White Oak barber Jerrika finishes a customer's cut at the Dayton Boulevard location.The atmosphere. The relaxation. The pampering. These are the reasons women have frequented spas for years, but a resurgence in the barbershops of old are now allowing more men the same outlet.
At White Oak Barber Shop, pampering is more than just an option: It's included. For $60, men are treated to a haircut and a straight-razor shave complete with hot towels. And after several rounds of lather, they leave with the smoothest shave one can get, says manager Jonny Barber. The whole process takes about an hour.
"It's like walking into a men's club," he says. "You walk in, sit down and listen to them chat about life. It's just a bunch of men being men."
Though spa options have long been available to men as well as women, the acceptability for men to spend as much time as women on their appearance is changing, Barber says.
Deciding on a cut?
The barbers at White Oak specialize in a variety of men's hairstyles, but these are the most common: The undercut. Think hip-hop artist Macklemore. Think Netflix's "Peaky Blinders." The undercut is characterized by shaving the hair around the crown and leaving longer pieces parted from the top in one direction or another. Barber says it's the No. 1 haircut he sees at the shop. The high-and-tight. For a more military-style look, the high-and-tight is a variant from the classic crew cut. The fade. For a slightly less dramatic look, the fade can offer the same kind of volume as the undercut, but with a less sharp contrast.
Five years ago, when he began working at White Oak's Dayton Boulevard location, the average age range of clients was from mid-30s to mid-70s. Now, he says, teenagers and men in their 20s flock to the shop.
"Men are changing. We're becoming a society where men do put more time into how they look, what the experience was and what to do to attain that. And that's what we offer," Barber says.
"Don't get me wrong, stylists [at a unisex salon] are skilled but a barbershop focuses on one thing: men's cuts. We cater to men and the styles that men want. It's all we do," Barber says. "So if I'm not doing better than them, I'm not doing my job right."
The shop now even offers an after-hour party service for groups such as wedding parties to come in, relax, drink and receive a beard trim or shave and a haircut.
"The world is changing. It's no longer just thought of as for women," Barber says.