Frequently Asked Questions

Got a burning question? Cool cool cool. You can reach us through the Contact page or on the phone of course, but we get so many phone and email questions so often we wrote down answers to a bunch of them.

Don't be that guy, check out the Q part of the F.A.Q. below first. Answers below.


F.A.Q.

  1. GlaaaAAAAArrrrrGGGhhhhh why can't I ever get an appointment there, you SUCK!?!
  2. Nooooo I'm running late for my appointment, how much squish do I have?
  3. You still doing walk-in Wednesdays/walk-ins in general?
  4. I drive all the way out from (*insert far away land here*) for services, but I just ran out of my favorite goo! Can you ship it to me?
  5. You have a bunch of service options, but I have no idea what I need.
  6. I just need a trim. Is that cheaper? Should also mention that you suck.
  7. Ooh, I always hear about barbers shaving your neck. Should I get the “Razor Fade” with my haircut?
  8. What types of payment do you take?
  9. How can I buy a gift certificate?
  10. Do you cut kids’ hair?
  11. Do you cut women’s hair/long hair?
  12. This is a barbershop, so I can I say literally any awful thing I want, right?
  13. You guys always have something going on, how do I keep on top of all the latest?
  14. I make/sell a swell product I think you should carry. How do we make that happen?
  15. I want to work there. How do we make that happen?

1) GlaaaAAAAArrrrrGGGhhhhh why can't I ever get an appointment there, you SUCK!?!

Well sure, if you bring a milkshake to the yard. But no, while it isn't generally possible to get a same day appointment, or one of those coveted late evening/Saturday spots this week, you can get in our chairs more easily than the Wildling hordes if you know the flow.

Availability is posted 6 weeks out, every Monday evening. By making an appointment, you agree to a fee of 100% of the appointment cost for any No Shows, and 50% for Late Cancellations (<12 hours notice) which not quite as grievous, unless we are not able to fill that appointment, in which case, we do need to pay the barbers.

We wish we didn't have to apply fees, but No Shows are part of the reason it's so hard to get in around here. It really sucks to lose 1/8 of your daily income or more because someone else had something come up. Alas.

Repeated No Shows/Late Cancels may end up with your booking getting suspended. We don't like to do that but our barbers books are full and have waitlists, we have few other options.

Between new availability and cancellation spots, always check back HERE or on the MindBody app (search and favorite us). Also make sure you join The Gaard, where you get not only loads of rewards and exclusives, you will be the first to know the latest tips and tricks from your barbers to get in their chairs, and keep yourself looking amazing the rest of the time.

2) Nooooo I'm running late for my appointment, how much squish do I have?

Short answer, 1/4 of the appointment length. Every one of our barbers are booked back-to-back for weeks on end, there is no wiggle room to be found. We ask that you do everything in your power to arrive a few minutes prior to your appointment time, because if you get stuck in traffic for 10 minutes on your way to your 15 minute beard trim, we will have to reschedule your appointment for another day.

Do our barbers occasionally run late getting clients in the chair? Yep, that may happen, as, 1) clients running late usually makes a barber run late the rest of the day, and 2) they are humans, and "a haircut" can be anything from a bald man to a butt length to pompadour transformation, there's no way to know. We do everything in our power to stay on time each day, but we definitely can't do it without everyone being on time to their appointments.

That being said, if you getting here involves crossing Wilson anywhere from 2-7 pm, leave an extra 15-20 minutes for travel. Or Fabyan for that matter. River crossing in general, it gets hairy.

3) You still doing walk-in Wednesdays/walk-ins in general?

Short answer, no. We aren't sure how this is still part of the Batavia zeitgeist, but we stopped Walk-In Wednesdays, in, like, 2016 or so. And while we have traditionally had mechanisms for walk-ins, they are, frankly, a nightmare all around, and services are now by appointment only.

4) I drive all the way out from (*insert far away land here*) for services, but I just ran out of my favorite goo! Can you ship it to me?

Come on now, we can do better than that. We made an entire webshoppe just for you! Be sure to check out our house brand's webshoppe as well, River Peak Apothecary, if you like your shopping even more magical and stuffed with fantasy.

5) You have a bunch of service options, but I have no idea what I need.

Although you didn’t say it in the form of a question, we’ll answer anyway. The best way to figure out exactly what you need is to check out the full descriptions of our services, handily located on our service menu, or, even better, on each service on the MindBody app. If we didn't want you to read them, we wouldn't have spent all that time writing them.

6) I just need a trim. Is that cheaper? Should also mention that you suck.

First, we didn't even answer yet. But on that point, would we still be cutting all of the hairs? Yes? Then that’s a full haircut. If you just need the sides shaped, book a Buzz Cut instead of your usual Haircut.

If you just need to freshen up the edges, sideburns and neck of an existing haircut, that’s the Between Cuts service. Unfortunately, folks were using that service to try to sneak into a 10 minute spot for a full haircut on months of growth, and dude, that’s not what that is.

You can still get that service, but it can only be booked in person with the Shopkeep so we are 100% sure that's what that is.

7) Ooh, I always hear about barbers shaving your neck. Should I get the “Razor Fade” with my haircut?

No. If you don’t know what a razor fade is, you don’t want it. All of our haircuts are finished around the edges with the straight razor, but razor fades are even shorter than a zero clipper on the sides of the head, shaved completely to the skin with a razor. These haircuts are aggressively short on the sides, and while cool as hell, not for everyone.

8) What types of payment do you take?

We do like cash, because credit card fees suck, but we also take all major credit cards. Pretty much all of the things. We do not take checks though. What, are you still corresponding with carved stone tablets too? We also have an unofficial shop rule that if you bring a farm animal (preferably a baby, we like goats) for us to cuddle while you get cut, we may cut you on the house (not guaranteed, depends on your barber, but it's happened multiple times).

9) How can I buy a gift certificate?

Multiple ways! Gift certificates can be purchased in-shop or on the webshoppe for what we like to call The Emerald Ticket (only for use in the brick-and-mortar Beardsgaard Barbers) that you can pick up in shop, or a digital version you can use in shop or on the Beardsgaard webshoppe.

10) Do you cut kids’ hair?

We don't cut kids per se, but we cut loads of tiny little grownups. We do not offer kids haircut prices, as we put at least as much care into the wee haircuts as the adult ones. So if your little fellow is jazzed about getting a grownup haircut, this is just the place for him.

Because we are not a "kid’s cut" place, for the safety of your little squish and our fingers, we reserve the right to refuse service if a client (of any age, really, could totally apply to adults) cannot sit still in the chair unassisted. Not because we don't want to cut their hair (we love the wee ones), but because we want them to enjoy coming to the barbershop for a haircut like the big tiny people they are.

That means (and we will enforce this if need be) no hovering from parents (they absolutely chill out more when you chill on the couch), no kids on parent's laps in the chair, and definitely no holding them down or whatnot. The only crying that should be happening in this place is when you have to forcibly drag them away from the candy section, which happens all the time. We feel the same leaving work every day we don't buy candy.

11) Do you cut women’s hair/long hair?

We specialize in short, classically masculine-shaped haircuts, we don’t give a fig what your actual gender is. That said, if you are a woman and bristle at being called sir, you would be best served by seeing a stylist. If you're any gender and want folks who cater to those of the luxurious, long tresses, there is a whole salon full of ridiculously talented stylists (some to the stars, for real) right next door at Coast. If you just need the long hair basics, perhaps while we also trim your beard, a few of our barbers are quite skilled in that, just ask a Shopkeep for a recommendation.

12) This is a barbershop, so I can I say literally any awful thing I want, right?

This is a really fun time to be in the service industry, let us tell you. This is a family barbershop that has plenty of kids in the door, and in general those of us who work here have a pretty hardline rule of "kind people only" in the shop. So if the proverbial "you" wants to spout off something racist, homophobic, or just generally cruel, we kindly invite you to go elsewhere. We will certainly give you that invitation in person, immediately and permanently, if you do it in the shop.

13) You guys always have something going on, how do I keep on top of all the latest?

Easy peasy. Follow us on Facebook, InstagramYouTube and/or TikTok and/or even better, Join the Gaard to get the newsletter! That's the inner circle, if you will. To the members go the spoils.

14) I make/sell a swell product I think you should carry. How do we make that happen?

We always start with samples, because while we have the final word on what makes it on our shelves, our clients tell us what they want. We use new samples on our product junkie regulars and have a special spot set aside for them on the Experimentation Station with a sheet for client feedback so those who do the buying around here tell us what they can’t live without.

If you do care to send along samples of your wares, first check out the offerings on our webshoppe to see if your brand fits with our current stock. Just because it is an excellent product made by excellent people does not mean it is automatically a good fit for Beardsgaard. A good rule of thumb is that if you use the word "modern" to describe it, it will definitely not be a good fit. If a big selling point is how massive your distribution is getting , it will likely not be a good fit either (congratulations though!).

But if you're unique, small-ish, environmentally conscious, and/or make great products by hand, you may well belong here.

15) I want to work there. How do we make that happen?

We have a few positions we staff around here, but the only people that cut hair here are fully licensed barbers. It isn't about the hair, of course, it's about the 75%+ of our services that involve a straight razor. We love our cosmetologist friends, but if you can’t legally shave in the state of Illinois, you cannot be a barber of Beardsgaard.

We also staff the Shopkeep position, the front desk pilot of this big furry ship. We are generally fully staffed, but but if we are currently hiring, you will find the job posting HERE.


Question still not answered? No problem, and we're going to find your solution. Drop us a note right HERE.