Panthers Barber Shop & Salon combines experience, know-how and passion to become one of the city’s best

Getting our hair (or beard for you men) cut, trimmed or styled is taken very seriously in this day and age. How many of us have had a stylist not do what we asked and been stuck with something horrendous for the next few weeks, even months? Heck, having a bad day is called “having a bad hair day”!

We want someone who does what we ask, is experienced and excels at taking care of hair and offers it at an affordable rate that we can do it regularly before our hair gets out of control.

Problem is that there are a LOT of barber shops and hair salons in the city. A dizzying, astounding amount of them. How do we choose with so many options? One does not simply walk into a random shop and ask someone they don’t know or know about to cut one’s hair. That’s crazy talk.

Word of mouth is a great place to start. Social media excels in this area – we get to read comments, reviews and testimonials. Best selling point of all are the photostreams – images that show what the stylists are capable of and whether they pay attention to detail and have the ability to nail those details. An abomination of a haircut or inability to do the basic things isn’t something you can hide in a photograph.

To help you out, we’re going to let you know about the newest shop to open its doors 6 months ago: Panthers Barber Shop & Salon at 633 Brock Avenue in New Bedford. While the shop is new, the owner Victor Reyes, and barbershop manager Jimmy Correa, along with salon manager Altagracia Duran have been “at it” for years. Victor has been cutting hair for 12 years, Altagracia 15 years and been owner of three different salons – a veteran in the industry.

The staff, like barbers Hector Irizarry, David Lasanta and stylist Roquelina Tavares are all licensed and each have more than 10 years of experience. None are new to the game.

The primary objective that everyone agrees on at Panthers is that they have a desire to provide the go-to unisex hair-styling service in the city, especially accommodating the South End. Even though the team understands that there is a lot of competition in the city and people can easily enough go to another spot, it’s irrelevant to Victor and his staff because the service they provide would be the same high, exacting standard if they were the only shop or salon in the city. It’s what they would expect of their own barber or stylist.

The warmth you feel the second you walk into the door is genuine – they are just good, down to earth people. You can tell it’s just who they are and Victor clearly cherry-picked his managers, barber, and stylists for this trait. There are also a number of little extras: everyone at Panthers speaks Spanish, free WiFi, there’s cable piping through the televisions, all the equipment is modern, and the spot was chosen for its ample parking.

Victor’s love and passion developed out of a lack of resources growing up – he simply couldn’t afford it. He began to take care of his own hair and found out that he thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so, that he leaped at the chance to take care of his friends and family. When their response and feedback was an overwhelming positive and they told him he should open his own shop, he decided to make a career out of it. Luckily for the city’s residents!

The irony and coincidence behind Victor’s story is a fascinating one: apparently this was in his “genes.” Only two months ago he found out that his grandfather and great-grandfather before him were both barbers by trade.

So, if you are unhappy with your current salon or barber and in dire need of some attention consider stopping in to Panthers Barbershop & Salon and watch how you are received. Check out the reviews, testimonials and comments. If you need a little more incentive, every Wednesday they have a special which consist of $10 cuts at the barbershop and $20 wash and dry at the salon.

Panthers Barbershop & Salon has a warm, friendly crew and the atmosphere that they have managed to produce is like hanging out with the best of friends – only difference is that these friends are professionals and seriously talented.

To paraphrase a famous line: “Let them know that Joe sent ya!”