Making the Cut in Oregon

By Sean Hotchkiss

Shop Heritage Barber

City Portland, Oregon

Experience 11 years

"The barber’s retirement plan is just a stool. I’m planning on running this thing for good. "

Brian Porteous is damn friendly – surely one of the reasons the master barber has built up a loyal following that allowed him to open Heritage Barbershop, his six-month-old venture on Portland’s East Side – a neighborhood bouncing with young entrepreneurs and businesses. Brian is right at home (quite literally – he lives a few blocks away) in the new space where customers queue up on a 15 foot communal bench and wait for one of four vintage chairs. “Sometimes the best conversations are the ones that happen between the clients,” Brian says.

Below, advice from Brian during an afternoon’s worth of cuts.

If you ever need anything,  just start talking about it in the barbershop.

My favorite stories are where the shop actually helped someone. I had three guys in my shop at once recently – a guy with a tree smashed through a building on his property, an arborist and a carpenter. Together, they were able to completely solve this guy’s problem. It’s amazing how willing people are to help when they feel like they have something in common with someone else.

The best grooming product under five bucks is:

Stephan’s Bay Rum. It’s like $3.95 a bottle and has that refreshing, alcohol smell that’s so classic. Man, for my money that’s the best thing you can pick up. I put it on sometimes just for the hell of it.

And skip the expensive pre-shave products and get some Jojoba Oil. 

You can find Jojoba Oil at any market and I love the way it moisturizes. It’s odorless, so get another scented oil you like, and mix them together before knocking down your beard.

Barbers are NOT mad at Boardwalk Empire. 

The short cropped style is back. And we’re happy about that. The Hollywood guys wearing the hard parts and zero tapers? We love it. The exposure has been great for what we do. I started cutting hair for five bucks a piece and now I get to charge more than that. [Laughs.] One of the things I try to do is take everything I’ve learned and pass it on to the younger barbers. This barber “revival”, or whatever you want to call it, will only continue if we pass things down.

For the summer, nothing beats a buzz. 

It’s low maintenance and your hair will never get messed up! Sure, a buzz isn’t going to get you on the cover of a magazine (unless you look like Brad Pitt), but it’s so easy to manage. As long as you keep it up and clean it up around the ears, it’s a great way to go.

The trick to getting a perfect buzz is: after the first pass, wet the hair down a little, that way you notice all the little hairs that might have been missed. Make sure your barber does that.