Cut to Perfection

At  on a Saturday afternoon, every chair is full, customers catch up with their barbers, and a diverse mix of clients spills out into the large waiting area, sometimes even outside. Customers both with and without appointments are mingling, some casually taking advantage of the shop’s vending machines, television and free wi-fi while they wait. 

What part-owner Otis Bailey believes sets the shop apart from other American barbershops of its kind is  “the way we respect God; we honor Him here.”

It's not that barbers preach to their clients while cutting hair; rather, Otis Bailey, known fondly as “Mr. Otis” to his loyal customers, feels the barber shop’s overall Christian attitude contributes to its inviting, familial feel. “We keep family values in the shop,” he said, “We keep a God-like and family-like atmosphere.”  

“I center my life around God,” Bailey said. “I introduced Him to the shop as well.” 

The Gospel music that plays in the background and discussions about his faith with clients are all part of his effort to “forever honor God in the shop.”  

That's clearly not something that puts off customers; Bailey says that business is going great.

But when the shop, then called Perfections Barber Shop and Salon, first opened in Herndon in 1998, things didn’t run so smoothly. “We had a slow start,” Bailey admitted. “It started off slow because we were mainly word of mouth and didn’t do a whole lot of advertising like we should have.” 

“For the first couple of years [business] was kind of tight,” he continued, “but after that people found out about us and we started to grow.”  

The barber shop portion of Perfections eventually moved to its current location in Centreville. The salon continued in Herndon, though it was sold by the original owner a few years ago.  

The opening of Perfections Barber Shop also marked a new beginning for Otis Bailey, who was new to the profession. After being laid off from his previous job, one he had held for nearly 27 years, Bailey decided it was time for a career change.  

Bailey had cut hair for a time in his youth and, after he became unemployed, chose to refine this childhood skill at the professional level. “I decided to go to school to be a barber,” he said, “It was the best decision I ever made.”  

“I love the barber shop atmosphere. You get to converse with all types of people. You never know who’s gonna sit in your chair; it’s just a beautiful atmosphere to work in,” Bailey said.  

Bailey, who became a part-owner of the shop in 2008, ultimately believed the opportunity to become a barber and work at Perfections Barber Shop would start his life up again. Thirteen years later, he says, “It did.”