During the past decade, men’s faces seem to have grown whiskers to an extent unprecedented since the early 1970s. Long, free-flowing hippie hair is not part of the current revival — good news for Hawaii’s 1,273 licensed barbers. Instead, the beard trend has brought the face back to the barbershop as extra territory to be groomed. Can hot towels and straight-razor shaves be far behind

Actually, those little luxuries never went away; they are yours for the asking — along with eyebrow trims — at luxury salons but also at shops such as Paul’s Barber Hairstyling on Monsarrat Avenue. The small shop, in an old wooden building, is air-conditioned and bright, with a row of clerestory windows letting in ample daylight. 

During a recent weekday lunch hour, as he waited for a haircut, Jose Acosta stroked his chin and wondered whether he should get his first professional beard trim. He had been doing it himself, but “the gray hairs grow so fast, it makes it look uneven.”  

“No charge for just a small beard trim,” said owner Paul Ta, who has big, discerning eyes and a quick, incandescent smile. 

Within two minutes Acosta’s beard was clipped and pruned into a clean-edged shield that complemented his fine features. Most of the gray had disappeared.

Next, Ta followed Acosta’s instructions to take a lot off the sides of his wavy hair. Asked what he does if customers prefer scissors to the electric clippers he was using, Ta replied, “Whatever the customers want.”

His shop is a half-mile down the hill from Kapiolani Community College, so he gets a lot of students who are trying to grow very long, full Brooklyn hipster beards, Ta said. 

“Businessmen like the beard short and clean,” said Ta, who charges $7 for beard trims and $12 for haircuts. 

David Tai, 32, was getting what stylist Tracy Ta, the owner’s wife, described as a “low fade, natural in back, a lot on the top.” Tai said he’s been coming to Paul’s for four years. “They usually know what I want just from looking at my hair,” he said with a smile. “It’s affordable, with nice people.”

AFFORDABLE, QUICK and nice are basic business tenets for Eddie Khan, owner of the Sport Clips barbershop franchise in Hawaii. Khan opened two Oahu shops in 2014. The Texas-based company was founded by Gordon Logan, a retired military officer, in 1993.

 “I’m a businessman, not a barber, and I see Sport Clips as a good investment,” Khan said. “We give men a sports-theme salon and affordable luxury, starting with better service for the same price — $20 — as a basic haircut from the competition.” 

His competition, Khan said, is Supercuts, with 15 stores on Oahu; Khan said he is looking for new Sport Clips locations.

The price for a basic haircut at Supercuts is actually $19, a salon staff member said in a phone call (shampoos are extra and start at $7). At Sport Clips a haircut alone costs $20 — $15 for students and seniors. A $25 MVP package includes haircut, shampoo and conditioner, plus a scalp, neck and shoulder massage and a hot steam towel wrap for the face.

“We don’t use any chemicals. No hair dyes, no bleach,” Khan said.

At Sport Clips in the Mililani Shopping Center, manager Vivian Dela Cruz, 41, and the other stylists, referred to as team members, wore red Sport Clips athletic jerseys. Flat-screen television sets are mounted in each styling section so customers can watch — what else — sports.

Alan Pearson, 55, who is retired from the military and has been a regular customer since January, was getting “the usual,” he said. The cut is called a “high and tight,” said stylist Haeri Cordeira, 29. “This is a traditional style, like a high top or a fade,” she said.

The shop also does modern styles, she said, like a “south of France” (a tapered “gentleman’s mohawk”) or a drop fade (tight on the sides, blending up to thicker hair).

Across the aisle, Zach Suyat, 19, a student at Leeward Community College, was getting a midlevel skin fade (skin showing on the sides) from stylist Zach Close, 26. Suyat was a first-time customer using a coupon for a free visit he received from a friend. Distributing discount coupons freely, Sport Clips is growing fast, with an average of 100 new clients per week between the two stores, DelaCruz said.

Sport Clips is partnering with Mililani High School by offering students and staff a $2 discount and donating $1 from each haircut to the school’s athletic department; the company also conducts a national fundraising campaign to provide college scholarships to members of the military.

It was a relief to not encounter the caustic ammonia fumes that permeate so many salons. All three stylists, however, sported color-treated hair, bringing to mind the colorful style of many athletes, such as basketball player James Johnson of the Toronto Raptors, who recently dyed his hair bright red but kept his bushy beard its natural black. 

Sport Clips also does beard trims ($5). Here and at Paul’s, however, the preponderance of clean-shaven or merely fuzzy faces — the latter much in evidence in trailers for the upcoming “Entourage” movie — seemed to bode ill for the big beard.

Whatever’s trending, men can rest assured that classic caring, versatile barbering is alive and well.

“I follow what the customers like,” Ta said. Just say it.

Paul’s Barber Hairstyling is at 3118 Monsarrat Ave.; call 734-3336. Sport Clips is at 94-50 Farrington Highway, Suite B1-8, in Waipahu, 678-1919; and 95-221 Kipapa Drive, Suite C-11, in Mililani, 623-3500.