Bridging the gap between your average short back’n’sides and a full head of highlights, three of Dublin’s esteemed hair experts navigate the middle ground of men’s grooming. We preview what’s to come for Irish heads and chins.
Carlin Doran, Flatiron
Carlin Doran has relied on word of mouth and high quality cuts, acquiring a faithful clientele in the past two and half years. Doran has seen trends driven by the likes of Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire with San Francisco’s Mission Beach serving as inspiration for the blanket beards, drainpipe jeans and lumberjack virility. But it seems beards have “jumped the shark at this stage”. For Doran, the new icon is Steve McQueen with “a less extreme version of those very tidy haircuts”. A style “with more length, more texture, but still quite refined and more flattering.” It might take a year or so for this to filter down to street level, but in the meantime make way for a 90s revival with more weight coming back into hair, topped with a natural curl.
Top Floor, The Grooming Rooms, South William Street, Dublin 2, www.flatirondublin.com, 01-6779005
Emmett Byrne, The Butcher Barber
For Byrne, change is imminent in men’s hair. Stepping away from the “skin fades” and comb-overs, taking their place is a clean shaven, softer “school boyish-looking” model, concurrent with Doran’s vision. For Byrne, this softening is bolstered by the likes of that perfectly coiffed cornerstone, David Beckham. This spruce profile is not only reinforced by ads and fashion campaigns but espoused by Ireland’s own benchmark of masculinity, the rugby player. Patrons of the Butcher include Jamie Heaslip and Tommy Bowe, rendering it acceptable “to look groomed and still look like a man”. As Byrne says, the winning combination remains “a good pair of shoes and a good haircut”.
12 Johnson’s Court, Dublin 2, www.facebook.com/TheButcherBarber, 083-3551780
Christian Hoey, The Waldorf Adare Barbershop
A presence on Westmoreland Street for nigh on 85 years, the Waldorf Adare has long-championed a rockabilly “pompadour”. Rarely following trends or flash-in-the-pan fads, this old school barbershop has observed and rolled with the changes insisting that “it pays to look well”. Building up a faithful contingent of regulars, Christian, Liam and their hugely experienced staff have honed their respective skills, catering for three-foot long beards, executive cuts, 1940s college contours and the odd renegade Mohawk. With their extensive experience, the Waldorf hasn’t been phased by fickle fashions, according to Hoey, “things are always going to come full circle… it’ll always be a variation on what’s been done before”.
13 Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2, www.waldorfbarbers.com, 01-6778608
Words: Niamh McNeela / Photos: Hannah McCarrick
