
have to wait for the next course in another month.

The hot ticket? Dad Braiding 101.

The class, led by Cozy Friedman, owner of the Cozy’s Cuts for Kids salons in
Manhattan, was intended to teach basic hair skills to fathers. The 45-minute
course started with brushing and detangling techniques and graduated to styling
a ponytail, a ponytail braid and a braided bun.

“We’ve hosted hair classes for moms before, but it was specialized styles,
such as a heart braid for Valentine’s Day,” Friedman said.

“Dads want to learn. I hear it all the time. But you can see right away on
the playground whose hair was done by her dad. We’ve really had to start with
the basics here.”

Accompanied by their daughters, ranging in age from 3 to 9, the dads, most of
whom are responsible for getting their children out the door in the morning,
shared universal gripes.

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Mainly, it seemed, Frozen fever never thawed, and replicating the braided
looks of Anna and Elsa, the main characters, was a trial in dexterity.

“With boys you just part it one way or the other way,” said Ricky Zinn, a
clothing manufacturer who brushed the glossy locks of Chayse, 5, with delicate
concentration. “With her, it’s up, down, one braid, two braids. I grew up with
brothers, so I don’t know anything about it. My default is the ponytail, and I’m
not even good at that.”

Others faced more challenging issues. David Shapiro, a finance worker, was
completely baffled by the springy corkscrews of Hunter, 3. “I get her ready in
the morning,” he said. “My wife goes to work early. But I have to leave the hair
part to the nanny.”

For the uninitiated, Friedman offered some advice, such as tackling tangles
with the acronym DAD: Distract (hand the child an iPad), Arrange (divide hair
into manageable sections) and Detangle (a spritz or two of detangling spray
doesn’t hurt).

On to ponytails.

“Brush the hair in a circle,” Friedman hollered over the din.

John Bown, who works in sales and trading and is a single dad to three girls,
plaited the hair of Ava, 7, so neatly, he could have taught the class.

“Oh, she’s my youngest, that’s why,” he said humbly. Ava had her own thoughts
on the matter: “He needs to learn to not pull my hair so hard.”

Having other daughters was no guarantee of expertise.

“My older daughter has curly hair, so it’s a completely different situation,”
said Ira Cohen, a lawyer.

He gestured at Alexa, 9, whose blond hair hung in an unbending sheet. Still,
he did an admirable job wrapping and pinning up her ponytail braid to form a
pretty bun.

Not all efforts went smoothly, as Zinn learned while fussing with bobby pins:
“If I let go, this thing is going to go.”

And perhaps it was best to manage expectations in the first place.

Shapiro was almost beaming after class but not because he could now whip up
Anna’s double braids from Frozen — Hunter’s favorite.

“I’ve definitely got the ponytail down now,” he said. “Well, only if I can
get her to sit.”

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