From here they come braids with more than 14 million views. ‘Looks’ more talked about than Queen Letizia’s ‘pashmina’. She is a Poble Sec braiding with effect viral. Accumulate 1.2 million followers in TikTok; 214,000 in instagram. Until 300 messages they receive daily. “On one occasion – they say – we had the opportunity to literally braid a prince of an Arab country”. Don’t let Froilán find out.
The Flow Braiding (av. del Paral•lel, 151). Between combs, dryers and extensions, more are seen Famous than on a red carpet. ‘Influencers‘, singersa lot soccer player. Of Bad Gyal to Mariano Diazthe Sevilla FC player, without mentioning all the confidentiality contracts that they had to sign. They also do braids to celebrities at home. “I have had the opportunity to tour with Jhay Cortez and combing Archangel”. Iván tells you in a hard-working tone. He is still the first one to come to work and the last one to go home.
Ivan Castillo is “the flow man”. That’s what he calls it Jose Manuel Pinto since his times goalkeeper at Barça. “Do you live off this?” they keep asking him with a meme face. For 10 years he has been making a living doing braids. “Every effort – he smiles – has its reward”.
It started as a child in Honduras. He would have been 10, 11 years old. “He was obsessed with these hairstyles”, remember. For the NBA players. He practiced with his mother, with his sister, with himself. “I always compare it to someone who knows draw –shrugs his shoulders-: you can’t explain why. It is something that I have known how to do since I was very young, without any training. Like what you are born with this”.
moved to Barcelona with 17. And he began to dare to do more hairstyles. With friends dominicans, above all. “With them I began to create my little community -remember-. In 2005, 2006, it was more common among Dominicans.”
I made braids in a home room. “No profit or anything,” he says. “It was practice, practice, practice.” It didn’t take long for her to rent a chair at a hair salon in Poble Sec. And one day – 10 years ago – she contacted him Jose Manuel Pintothen I played goalkeeper at Barça. “She liked what she did and helped me a lot with promotions,” explains Iván. “I will be eternally grateful to him.”
Waiting list
The customers multiplied – tweet by tweet, word of mouth – and opened own premises. Then there were only three of them: him, his wife and a barber. I would still give them another push in networks -Iván thanks- Paula Gonzalezthe winner of ‘Big Brother 15’, now converted into ‘influencer’. They became 10 workers. Two, three weeks waiting list to get time.
At this point, the #braids in ‘hashtag’ format already exceed 3.8 billion views only on TikTok. It has been the surprise asset of everything for years.influencer‘. Google has been filled with famous posturing, tricks, tutorials, networks that catch fire with controversial debates. TO The Flow Braiding he tiktoker ‘boom’ It suddenly exploded. “I uploaded a time-lapse, I uploaded another, a colleague helped me,” explains Iván. From one month to the next, one million followers”. Is hypnotic watch them braid at double speed.
It’s not so strange anymore, they say. It is no longer taboo. The braidsThey say they are becoming normal. “Nowadays they do so much 70 year old lady as a 5 year old boy”. You see all types of clientele. “From the heaviest metal rocker you can imagine to the lady who goes to church.”
“You’ll see that it’s not what it seems,” Iván guarantees. “It’s nothing. inhuman“, he laughs. And he makes you a braid to pose in just 20 seconds ‘time-lapse’. Combine the hairdresser talk with a TV with music videos. In the mirrors you see the same patience faces as if they were in a ‘Tell me how it happened’ marathon. There is 30 minute and 6 hour hairstyles. Nancy has two and keeps the expression of Saint Job intact between kilometer braids. Noelia will be three today: she is going to do all her hair braids. “In another place it took 7,” he smiles quietly. Here it is done between two people.
“Did it hurt you?”. It’s the first thing they’ll ask you when they see your braid, Iván guarantees. “They usually interpret it with the pain -He shrugs-: ‘Braids It is the same as suffering. But many who say it have never done it.” The truth is that no, it didn’t hurt. Not a fuss. Nobody around complains about the jerks.
What do curious TikTokers ask the most? “Why they put braids in hot water.” This is how videos usually end on networks. “When you work with synthetic extensions -explains Iván-, all that long braided extension is very hard. When boiled in hot water, the extension takes a very natural and soft texture“.
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Now many braids are made football players: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Oscar Mingueza (Celtic), Mariano Diaz, (Sevilla FC), Cristian Tello (Saudi Arabia), Jordi Mboula (he plays in the Italian league) drops every week. “We have also been hired to do hairstyles for advertisements of big brands worldwide – adds Iván -. Any sign you see of a super large store with braids We probably made them here.”
That what hooks? “It is a hairstyle that gives you enough security”, responds Nathalie Pérez, Iván’s wife. “Empowers a lot”. And above you wake up already combed, They laugh. You can go down without touching your hair – some client promises – until two months.