Four female barbers open up men’s grooming salon

BEECH ISLAND — When four female barbers – Erica Adams, McKinley Herndon, Kiersten Opfar and Jessica Redmond – decided to come together to start a business, it felt kind of natural for them.

So with all of them enjoying men’s haircare, they decided to bring their talents together to offer a one-stop salon for men and boys.

Blades and Banter is a new men’s grooming shop and salon that focuses on all hair care for men.

The new shop, which is located on 102 Old Jackson Highway, recently opened Feb. 2.

The grooming salon offers haircuts, neck trims, shampoo, beard and bald head services. The shop also offers eyebrow wax services for shaping and ear wax removal.

“It’s a just a little bit of the barber experience, plus it’s all women so it gives a little more softness than a regular barbershop,” Herndon said.

Adams said having male hair clients is different because there are not a lot of places that men can go that is dedicated to their grooming care.

“They don’t want to go sit and listen to women talk,” Adams said. “This is a place for them.”

Opfar said she and the other women have been in the cosmetology for a combined 40 years, but the quartet has been working together as local barbers for the last two years. The idea to open up a salon started about two months ago.

“It was just something that kind of fell into our laps and we jumped on the opportunity and we couldn’t pass it up,” she said.

Herndon said the reason why she decided to focus on men’s hair is because with women’s hair there are lot more variables to it like coloring and the process in fixing women’s hair. Redmond said she moved on from women’s hair to men’s because of the chemical processes of their hair. Redmond said she also liked clipper work and working with clients with shorter hair styles.

“I love the physical act of cutting and it’s the same satisfaction like when you complete a puzzle,” Redmond said. “It’s the stories they tell and tons of dad jokes.”

Opfar also said dealing with the complexities of women’s hair wasn’t something she was good at so she tried barbering, but she didn’t think she would cut men’s hair.

“Chemicals never really clicked in my head and it was never my strong suit and when I picked up barbering I jumped right into and never looked back,” she said

Even though Blades and Banter has only been open for a short time, the women said they have felt the love and support from the community.

Redmond and the other owners said the name Blades and Banter kind of popped into their heads. Blades pays homage to them being barbers and banter for the chit-chat within a salon.

“It’s very fitting seeing that we pride ourselves on the banter of industry or just talking trash as they say,” Herndon said.

Opfar said the goal now is for Blades and Banter to be established in the community and become a salon where men can feel good.

“I want it to be a place where we can support the community the way they support us,” Redmond said.

Other women who want to become barbers and want to have their own business can look to them for inspiration.

“I very much hope that someone would look at us and say that is exactly what I want to do,” Opfar said.