Shave and a haircut at the Barber Shop

For men looking for a cheap, no-fuss haircut, The Barber Shop at Rehoboth Beach is open for business.

“Most guys I know don’t want to get a facial,” said barber Rich Foti. Trimly dressed in a vest and tie, he gushed over the century-old barber chair he uses to administer hot-lather shaves. A long, black strop, used to sharpen the straight razor, hung by the chair’s side.

“Not many people are really trained in shaving,” Foti said. There’s more to the act than simply dragging a razor across one’s face, he said: You have to consider the growth patterns to really pull off a close shave. As if providing reference material, Foti displays the clean-shaven jaw of Frank Sinatra on framed records hung throughout the shop.

“That’s kind of what we’re going for, here,” said Amy Ferro, shop owner. “A nice, old-fashioned barber shop.”

The Barber Shop, located two doors down from Atlantic Liquors on Route 1, has enjoyed a steady stream of walk-ins since it opened in early September, Ferro said. Though barber shops mostly appeal to men, she said, she’s catered to women looking for a closer cut.

Foti owned the Academy of Professional Barbers in Wheaton, Md., where Ferro was a student. He was leaving a stint at Lotus Spa in downtown Rehoboth when Ferro approached him about her new shop.

“I came in at the right time,” he said.

While the shop cultivates an old-fashioned atmosphere, it’s keeping an eye on the future, and the future, Foti said, is scalp treatments. The shop uses a Food and Drug Administration-approved method of culturing hair regeneration; using a microscope, Foti analyzes hair follicles for signs of life. If they can be rejuvenated, Foti uses low-level lasers to increase blood flow to the scalp, allowing follicles to absorb more nutrients.

“We’ve never had anything like this in the barber business,” Foti said.

The shop is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Call The Barber Shop at Rehoboth Beach at 240-743-9064.