Humberto’s Barber Shop

A refreshing surprise. Of the hundred or so conveyor belt cookie cutter «fade» shops in the city, it would be saddeningly easy to miss this wonderful barbershop. The only possible challenge is a language problem if you are not fluent in Spanish. Bring a spanish speaking friend. The barbers here are top notch and very versatile. The versatility is the strength. The weakness is that beyond the language problem, even if you were bilingual, you could not just sit down and say «give me a regular» (or whatever). You will have to explain your desired cut in 20 step detail. If you don’t even know your usual cut in specific detail. This place won’t work for you. If you have the patience to communicate, you will have a subtle nuanced cut, more salon, than barber shop. My cut was a truly sublime cut. My cut was all scissor (Scissor over hand for rounder edges on the fuller parts, and scissor over comb tapering. All thinning was free-​hand, not thinning shears — now that’s skill!) except the bottom of the neckline, and the sideburns. My hair looked silky smooth and luxurious, without that all over frizzyness common to clipper cuts even at medium length, being less striated, less beveled (you cannot see where one length begins and another ends). I suppose I could have just said: «It’s a salon cut without the salon price!».