Capital Barber College opens in Benton, offers local training and $10 haircuts

Capital Barber College opened in Benton, Saline County, about two weeks ago, offering local training for aspiring barbers and $10 haircuts to customers while students learn.

Aaron Jackson, who runs the school and works in downtown Little Rock, said teaching was a long-term goal. "Probably about 4 or 5 years ago, I started to get my instructor's license," Jackson said, describing the path that led to opening the college in his home community.

Jackson described the school as Saline County’s first barber college and said it launched with an inaugural class of five students. "We can take up to 20 students here at this location," he said, adding that the school has been "fairly busy for a brand new barber school," noting the program opened "Wednesday before last" and has averaged about "4 to 5 haircuts a day."

Student reactions were positive. Ricky Studdard said, "I love the atmosphere and the actual hands-on." Deacon Bernal, introduced in the report as a student whose father is a barber, also appeared in the coverage.

The segment noted the school is located on Binson's Military Road in Benton. The anchor added that Arkansas requires 1,500 hours of training to obtain a barber license, which Jackson said generally takes about a year to complete.

Jackson framed the college as a community benefit: "It's a, a blessing for the community to be able to come in and get a $10 haircut," he said, adding that customers "walk away and know that you've got a great haircut" while students gain practical experience.

The report was produced by Carter Tweet of THV 11 News.