Mylz Carlos Miraflores, better known as @MylzintheCut is a talented barber from Mississauga, Canada, who boasts one million followers on TikTok and recently signed a deal with Puma. Mylz earned a cult following thanks to his hair transformations and a keen eye for lifestyle and fashion trends. So where did it all begin for the 23-year-old, self-starter from the shores of Lake Ontario?
Getting Started
“I've been always into hair, probably because my dad always had different hairstyles and my uncle's a hairdresser but more than that I've always been into my own hair. I loved styling my own hair and used to watch videos all the time,” explains Mylz. “I learnt how to cut my own hair during one March break (which is like a spring break) when I was in grade 10 and one of my boys, Tommy, wanted to buzz his head for the vacation break.” Mylz offered to cut his friends hair ‘for fun’ telling us: “So we went to his house, where his mom has a full salon set and I used all of her tools and I just cut his hair.” From there Mylz and Tommy would use his skills as a reason to spend time together. “Every time we hung out, I would just cut his hair for fun. And after that it was just because I wanted to get better.”
Before long, Mylz was watching videos online and practising his craft when after a year classmates started noticing Tommy's haircut. “People would ask ‘Oh, where’d you get your haircut from?’ And he would say that it was me.” Mylz goes on to say: “I didn’t want to cut anybody else’s hair because I was just doing it for fun, but my friends convinced me that I could charge $10 and then see how it goes. We started getting more people to Tommy’s basement and eventually we took it to my porch and then my backyard.”
Mylz decided to hone his self-taught skills at a barbershop and currently works at IDNTY Collective in Mississauga, Ontario. “Through every shop I have learned something from everyone,” he tells us. Known for his unique style as seen in his TikTok videos, Mylz tells us that his inspiration is his dad: “Creating different hairstyles, like mullets or mohawks, that comes from him. It’s inspired me to think creatively. I started looking at UK styles for inspiration, such as fringes and textured hairstyles, and then I started doing it on my clients and really liked it,” Mylz adds.
Taking Over TikTok
Throughout his barber journey, Mylz has also seen the benefit of social media, as a way to connect with the barbering community as well as gaining exposure to potential clients, he explains: “When I first started cutting hair my goal was that people would search for a haircut and find my work. Now, when people come in, they show a haircut that I’ve done and posted on my socials,” he tells us, adding: “The coolest part is hearing it from other barbers that I don't even know. They tell me that their client showed them my video and they show me how they cut the hair and ask me how I did it. It’s really cool seeing that.”
Mylz’s approach to social media has been a complement to his passion for cutting - instead of creating looks in the hope they provide TikTok fame: “I started using TikTok during quarantine so that I could watch videos and I didn't think of ever posting, but then I filmed a transformation video when I was cutting my friends hair and it did well so that’s how it started off. From there I started doing a bunch of transformations that showcased my styling technique where I make straight, flat hair more textured and ‘meaty’. That started blowing up and I got over one hundred thousand views.” Mylz tells us that this was when he realised he should start creating more videos, adding: “When I saw that I could get a video to a million views I thought I'm gonna start taking this seriously.”
The Mylz Style
One question that always comes with social media success is how you encourage fans to come from TikTok to the chair. For Mylz, the key driver was showing his techniques but also his personality so that they could see he was an approachable guy. “I'm not a guy that's strict and I'm not scary. So, it's probably easier to come to somebody like that,” he goes on to say: “My style is also very clean and I like trying out different hairstyles to cut – I guess that's also what encouraged people to come to the shop because it was styles that people don't always see online. Especially with me doing longer hairstyles too, it brought me a lot of new clients because they always tell me that they never see someone that can cut long hair.” With a lot of styles leaning towards fades and shorter cuts, being able to cut longer hair has become a unique skillset for Mylz. “I wanted to be good at every part of what I do, not just one part so I’ve always made sure I learn everything,” he explains.
Having achieved so much already, it seems like Mylz is only just getting started and we can’t wait to see what the future holds...
