Ace of Fades

THE WORST BARBER SHOP I have been to since moving to Chicago.
I know that I’ve been spoiled. My old barber back in Boston and my current, regular barber at Roots to Wings Barbershop in Oak Park are both exceptional. However, this place is ridiculously bad!
Having recently moved to Logan Square, I wanted to find a more conveniently located barber for those times when I just can’t make it out to Oak Park. As other reviewers have mentioned, the place is dirty, loud, and chaotic. The barbers all behaved unprofessionally.
There were plenty of warning signs shouting out to me «Leave right now! Do not get your haircut here!»
I ignored these and other red-​flags:
–First barber (tall, Hispanic guy), slouching in his chair when I walked in the door, complained that he was too tired to cut hair and was «really done cutting for the day» –but only after asking me what I wanted (I described a basic cut and face line up that must have been beyond his skill level). Later, when I was seated in another barbers chair, he rejuvenated himself to cut a few friend’s heads.
–After taking a seat in a second barber’s chair (short black guy), my barber and a third barber (kid?) across from mine began arguing about how ONE BARBER BADLY MESSED UP THE OTHER BARBERS HAIRCUT.
–My barber saying «oops!» while cutting my hair and then showing me his mistake. Completely ruined a basic lineup! He told me my cut would be free but changed his mind and charged me $ 5 once he’d finished.
Beyond that MAJOR screw-​up, he cut my head unevenly and my temple fades where sloppy and mismatched. He was also overly forceful with the clippers, a sign of poor skill.
Hilariously, this talentless idiot told me, «don’t let that keep you from coming back» on my way out.
Fortunately, hair grows back. Avoid this shop and the hack-​job knuckleheads working the chairs!

If you are an African-​American looking for a cut in the Logan-​Square area stay away from this place… I just got a cut and this shit is uneven, not even completed and just one big FAIL. The place is filthy and the barber Bobby is seriously lacking in skills. From what I understand after listening to this person everyone is pretty much in school. That leads me to wonder how you can cut hair legally without a licensed barber in the joint. They fired Sherman who was not prize, but I could live with his Fuck Ups. Guess I will be heading back out east or up north to get my cuts done. Yeah they have a sign that says no gangbanging… WHO FUCK NEEDS A SIGN THAT SAY THIS??? …Do yourself a favor and avoid this pit, Now excuse me while I find another QUALIFIED barber to fix the fuck up that BOBBY created. ABSOLUTE SHIT. And to imagine that this kid kept talking about opening his own shop. DON“T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB.

I went around lunch time on a weekday, so my wait was pretty short. I’m sure it could be a lot worse on nights and weekends. When I walked in, one barber had a customer, just glanced at me indifferently, and didn’t say anything. Another barber had a customer, but he had enough sense to greet me. I appreciated that.
The barber that knows how to speak ended up finishing first, asked me to hang my coat up and have a seat. I told him how I wanted it. He wasn’t too heavy-​handed, but stayed on his cellphone (Star Trek ear piece) the entire time. That was kind of annoying. He used a razor to finish my lining, which I had never had done before. Surprisingly, the lining turned out to look not so sharp. It looked like he used T outliners with a dull blade. Around my temples, he went too far past my natural hairline. As it’s growing back, you can clearly see the new hair growing back that is shorter than the older hair.
I’d give the cut (excluding service and stuff) a 6.5 out of 10. He got the length right and tapered it properly. Maybe if I was more specific next time about my lining, he would do it better. And he was polite. The cut was $ 12 plus tip, for a low taper and lining.
While I was there, a guy came in and asked for a barber by name. The barber wasn’t there, so the guy left. I think I’ll try to get that barber the next time I’m there. I’m going back to the place to try a different barber because it is so damned hard to find a barber that can give African American men haircuts.

One haircut here… Don’t get me wrong I love the fact that the Black barbers and the Spanish barbers argue over weather to play reggaton or hip hop and then compromise with the newest Cameron track. I also love the black leather couches set up in the back for people to just lounge around and chill. I love the fact that most everyone in the place is drinking and smoking and joking and laughing it up. I really love the pool table set up in the corner.
Haircut = $ 10

This place is cheap and convenient if you live in the Logan Square area. Men’s cuts will typically run $ 10 plus tip. It’s one of the only places I could find in my neighborhood that could cut fades. But it only gets one star because the service is terrible. Barbers spend more time talking on their phones outside or arguing with each other over who took their cutting tools instead of actually cutting your hair. I’ve also gone in a few times when both the CD player and television were on at full blast. The owner comes in every once in a while to chastise his barbers about being on time or paying up their dues; he ends up coming off as a pimp rather than a business man.
The clientele is primarily local (Humboldt Park and Logan Square) which means there are lot of regulars, which means that you will wait as long as two hours. I once waited 2.5 hours to get seated. Ages range from teenagers to men in their mid-​thirties. Every once in a while there’s a mother who brings in little toddlers. There is a woman in the back who does braids, but I don’t know how much she charges.
I’ve gone through three different barbers at Ace of Fades. I learned that one of them was let go because he would come to work stoned and reeking of marijuana. The second guy couldn’t stop complaining to his customers about the woman who calls him seeking seeking support for her baby who may or may not be his. Yes, men can be dramatic also! I’m not sure if he’s still there, but «Juan» gives amazing cuts when he does show up. The chaos was too much for me, so I’m switching to a new barber.