Gunston Barber Shop

Availability and hours are nice but the person who cut my hair seemed new and didn’t have any guidance on how to cut men’s hair. She just about knew how to use the trimmer, if that. Considering I paid $ 15 plus tip for a haircut like this, I think I’ll just have someone at home cut my hair. My hair wouldn’t look any worst. Hot towel was nice but if the whole purpose of being there is defeated, I don’t think hot towel can make up for it. Massage was more of a torture than any relief from stress. Using more tools and gimmicks doesn’t means that you are getting a better haircut. My barber used to cut my hair with just a pair of scissors and used a flt razor to define the haircut and it worked really well. I don’t think I’ll ever be back.

Love this place. They do only take cash (though there are several ATMs in other stores in the area). They cut my hair the way I ask them too and do a good job at it. I preferred the female barbers there over the young guy I got a few times but they all do a good job. The hot towel, striaght razor and massage are all nice touches. When I moved to Burke I seriously thought about making the 20 – 30 minute trek down the Fairfax Co Pkway just to get my haircut there. They do take a bit longer but just sit back and relax.

Considering the other options in the area and pricing, this is a nice little spot to come to. I came in and got a trim around my ears and neck (as simple as it gets really). My barber was the male (I didn’t catch names) and he was very mild mannered, polite, and soft spoken.
He did a good job on the trim. What I didn’t know about this place is that you then also get a hot towel massage (on your neck and head), a regular neck message, and a hot shave (with hot shaving cream and a straight razor). All for $ 14. It was a pleasant experience and I will be coming back.
Walk-​ins welcome and they only take cash.

There appears to be a significant language barrier with the employees. I’m not a xenophobe but if you work in the service industry, like giving haircuts, you should be able to communicate with English-​speaking customers. It seems they give the exact same haircut to everyone regardless of what you actually tell them. For instance, I asked that she «take just a little bit off the top, and take a little more off on the sides,» complete with holding my fingers a certain distance apart to indicate how much to cut off. What did she do? Gave me a high and tight (military style).
I reminded her «just a little bit off the top» and she nodded and said «okay» and snipped away. I don’t think she understood a single word I said. They point the chairs away from the mirror so you can’t actually see what they’ve done until they swing you back around at the very end. I looked at the other customers (it was pretty busy) and noticed they were giving everyone the exact same haircut. So, unless you’re looking for a high and tight (shaved sides, military style) I would not recommend this place.
Also, it’s a bit of a misnomer to call this a «barber shop.» No barber licenses were displayed and I’m fairly certain if you actually checked you would find this place isn’t licensed for anything.
There was also a fair amount of crosschatter between the employees so it ended up taking about an hour for what turned out to be a buzzcut. A real barber could do that (if you actually asked for it) in 10, 15 minutes max.
While I was there they really tried to push this one guy into paying extra for a shave, which was pretty hilarious considering neither one really understood what the other was saying. It went back and forth along the lines of: «You want shave?» «Oh, um, okay.» «Okay, shave five dollar.» «What?» «Shave five okay.» «What?»

My haircut is pretty simple, but I have been going here for years! The head and neck massage are what bring me back every time. Hot towel too! I love this barber shop…