A growing number of barber shops across South Florida offer a different kind of salon service targeted exclusively at men — like a hot shave that comes with a cold draft beer and televisions that have the hot sports game on. Although men-only barbershops have been around a long time, the concepts are evolving and businesses are expanding their list of services to offer more than just haircuts and shaves.
“There are men out there that want to take better care of themselves and they prefer quality,” said Lee Garipoli, the owner of two male-exclusive barber shops in Fort Lauderdale. “I wanted to open a place that offers the amenities and services that cater toward a man’s tastes and needs.”
Garipoli owns Man Kind, an upscale barber shop with a bar, spa and billiard lounge, that provides a niche for the many men who work in the corporate world in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The clients get a complimentary alcoholic beverage while they’re getting a hair cut or shave. Customers can hang out in a lounge and shoot pool before or after their cut, book a professional massage or manicure, get a suit dry cleaned or sit in a fully equipped steam room.
But luxury comes at a price. Haircuts and shaves start at $35. Annual membership packages range from $500 to $5,000 for Man Kind’s services.
“We’re on the same price point as the more high-end full service hair salons,” Garipoli said. “We cater to the executives who come to Fort Lauderdale for business or work downtown.”
Riding on the success of Man Kind, a 2,000-square-foot facility on Southeast Second Avenue, Garipoli has opened a similar, though more casual, men-exclusive shop called the Barber Bar on Fort Lauderdale beach at A1A and Sunrise Boulevard this month.
Unlike Man Kind, which has hair coloring and spa services, Barber Bar will offer only hair cuts and shaves with a bar in the front, Garipoli said. The prices will be more competitive with discount hair salons too, he said.
Gwen Jacobson is a franchise owner of Sport Clips, a men-only barber shop concept with more than 12 locations across South Florida. Televisions are installed at every hair dresser station and the shop has a sports bar feel to it, with stadium seating in the reception area, baseball murals on the walls and locker setups.
Sports Clips is known for their MVP package, which include a shampoo massage, hair cut, hot steam towel and neck and shoulder massage for $21.
Jacobson said she books about 550-600 customers a week at her Palm Beach Gardens location.
“A lot of guys just really like the atmosphere,” she said. “We cut hair for men and that’s our strength.”
Several other barber shop concepts are open across the South Florida area, including Ike’s Barber Shop in Weston, ManCave in Boca Raton, Club Men Barbershop & Spa in Coral Springs and Sir Luxury Barber Spa in Aventura.
“These places create a comfortable environment for men, who may be uneasy at full-service salons that are most often filled with women,” said Brad Masterson, communications manager with the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Professional Beauty Association.