Cut out to be a barber: Keith Shackleford keeps his father’s shop and salon in business downtown

Keith Shackleford is a St. Louis barber born in 1965. He owns and cuts hair at Shack’s Barber and Beauty Salon, located at 1724 Olive Blvd. in downtown St. Louis. He has been working there since the young age of 11 when his father, James Shackleford, owned the shop.

“I cut hair for both genders,” Shackleford told Academy Journalism. “I really enjoy cutting hair. I love doing it.”

Shackleford received his barber license from the Missouri School of Barbering and Hairstyling in Florissant. He has been cutting hair for 30 years.

“The reason why I started cutting hair was I was working at a grocery store when the workers threatened to go on strike, and they told me they would fire us if we did,” Shackleford told Academy Journalism. “I didn’t think that was fair. So I went to work with my dad.”

When his father died, he left his son Shack’s Barber and Beauty Salon.

In addition to shampoos, haircuts, hot-towel shaves and beard trims, Shack’s offers all natural, weave and braid styles, hair lining, mustache arch and eyebrow arch. Haircuts are discounted for children 12 and under and seniors 55 and older.

‘’When I cut hair, I have the frame of mind to look at the shape of the person’s head, the shape of their face, and I listen to my client and what they ask me to do,” Shackleford told Academy Journalism. “What the person wants is more important.”

Shack’s Barber and Beauty Salon, 1724 Olive Blvd., is open Monday through Friday from  9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 314-436-7006 or visit http://www.shacksbarberandbeautysalon.com to make an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome for haircuts.

Academy Journalism is a partnership between The St. Louis American and St. Louis Public Schools founded by DaMaris White, principal of Pierre Laclede Junior Academy, where Megan M. O’Brien runs the program with a staff of volunteers organized by The American.