Derick Yeboah
Barber & Founder of E5 Hair Doctor
Derick Yeboah / Photography by Edvinas Bruzas
“There is no haircut that I can’t do,” laughs Derick Yeboah. “It might not be 100 per cent perfect, but you will love it at the end of the day!” That might sound boastful, but a quick scroll through Derick’s Instagram feed (@e5_hairdoctor_ldn) is all the evidence you need. From Afro, tipper and skin fades, to braids, undercuts and elaborate shaved hair tattoos, it’s a gallery of follicular art.
But it’s not just his skills with the clippers and razor that have made this small salon in East London’s Upper Clapton a success, it’s also his larger-than-life personality and savvy use of social media.
Originally from Kumasi, Ghana, as a schoolboy Derick would earn pocket money in exchange for doing small jobs at a local barbershop. “After school, I’d run into the shop to help, the barber trained me up to do hair and so I became an apprentice,” he remembers.
Aged 19, he moved to London in search of a better life and got a job in a salon in Clapton. After several years honing his craft, it was time to make the leap and set up his business. “I wasn’t inclined to get my own shop from the beginning,” he explains. “But then it got to the point where there would be customers waiting eight, nine hours for me [to do their hair], so I had to have my own place.”
Thanks to his passion and energy, the salon has gone from strength to strength, even making a cameo appearance on Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me. Coronavirus forced the shop to close temporarily, but it’s since reopened with Covid-safe measures.
Whether it’s a precision skin fade or a fresh set of box braids you’re after, E5 Hair Doctor caters for all types of hair, including children’s. “There are a lot of barbers who don’t like doing kids’ hair, but I’m always happy to,” says Derick. “You just have to get them comfortable before you start and not rush them. Sometimes you have to send their parents out of the shop too,” he confides.
As for the future, he is considering opening in other East London postcodes, if he can find the right people to train up. But, as he concludes, “I’m not thinking about money, I’m thinking about cutting people’s hair. That’s my passion. And if the money comes in, then I’m extra happy.”
Interview by Selena Schleh
