The Scotch Pine Barbershop

I am incredibly impressed. I’ve never written a Unilocal review, but these guys deserve one. I sat down with Trent the first time and told him how I usually get my hair cut. Without me mentioning it he suggested cutting my hair a certain way so it would lay more naturally — something that has bothered me forever and I thought unfixable. He has a great attention to detail. You can tell he genuinely cares about his haircuts.
The vibe there is inviting and personable. All of the barbers are having real conversations with their clients, and everyone interacts with each other. I can’t imagine wanting to go anywhere else. I walk out loving my hair every time. I have recommended this barbershop to so many people and will continue to do so.

I went to this barbershop for about 5 months around a year ago. Then I stopped going, and here’s why.
My bad experienced was caused by Collin’s constant disrespectful attitude. Don’t get me wrong, when he cut my hair he was professional and also polite. It’s the way he treated me as a client that made me not ever come back.
The first incident that we had occurred the very first time I went there for a haircut. For personal reasons I had to reschedule on the very day of the haircut, but in order to do that without a penalization you have to do it at least 24 hours in advance. I rescheduled for the very next day, and due to the penalization I had to pay two haircuts, not just one. At the moment I was pretty stoical about it: it was the rules, and even though other people might have just not even shown up to not pay, I decided to do so and have my hair cut even if it meant I was gonna pay twice as much. Again, those are the rules, and I had to abide by them.
The problem with the above is not the above incident itself. The next month or so (or maybe two months later, doesn’t matter), I had another appointment for a haircut. That day, however, I got a call pretty early in the morning (I got woken up actually). It was Collin, and he told me that he couldn’t cut my hair that day, so we would have to reschedule. Now, what would you expect from somebody who charges you twice if you reschedule in less than 24 hours and now he wants to reschedule your appointment that is supposed to take place in a few hours? I would expect the appointment to be free. An eye for an eye, or a buzz for a buzz if I may. Well, that didn’t happen of course. He just gave me a small ($ 5 I think) discount, and life went on. That’s just plainly unfair.
But hey, I didn’t complain then either.
Now, another problem I had with this barber in particular is that I usually had to wait for 15 to 20 minutes to get my hair done. I am pretty used to that kind of experience when going to a barber, so I didn’t care in particular. I can just sit there and read magazines or play around with my phone. Not that big of a deal.
The problem, again, was how Collin was unfair the one day that I showed up literally 5 minutes late. That day it happened to be the case that he has right on schedule. When I got there the very first thing he did was to point out I was late. Really? I must have wasted more than an hour in this barbershop because Collin was consistently late to all of our appointments, and now he was giving me a bad time about me being late 5 minutes? I tried to be polite about it, so I replied «well, it’s been just 5 minutes». His reply? «That’s still late though». At least he didn’t charge me twice that day.
I never came back.

Scotch Pine is a solid barbershop with skilled artists. I made an appointment online with Trent and had one of my best all around barbershop experiences. From the chill atmosphere to the clean straight edge on the neck, my trip to SP was well worth the price. It was evident the barbers here care about the work they’re doing. I Would definitely come back and would recommend Trent to anyone looking for a great cut. I may have to make the longer trip to Capital Hill when they move from LQA soon.

Being in Seattle on business, I have only twice in my lifetime decided to let someone who I am not familiar with cut my hair. Such was the case as with my chance of selecting Scotch Pine which was near my hotel in the Queen Anne area. Based on previous positive reviews on Unilocal,I decided to stop by and get a trim. Upon entering, I learned that the shop is «By Appointment Only» however as it so happened Trent was in between clients.
Well you know the saying — «one should never judge a book by its cover» So true as Kent would have been the last cutter that I would have chosen based on his appearance but being from the San Francisco Bay Area where diversity and openness is accepted I had no choice as he was the only one available and I was so glad he was the one to cut my hair.
From the moment I sat in the chair he was on point. First thing he did was he washed his hands as I surmise that he probably had a smoke prior to seating me. Next, he got to know me as an individual as to how I wanted my hair cut. It helped that I knew what I wanted — 0 on the sides and 2 in the back. During the course of my cut, he accidently dropped his scissors on the floor and rather than pick them up and continue to use them, he placed them on the counter and got another pair. He also used a straight edge for a clean look around the ears and neck as well as trimming a rogue eyebrow hair or two. During the short time that I was with him, I learned that he had lived in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles but recently moved to the Emerald City with his wife and kids.
I would definitely come back here but sadly, I learned that they will be moving at the end of the year to a new location on Capitol Hill due to the landlord changing the building. So so sad to hear that as I would come back again but perhaps I might make an extra effort to go to their new location and seek Kent out.

In the past I’ve always gone to the cheap places to get my hair cut (think Great Clips, etc.) because I had a really simple haircut. I’ve found since moving to Seattle that the the quality of the haircut at these places varies significantly. I’d come away happy only half the time. Perhaps it was time to graduate to a proper barber.
I also decided to grow out a beard for the first time back in September and I knew I wanted a professional to get the shape right. My apartment is close to Scotch Pine (I walk by it most days) and two different people in my building both said they love the place. That made my decision to book an appointment with Trent Magnano.
Trent was awesome! I explained the normal simple haircut I get and he made some recommendations on how he could tweak it to make it a bit more refined. He was very meticulous and used a technique that was new to me with great results. Little things like using a straight edge for the back of the neck, trimming eyebrows, etc were new to me.
I was most nervous about my beard. Trent explained what he recommended and then expertly cut a chin line and neck line. He really cleaned it up without taking away from the growth.
I was very happy with the beard trim and this was probably the best haircut I’ve ever had. I also enjoyed chatting with Trent about his travels around the world.
In total Trent spent nearly a full hour with me. The haircut as was $ 35 and beard trim was $ 10 + tip. The most I’ve ever spent for a haircut but a significantly better experience with much better results. I will definitely be back. The bad news is that Scotch Pine is being forced to move in January. They’ll be up in Capitol Hill near the new light rail station which is a bit of a bummer as a LQA resident but could be worse.

I went to Scotch Pine for a period when they first opened but drifted back to Acme when Burt left. However, due to recent policy changes at Acme I decided to give Scotch Pine a go again.
I saw Trent had a bunch of available slots and after checking out his rep from his previous shop in LA felt like it was worth a shot. I was more than happy with the results and my wife said it was the best haircut I have ever gotten, and I agree. I almost hate spreading how awesome Trent is because selfishly I don’t want booking him to become a challenge.
45 minute appointments ensure they take time to give you the best and the online booking is by far the easiest around. No rolling the dice on a ridiculously long wait or getting someone who is gonna hack your hair to get to the next person. Unfortunately as there aren’t that many great barbers in Seattle, the bunch at Scotch Pine tend to be pretty booked.

Short Answer: Meticulous & Skilled.
Long Answer: Until I came up on this place, I’ve been getting lined up at my barber back home when I would visit. I had tried Rudy’s here once, and honestly they weren’t terrible, but I just like the clean work my barbers back home do. Since I have suuuuper thin and feathery hair, it can be hard to fade, and some people just can’t cut it (Pun intended).
The Scotch Pine has matched, if not, exceeded my barbers’ quality. I sat down with Trent, and you could tell he had been in the industry for a while; his cutting was precise and meticulous, all while looking effortless. He was rockin’ the straight razor like he was born with it in-​hand! A true artisan of his craft.
AND they have a beer/​wine license so you can grab a beer while you wait?!
I have found my Seattle Barbershop.

Bumping back to 5 stars. I may have been a bit frustrated after my previous experience due to how much I look forward to visiting this barbershop. While I wasn’t pleased about the cancellation, I get it. All of the barbers here are supremely talented. Don’t hesitate to drop in for one of the best haircuts you’ll ever have, in any city.

Paul is the man! I’m sure all other are great as well. I always look forward to getting a haircut at Scotch Pine. Great atmosphere, nice people, and carefully crafty hair artists!

In reference to AJ R’s review I would like to say the following. Normally I don’t review places, I am a creature of habit and like to keep my favorites a secret, and there are plenty of people to review awesome places. That said I just had to say something this time. I actually followed Jared from another barber shop, and rude is the absolute last thing I would use to describe him. Gentlemanly, funny, and accommodating are more fitting. Jared’s haircuts are top notch with an incredible attention to detail, and truthfully if he was a giant prick I would still go see him for just this reason. He is of course as far from abrasive as you can be, and his excellent customer service is worth the wait. I say give him another chance AJ.

I’ve never actually got my hair cut at the scotch pine because I get my hair cut with Karmen at Seven. However, my husband gets his hair cut here at least twice a month because he’s in the navy. He always requests Jared and doesn’t trust his hair to anyone else. I probably wouldn’t let him get his hair cut with anyone else because Jared does such a great job at making my hubby look good. :)
I highly recommend getting your hair cut with Jared if you want your wife or girlfriend to like your hair. He is accommodating, professional, meticulous, and is just a very cool person overall. The first time I met Jared I was surprised by his kindness. My husband just got back from being underway. Jared has cutting his hair, offered my husband a beer (cuz they serve beer), and talked to my husband like they were the best of friends just catching up again. When Jared was done and my husband went to pay, all Jared said was «You’re good man. Welcome home.»
As for the review given by AJ R. I’m sorry you had a bad experience but it’s very cowardly to write a poor review specifically telling people not to go to Jared just because you were late to your appointment. Haven’t you heard? Punctuality is one of the most important element in good manners.

First time customer and it looks like I found a permanent barbershop. Jared is a cool person and the other staff are down-​to-​earth and pretty cool. They actually listen to you and they’re engaging and did a pretty damn good job on my beard and my haircut which I am pleased with. So if you’re looking for somewhere to go I highly recommend this place.

I found my barber. Trent was great. He listened to me and I love the straight razor shave. I will definitely be returning.

I used to go to Acme for Jared. I went to set up an appointment and was told he’d moved to The Scotch Pine.
While I don’t drink beer, I do appreciate a good barber now that I have one. Jared is good at listening, and does a great job on my hair. He also gave me some much-​needed tips on using product (I am late on the whole hair-​care thing).
They’re moving in December or so, and I intend to follow.

Pro haircuts (Lindsay is awesome), cool atmosphere, great music, free beer… what else do you need?

Trent is a legit pro at what he does. Im not from seattle, but would fly back for another cut with him. Attention to detail at its finnest. Very fresh cut.

After my last post I received a call from Paul and a VERY nice call from Emily. Paul offered to keep my original appointment and Emily went so far as to offer to pay for it. They were apologetic and I trust that my experience was an isolated incident. I ended up making other arrangements, but their follow up was appreciated. They seem to take feedback seriously and that is a good sign. I’m actually really satisfied with the other barber I went to, but perhaps I will give them another shot in the future. I initially made an appointment at Scotch Pine because I’ve heard from several people what great work they do.

I aware that I’m not The Scotch Pine’s primary customer. However, what I like about the Scotch Pine, and my barber, Paul Culala, is something that anyone can relate too:
1.) He takes time to understand the hair on my head: the way it goes and the way it doesn’t want to go.
2.) He pays attention to my needs and the goals I have for my hair.
3.) He does excellent fastidious work that goes beyond my expectations.
An example of above-​and-​beyond was when Paul found my part. I never knew I had a part, and why I might like to part my hair in a particular way. Now, I do less work making my hair look good.
About The Scotch Pine:
The Scotch Pine realizes that there is an experiential side of barbering which has to do with connecting to people. Instead of over-​decorating and obsessing about the minutia, they’ve created a space that maximizes this experience. I hope they never forget this.
«Welcome back to the barbershop, it’s good to see you again.»

Brian has turned nomad. And won’t be back for a while.

The short: Good atmosphere. Good conversation. Good music. Good artwork. Good beer. Great haircut.
I’ve never walked out of this place disappointed. My requests are (I think) simple — with a basic cut and nothing complicated, but that hasn’t stopped other ‘barbers’ from doing a complete hack job.
I’ve primarily had Brian Burt & Collin Sells cut my hair and they’re great. Zero complaints and well worth the $ 30 plus tip.
I also had Paul Culala cut my hair once and left satisfied with the result. I’ve little doubt the rest of the staff are just as good.
The online reservations are a great feature and easy to use. The shop has a very laid-​back & comfortable vibe with easy & entertaining conversation. Also, they might just have a cold beverage waiting for you.