Skip Scaro’s Barber Shop

Wow. What a place. Simply needed directions home and Mr. Skip encouraged me to sit in a leather chair! Before I could even ask how to get home, he rubbed my head with I can only describe as a vibrating butter stick shaped wand. Before I knew it I think I made a new friend! Mr Skip even talked to me about sport games! Naturally I said «Go Boston Patriots!» This made him rub harder, the butter remote tickles heehee! My hair hurts a little still but I found my house after.

Yesterday, as I was searching for a barber for my man around 5p.m. on a Saturday seems almost impossible, with Unilocal’s help, we went to Skip’s. It was an awesome barber shop n I believe might just be the oldest establishment of multi generation barber shop in Boston! My guy had a great experience n having that privilege of having the owner Skip, a 70 something yr old gentleman cutted his hair. He said unlike the other places where they didn’t give a damn whether the blades were burning n just rough through it, Mr. Skip cares about his clients. I was sitting there waiting for him, I seen many guys respected him. I over heard that he’s the 3^rd generation owning the shop since the early 1900’s. A great overall experience… even though I’m just chill in there waiting only.

Skips is a great barber shop great hot shave and if you like a high and tight cut you can’t find a better one. I have been going here for at least 10 years it’s an old school one barber place so expect to wait, first come first serve. Twenty bucks for a cut, you have to see the dusty old memorabilia it is truly a rare gem that you will never see again.

Awesome little barber shop right up dot street. Bob «skip» is a great guy who can cut you up and still uses a straight blade for skin. Pretty nostalgic with all the Boston memorabilia, it’s been open for 106 years!

Been going to Skip’s for years. The place is lined with Boston history and always filled with some great characters. Skip has an impressive set of bubbleheads on his shelf that overlooks the shop along with other oddball sports stuff. Skip is one of the few barbers I know that still does a shave and a haircut in one setting. I trek all the way from East Cambridge to get a haircut at Skip’s because I’ll never go anywhere else. if you see him ask him about Bobby Cards and his card tricks.

I was heading home after taking a walk around Castle Island and stumbled upon this place. The wait was short… and while I wasn’t sure what I was getting into (I already have a favorite barber in Cambridge) I was very, very impressed. The cut was perfect. He broke out the straight edge and he may have even probed into my ears (man I must be getting old)…he was quick, thorough and intelligent. Like the prior Unilocaler mentioned… this place is very old school. I would come back here for a shave or a cut any day. Great place… rare to find these days. We need more places like these and a whole lot less of the super cuts. Price was reasonable too at $ 18 for a cut.

Get back in your DeLorean, Marty McFly.
If ever there was a place that took you back in time, this place is it. This is THE old-​school barber shop. Not a hokey retro shop or a fancy, shmancy hairdresser, or even that throwaway barber shop in the ‘burbs. This is the real deal, son.
Skip (actually Skip’s son — Skip died many years ago, but, nonetheless, Skip still goes by Skip, if you know what I mean…) is the sole barber at this throwback — WAAAAY Back — joint, and he probably hasn’t changed a thing in the place since his father ran it. I’m estimating that was in the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. This is both good and bad. For instance:
1. Dust [the reason for only four stars]. There is a thick layer of dust over all equipment not essential to using an electric razor or the one seat in which customers get their hair cut. This is probably the worst of it — so don’t be alarmed. The upside is that there probably exists enough human DNA in here to map the genome. Don’t be alarmed. Again, you’ve already gotten past the worst of it, and can open yourself up to a true, authentic barbershop experience, that will soon be lost forever.
2. The Characters. You’ll see everyone in this place that is somebody — in Southie. I mean, you’ll see local politicians drop by, local legends («bobby cards» — some crazy guy who plays card tricks and entertains the kids while they wait for their crew-​cuts or boy-​cuts), and many other old fogies that remember Southie when Whitey was still around (he actually may be hiding underneath all of the dust — who knows…). The cool thing about it is that it’s like you’re in a truth chamber — everyone let’s their guard down and starts spinnin’ Southie yarn. If you need an oral history of Southie, come here. People literally hang around just for the conversation — it’s that rich and good.
3. The Décor. This place is covered with sports paraphernalia. There’s a gadjillian photos of national and local boxing legends, baseball legends, football legends, and basketball legends — it’s all represented on the walls of Skip’s, and most of them are either glad-​handing Skip (or the new Skip) or have signed the photo to one of the Skips. It’s like a museum; you could spend hours in here looking at the stuff. Here’s the best part — Skip loves it when you ask questions about all this crap. Skip LOVES to talk about every single item he has on his walls.
4. The Haircut. Skip plain just knows how to cut hair — in only three ways. There’s the man-​cut, the boy-​cut, and the crew-​cut. This is the forties and fifties, after all. Given that I have next to no hair, I’m probably not the best judge of Skip’s skills. However, I always walk away happy with my Number 1 all over (read: shaved head, for those Follicley-​blessed). And everyone else seems happy with their «cut,» too.
5. Straight-​Edge Shave. You actually can get an affordable shave here, and by an expert. I swear, you WILL leave with all of your veins closed. It’s an experience not to be missed. You’ve got to admit that having a third party drag a razor across your neck is frightening. Don’t be here. Skip is so freakin’ good he could shave the fuzz off a peach. Seriously, he’s that good.
The bottom-​line is that Skip is real good peoples. Skip loves his clients and makes sure to know everyone’s name by the second introduction. He’s a relic from the past, and, thankfully for us, he’s still around cutting all of Southie’s hair and beards to perfection, albeit in only three styles.