The
Blog
Straight answers and honest advice from Jonny and the crew at Williamsville and Tonawanda. What works, what doesn’t, and what to do about it.
Jonny·Straight Razor vs. Safety Razor: An Honest Comparison from the Barber's Chair
A straight razor gives the closest shave and takes real skill. A safety razor gives a very close shave and takes a week to learn. Here is the honest…
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Jonny·How to Style Short Hair (Men): The Product Lineup, and a Method for Each
Clay, paste, pomade, cream, wax, sea salt spray. Each one does a different job. Here is the lineup, who each suits, how much to use, and a quick…
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Jonny·The Best Haircuts for a Round Face (Men): Add Height, Add Angles
A round face looks longer and more defined with height on top, tight sides and a few hard angles. Here is the geometry, the cuts that use it, and the…
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Jonny·Beard Oil vs. Beard Balm: Which One Your Beard Actually Needs
Oil is for the skin. Balm is for the shape. That is most of the answer — but beard length, the weather and how much hold you want all change which…
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Jonny·Where Should Your Beard Neckline Be? How to Line Up a Beard Properly
Two fingers above the Adam's apple, curving up behind the ears. Measure it, mark it, trim below it. The beard neckline, done properly, is the…
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Jonny·Barber vs. Stylist: What’s Actually Different, and Which One You Need
Barbers and stylists both cut hair. They are trained differently, licensed differently and good at different things. Here is how to tell which one…
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Jonny·How Long Does It Take to Grow a Beard? A Week-by-Week Timeline from a Tonawanda Barber
Most guys quit their beard in week three, right before it gets good. Here is what to expect week by week, when to leave it alone, and when to let a…
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Jonny·How to Grow Out Your Hair (Men): A Month-by-Month Roadmap
Growing your hair out is mostly patience — plus a few well-timed trims. Here is the roadmap, month by month, including how to survive the awkward…
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Jonny·How Often Should Kids Get Haircuts? A Straight Answer
The internet says six weeks. The internet says that about everyone, which is why it is not useful. Here is the schedule by cut and by hair type, and…
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Jonny·Scissor Cut vs. Clipper Cut: What's the Difference, and Which Is Right for You?
Clippers are fast, precise and great for short sides. Scissors are soft, natural and great for length. Most great haircuts use both. Here is how to…
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Jonny·Haircuts for a Big Forehead or Long Face (Men): What Actually Helps
A bigger forehead or a longer face is just proportion, and a haircut is the easiest way to change proportion. Here is what to bring forward, what to…
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Jonny·The Kids’ Fade, Explained: What You’re Actually Asking For
“He wants a fade” covers about six different haircuts, and half the time the parent and the kid mean different ones. Here is what the…
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Jonny·Beard Itch: Why It Happens and How to Make It Stop
Almost every beard itches at some point. Usually it is new growth or dry skin, and it is easy to fix. Here is how to work out which it is, what to…
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Jonny·How Long Does a Haircut Take? Every Service, Timed
About thirty minutes for a proper men's haircut. Here is where those thirty minutes go, minute by minute, plus how long every other service takes and…
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Jonny·Haircuts for Thick Hair (Men): Problems, Fixes and the Cuts That Work
Thick hair is a gift that behaves like a problem: it puffs, it stands up, it turns into a helmet by week three. Here are the problems, the fixes and…
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Jonny·Brow, Ear and Nose Waxing in Williamsville: The Frank Guide for Men
Nobody wants to talk about ear hair. We will. A frank, slightly embarrassing, entirely practical guide to brow, ear and nose waxing at our…
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Jonny·The French Crop: An Old Cut That Keeps Coming Back
Short sides, a short textured top, everything pushed forward to a neat line of bangs. The French crop has been around for decades and is still one of…
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Jonny·Fade vs. Taper: What Each One Is, and a Simple Way to Choose
A taper gets shorter toward the neck and stops before skin. A fade keeps going. That is the difference — and below is a quick decision path for…
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Jonny·What Is an Edge Up Haircut? Edge Up vs. Shape Up vs. Line Up, Explained
Edge up, shape up, line up, lineup — four names, roughly one service. Here is what it actually is, what it is not, and when it is worth ten minutes…
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Jonny·How to Grow a Mustache: A Week-by-Week Logbook
Day one is easy. Week two is where most mustaches get shaved off. Here is the whole log, week by week, with what to do at each stage so yours makes…
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Jonny·Haircuts for Curly Hair (Men): A Barber's Guide by Curl Type
Curly hair is not a problem to be managed. Cut properly, it is the easiest hair to wear. Here is what works for wavy, curly and coily hair, and how a…
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Jonny·Nine Boys’ Haircuts That Survive a School Morning
The question is not which cut looks best in a photo. It is which one still looks fine on a Tuesday when nobody has touched it. Nine cuts we actually…
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Jonny·How to Fix a Bad Haircut: A Calm, Step-by-Step Triage from the Barber's Chair
Step away from the bathroom clippers. A bad haircut is almost always fixable — or at least survivable — if you do the right things in the right…
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Jonny·How to Trim a Mustache: A Step-by-Step Manual from a Barber
Comb it down, trim the lip line first, never cut it wet, and take less than you think. The full step-by-step, plus the mistakes that ruin a mustache…
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Jonny·What Is a Hot Towel Shave? Every Step, from the First Towel to the Last
Thirty minutes, lying back, with hot towels and a sharp razor. Here is what happens at each step of a hot towel shave, and why it feels nothing like…
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Jonny·The Quiff Haircut: The Cut, the Morning Routine, and How to Make It Last
A quiff is all about the front: height, volume, swept up and back. Here is the cut that makes it possible, the five-minute morning routine, and how…
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Jonny·A Barber Shop for North Tonawanda, Just Across the Canal
Picture a Tuesday morning. You cross the canal, you are in a chair by 7, and you are back on your side of the water before your coffee goes cold…
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Jonny·Beard Trim Styles: 10 Looks, Who They Suit, and How to Ask for Them
Ten beard styles, each with the same four answers: what it is, who it suits, how much upkeep it needs, and the exact words to use in the barber's…
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Jonny·The Best Haircuts for a Receding Hairline (From Barbers Who See It Every Day)
A receding hairline is one of the most common things a barber sees, and one of the easiest to work with once you stop fighting it. Here are the cuts…
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Jonny·Barbershop or Kids’ Salon? An Honest Comparison
There are three reasonable places to take a child for a haircut, and they suit different children. Here is a fair comparison — including the cases…
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Jonny·9 Low-Maintenance Haircuts for Men That Still Look Good in Week Four
A low-maintenance haircut is not the one that takes least time in the morning. It is the one that still looks deliberate four weeks after you got it…
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Jonny·Haircut Numbers Explained: A Clipper Guard Size Chart You Can Actually Use
A number 2 leaves about a quarter inch. A number 4 leaves half an inch. Here is the full chart, what each number looks like on a real head, and how…
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Jonny·When Your Kid Is Scared of Haircuts: What Actually Helps
You have already tried the tablet and the lollipop. Here are the six triggers that actually cause haircut fear, how to defuse them at home over a…
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Jonny·Crew Cut vs. Buzz Cut: The Tale of the Tape
Two of the shortest, simplest cuts in the shop, weighed in side by side. Length, styling, upkeep, who they suit, and a clear verdict for every kind…
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Jonny·Looking for a Kenmore Barber Shop? Here’s the Case for Driving a Few Minutes North
You live in Kenmore, you want a good barber, and you would rather not spend Saturday morning in a waiting room. Here is how our Tonawanda shop fits…
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Jonny·The Beard Fade: How a Haircut and a Beard Become One Shape
A beard fade blends your haircut into your beard so there is no hard line where one ends and the other begins. Here is how it works, zone by zone…
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Jonny·How Much to Tip a Barber: The Real Numbers, Worked Out for You
Fifteen to twenty percent is the range you will hear everywhere. Here is what that actually comes to on a $25 cut, a $12 edge up and a house call…
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Jonny·The Mid Taper: Where It Starts, What It Pairs With, How to Ask
A mid taper starts the shortening roughly at the temples and finishes clean at the neck. It is the most versatile taper there is. Here is exactly…
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Jonny·Choosing a Barber Shop in Williamsville, NY: A 10-Point Scorecard
Ten things to check before you trust anyone with your head. Use it on us, use it on anyone. Then see how our Main Street shop scores.
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Jonny·Barbershop Etiquette: 15 Unwritten Rules (and What to Say to Your Barber)
Nobody hands you the rulebook the first time you walk into a barbershop. Here it is: fifteen unwritten rules, and the handful of sentences that get…
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Jonny·Barber Shop in Tonawanda, NY: What You Actually Get on Delaware Street
No mood boards and no mystery pricing. Here is exactly what happens when you walk into our Tonawanda shop at 578 Delaware St. — who cuts, what it…
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Jonny·The High and Tight Haircut: What It Is, Who It Suits, How to Ask
Sides taken short and high. A short strip on top. No styling. The high and tight is the most no-nonsense haircut there is. Here is how it works and…
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Jonny·How Often Should You Get a Haircut? A Schedule for Every Cut
The short answer is every three to six weeks. The useful answer depends on how short you keep the sides. Here is a schedule for every cut, and how to…
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Jonny·Where to Take Your Kid for a Haircut in Tonawanda (and What to Expect)
Chain, salon, or barbershop — the right pick depends on your kid, not the price. Here is an honest account of what a kids' cut at our Tonawanda shop…
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Jonny·Your Baby’s First Haircut: When to Go, What to Ask For, and What Nobody Tells You
The first haircut is the one everyone photographs and worries about most — usually about the wrong things. Here is what actually matters: when to go…
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Jonny·Sensory-Friendly Haircuts for Autistic Kids in Western New York
It is usually not the haircut itself that is the problem — it is the buzzing, the lights, the cape, and all of it at once. Here is exactly what we do…
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Jonny·Kids’ Haircuts in Williamsville: A Parent’s Guide to Getting It Right
Somewhere between the door and the chair, the whole thing can go sideways. Here is what actually happens when you bring a child in, and how to make…
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you are
Walk-ins are welcome, but booking is the sure thing — and if your kid needs a quieter visit, just say so when you book.