Mark Bustos cutting the hair of a homeless man.
31 year old Mark Bustos is a hair stylist at an expensive salon in New York City (NYC).
But on Sundays, his day off, he approaches homeless people and others with a smile and says, "I want to do something nice for you today," and then cuts their hair.
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Mark cuts the hair of up to six people on a Sunday, while his girlfriend also offers them whatever food they request.
Mark Bustos working on a park bench
The free haircuts began in May, 2012 when Mark visited his family in the Philippines.
While he was there, he rented a barber chair in a barbershop to cut the hair of poor children, free of charge.
"The feeling was so rewarding, I decided to bring the positive energy back to NYC," Mark told The Huffington Post by email in 2014.
He added that he's now also given free haircuts to those in need in Costa Rica, Jamaica and Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, on the streets of Long Beach, one of his non-paying customers was Jim, who had just been released from prison two weeks earlier.
"Every human life is worth the same," Mark wrote to HuffPost. "We all deserve a second chance."
Mark cuts hair for the homeless and the poor in busy places on sidewalks and street corners, so that many people can see what he is doing.
"… not to see me," Mark told HuffPost, but to encourage others to conduct their own acts of kindness for those less well off than themselves.
"Even a simple smile can go a long way," Mark added.
