By Ana Breton

There’s something irresistible about it.

Maybe it’s the oversized, black chairs or the turning red, white and blue barber pole.

Or maybe it’s the homey, familiar feeling you get when you walk in.

But, then again, it may be all those things that keep people coming back to old-time barbershops.

For Ray Francom, it’s family ties and passion that keep him coming back.

Since he was 15, Francom has been a barber, working in shops around Utah and Wyoming. At one point, he even provided home-to-home appointments.

Although Francom, 26, has been a practicing barber for more than 10 years, his ties to the trade have longer histories.

Francom’s grandfather lived in Hollywood as a child and had a friend who acted in various movies. His friend’s father cut his hair for different films every month, sparking Francom’s grandfather to gain an interest in the craft.

Francom’s grandfather then passed the trade to the rest of his family. Francom’s father, two of his brothers and three of his cousins are all practicing barbers.

In 2001, Francom enrolled at the U with dreams of majoring in business and learning how to manage his own.

Two years later, outstanding tuition bills and costs surrounding the birth of his first child overwhelmed Francom, a sophomore at the time, and forced him to stop attending classes.

Francom began working at The Barbershop in Murray, and in April 2005 had enough money to open his own business: Ray’s Barbershop.

Now, Francom is trying to keep his business alive despite the increasing popularity of modern salons over barbershops.

According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau study, there are nearly 20 times more modern hair and nail salons than barbershops.

Barbershops have almost become extinct because most of the barbers who are classically trained have retired, Francom said.

Salons have also gained popularity because of changing hairstyle trends.

“If you want to be a barber, you have to learn how to perm and color, something that didn’t exist before,” Francom said. “And I don’t think a lot of guys have the desire to learn how to do that.”

Francom, however, says he is confident his business will survive because, unlike trendy salons, Ray’s Barbershop has a more personal feel.

“This shop has become a sanctuary for men,” Francom said. “They come in here and talk about personal issues to get them off their chest. That makes them feel good.”

The barbershop also offers classic haircuts-like the “flat top” and the “fade cut”-that are not available at salons.

“We don’t just throw on attachments and run them across your head,” Francom said. “In a way, guys like it here because they feel they are being pampered.”

Francom also offers old-fashioned face and neck shaves to his customers, which range from young military recruits to men as old as 97, he said.

Local celebrities who have visited Ray’s Barbershop include U gymnastics’ head coach Greg Marsden-who prefers a skin-tight buzz cut-and John Klemack, anchor for Utah’s Fox News.

Francom said men make up most of his clientele, with only one in a thousand being women.

Darah Taylor, the other barber in Ray’s Barbershop, said more men visit barbershops because of their “manly” appeal.

“Men, I think, feel more comfortable here because they don’t have to spend as much time as a salon,” Taylor said. “Men, too, are easier to please. Women take too long and get more involved.”

In the future, Francom hopes to expand his business by hiring more full-time employees. Once that happens, Francom plans to return to the U to finish his business degree.

“It’s a little bit ironic, though, that I don’t have a business degree but I have my own business,” Francom said. “But I know that by getting one, I’ll learn a lot of stuff that I don’t know yet.”

Ray’s Barbershop is located at 1328 S. 2100 East and is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mike Terry

Scott Jacobsen, a regular patron to Ray’s Barbershop has his hair trimmed.

Mike Terry

U student Ray Francom, at his barbershop in the Avenues. Ray’s family is one entrenched in the salon/barbershop industry and has run his own shop for the last year and a half. Here regular patron Scott Jacobsen comes in for a trim.