This Cincinnati barber, TikTok sensation is changing lives one haircut at a time

A local barber recently went viral on TikTok. Now, he's changing lives across the region, one haircut at a time.

Vernon Jackson, a Cincinnati native and owner of Noble Barber & Beauty, wants to create a safe and inclusive space for all his customers through the Gifted Event, his program that provides free haircuts to children with disabilities. And his work has led to him amassing a large following on TikTok.

A Jan. 26 video of his client Ellison Eubanks, a 7-year-old with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect, has generated more than 3.4 million views on the app. The minute-long video shows Jackson, who was featured on "Good Morning America" in February, playing a fun "stop and go" game with Eubanks while giving him a haircut.

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"It's been pretty cool to meet so many people from around the world who this video impacted," Jackson told The Enquirer. "The many messages and emails I've gotten from people that donated. It's beautiful seeing people support me personally and supporting the vision and seeing the heart that I have."

Jackson is continuing his mission Saturday, April 8, by hosting a community event that is both a fundraiser and a four-year anniversary celebration of his barbershop.

Featuring live music and free food, donations from the festivities will go toward the Gifted Event, which provides services, extra time and accommodations for the children, so they can get a haircut every third Monday of each month.

"It's cool to see that me living from a place of love and doing everything I've done from a place of love for my city has resulted to what it has," Jackson said. "I wanna make sure that I can continue to show kids in the city and adults in the city and in between that it's OK to do nice things. It's OK to be happy. It's OK to be good."

The Gifted Event, which began in August 2021, started with Jackson just carving out time in his day off to provide haircuts for children with disabilities. He noticed the challenges parents and guardians face when searching for affordable barbers who have experience working with kids who need specific accommodations. Jackson always had a passion for working with children, and he wanted to help the families in need, which led to him using his talents and abilities to make kids with intellectual, physical or developmental disabilities look and feel good.

The program is now a public effort that has led to over $64,000 in donations and more than 300 cuts.

"I would rather be the one who does it because I have the heart for it," Jackson said.

Jackson's upcoming celebration will take place at his barbershop, located at 2915 Highland Ave., from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit noblebb.com.