What if there were a place that only specialized in cutting kids’ hair and where the hairdresser knew all the cool and trendiest cuts?

And what if at this place, they had cool DVDs to watch and neat toys to play with and a giant jungle mural on the wall.

And what if this same place gave away cool balloons?

There is such a fantasy place and it’s right here in La Verne, with owner Maria Ortiz plying her scissors with peerless perfection five days a week, so that kids (and their parents, too) can look their absolute best year-round!

In the year that Little Kuts has been open, Maria has been successful because she speaks her tiny clients’ language. In fact, there’s probably no person living or working in La Verne more knowledgeable or up to date on her children’s movies than Maria. Nemo, Shrek, Ratatouille, she knows the story lines and sound tracks to them all.

“To keep up with all the kids, I have to keep up on all of their favorite movies,” Maria says.

Being the mother of four children, Maria also has that innate knowledge on how to keep children engaged while she carefully and tenderly snips, trims, cuts and styles the precious locks of her legion of young customers. Once in Maria’s hands, even the littlest patrons lose their timidity and shyness.

“She has a wonderful way with kids,” says parent Alex Moreno, whose son Julian was back for his fourth visit on what also happened to be his fourth birthday. On his very first visit, he sat in his father’s lap, but in follow-up visits, he’s been one cool and independent customer, loving every minute of his pampered hair care.

Maria is also a haircut repair specialist. Often mom or dad drags junior to their same hair cutting salon without thinking that children require special care and handling. “We specialize in children’s haircuts,” Maria says.

“There’s definitely an art to cutting children’s hair,” she adds. “It takes a special person to be a children’s hairstylist. You need a lot of patience for one. It’s a lot of listening and understanding. You have to be sensitive to parents’ wants and needs, as well as the child’s.

“I have to make sure each child has a positive and fun experience.”

With mom’s or dad’s or approval, that can translate into a buzz cut, a spiky hair styling, a flat top, a Mohawk or even a Faux Hawk — a less severe or softer version of the Mohawk that you can comb to one side.

Often parents, seeing their children’s smiles, will also get their hair cut as well, in one of Maria’s adult haircutting stations. What’s good for the child is also good for the parent. All of a sudden, the kids are in no rush to leave as they plunge into a large box of toys or books, or pretend they’re knights in shining armor or damsels in distress held prisoner in the dragon’s castle.

Each visit to Little Kuts, there’s more to discover. Little Kuts carries Circle of Friends hair products, a professional line for children of all ages. Also available for purchase is an assortment of affordable toys to buy as gifts or rewards. In addition, Little Kuts offers an assortment of headbands, hair clips, and hand-made hair bows, plus gift certificates.

Little Kuts features a monthly drawing as well, in which one lucky little customer whose name is pulled receives a cool toy basket. For every haircut, the customer receives another ticket to enter in the monthly drawing.

That’s not the only cool promotion, Little Kuts offers. Maria features the superb portrait photography of Joanne Distaso in her shop. Each month, one lucky customer whose name is drawn is featured as Little Kuts’ “Customer of the Month, entitling the winner to a free portrait sitting and free 8×10 glossy.

To spread the word about all of Little Kuts’ services, products and great promotions (reduced price hair cuts on Wacky Wednesdays is another example), Maria is a familiar and friendly face at schools, pre-schools, mom’s groups and other organizations that serve children. For the fifth grade promotion from Roynon Elementary, she donated free haircuts that were among the many awards and prices that students received.

Now Maria’s at it again. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of her salon’s opening, Little Kuts is offering $12 haircuts on September 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There’s no need to wait that long, however, to treat your child to a fun outing at Little Kuts. Drop in or call for an appointment today. Also see the Little Kuts coupon offers in the coupon section of LaVerneOnline (coupon button on the front page will take you to the Little Kuts offers).

“One of the best ways to get your child excited about school is to give them a stylish back-to-school haircut,” Maria says. “It works every time. A haircut adds to their sense of wonderment and anticipation that the school year is about to start up, and that they’re about to embark on a wonderful new journey of meeting new friends and learning new things.”

1147B Foothill Blvd., La Verne, CA 91750 | Phone 909-593-2002