How the AI Try-On works.
Last updated: May 8, 2026
The "Try a New Look" button on our home page lets you preview a haircut style on your own photo using AI. We built it to be useful, not creepy. Here's exactly what happens — what we send, where it goes, what we keep, and what to expect.
What you do
- You click "Try a New Look" and a small modal opens.
- You upload a photo of yourself — clear, well-lit, looking forward.
- You pick a style (e.g. "The Gatsby" or "Skin Fade") from the menu.
- You click "Generate" and wait roughly 10–15 seconds.
- You see a before / after preview. You can save it to your device.
What happens behind the scenes
- Your photo is sent over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection to a small Cloudflare Worker we operate (
tryon.dapperfellasbarbershop.com). - The Worker checks two things: file size (max 8 MB) and rate limit (10 requests per IP per hour). It does not store the photo on our servers.
- The Worker forwards the photo plus your style choice to fal.ai, an AI infrastructure provider that runs the FLUX Kontext Pro image model.
- fal.ai processes the photo, generates the styled preview, and returns it to your browser through our Worker.
- Your browser displays the result. The result is not stored anywhere by us — only your device has the saved version, if you choose to save it.
Data handling, in detail
- Original photo storage: not stored on our servers. fal.ai uses the photo only to compute the result and deletes its working copy after processing per their stated retention policy.
- Result image storage: not stored on our servers. The image lives in your browser tab; close it and it's gone unless you saved it.
- Logs: the Worker keeps minimal request metadata (IP, timestamp, file size, success/failure) for rate limiting and debugging. These are not linked to a person and are purged after 30 days.
- Training: we do not use your photo to train any model. Per fal.ai's policy, neither do they.
What the preview is — and isn't
The preview is a creative visualization: a photorealistic suggestion of how a style might look on your face shape and hair pattern, generated by an AI model. It is not:
- A guarantee that the real cut will look identical. Real hair growth, density, and cowlicks behave differently than pixels.
- A medical or dermatological assessment.
- A binding commitment to deliver that exact result in the chair. Your barber will work with you to land the closest real-world version.
Use it as a conversation starter — bring the saved image to your appointment, talk it through with your barber, and we'll calibrate from there.
Limits and rate
The Try-On feature is free. To keep it free, we cap usage at 10 generations per IP address per hour. If you need more, just book and bring reference images to the chair — we'll talk through styles in person.
What you should not upload
- Photos of someone other than yourself, unless they've given consent.
- Photos of minors without parental consent.
- Photos containing illegal or harmful content. The underlying model rejects most of this automatically.
- Photos you don't want processed by a third-party AI provider — in that case, simply don't use the feature. Booking and visiting work the same without it.
Opting out and questions
The Try-On is opt-in. You can use the rest of the Site (booking, services, location, reviews) without ever clicking it. If you'd like to know more about how a specific generation was processed, or you want to confirm deletion, email dapperfellas@yahoo.com — we'll respond within 30 days.
Provider chain — for the curious
- Cloudflare Workers — runs the rate-limited proxy.
- Cloudflare KV — stores rate-limit counters, no photo data.
- fal.ai — runs the FLUX Kontext Pro model that generates the preview.
- FLUX Kontext Pro — image diffusion model trained for photo-realistic edits.
Changes
If we change the provider chain or the data handling, we'll update this page and bump the "Last updated" date. Material changes that affect what happens to your photo will be flagged in the Try-On modal itself before you upload.
Contact
dapperfellas@yahoo.com · (818) 392-5771.