Melrose and Fairfax Barber Shop Cutting Hair Since 1999: Shorty's Barber Shop

Shorty's Barber Shop has been cutting hair at 755 N. Fairfax Avenue, a few doors north of Melrose Avenue, since 1999, and its posted menu starts at $43.26 for a standard haircut. For anyone typing barber shop near me between the Fairfax District and the Melrose shopping strip, this is the long-running answer: a shop that cuts men and women, takes walk-ins first come, first served, and runs online booking for anyone who would rather lock in a chair.

Shorty's dates its opening to 1999 and still prints "LA's Best Barber Shop since 1999" across the top of its website. The shop's own press page lists features in Details Magazine, Cargo, Frontiers, the Advocate and LA Weekly, plus appearances on Bravo's "Shear Genius" and E!'s "Chelsea Lately." Time Out's Los Angeles listing called it a no-frills barbershop with a varied clientele and named Adam Levine among the regulars who have sat in its chairs.

What sets it apart from a typical neighborhood barbershop is the guest list. Shorty's describes itself as an all-inclusive barber shop for men and women of any hair texture, with specialists on staff for color and Brazilian blowouts. The crew claims more than thirty years of combined experience, and inside, Time Out noted walls covered in photos and a tattoo-style pin-up mural. Last October the shop dressed itself in Halloween decor and joked on Instagram that it looked spooky but the haircuts would be frighteningly fresh.

The house rule printed on the shop's site is simple: no appointment needed, walk in and you are served first in, first out. The faster trick is the call-ahead list. Phone the shop when you leave home and your name goes on the list before you reach the door, so the wait happens in your car or on the bus instead of on the bench by the window.

If you want a set time, Shorty's added online booking through its website, and its September and October 2026 Instagram posts repeat the same line: open seven days a week, book online. Senior stylists are the ones the shop says take scheduled appointments, so if you have a particular barber in mind, book that person rather than gambling on the walk-in queue. Gift cards are sold in person only, not through the website.

Timing is the other lever. Tuesday through Thursday the doors stay open until 8 pm, which gives commuters the widest window of the week. Friday and Saturday open earliest, at 9 am, but close at 6 pm, so weekend walk-ins have fewer hours to spread across. Sunday and Monday run 10 am to 6 pm, and a weekday morning slot right at opening is your best bet for a short wait.

Shorty's posts its prices to the cent, and a note under the menu adds the house perk: pay cash and you take 3 percent off. A standard Haircut is $43.26. Haircut w/Skin Fade runs $49.44, and Haircut w/Razor Work, for razor detailing on top of the cut, is $51.50. Mid/Long Length Haircut also starts at $51.50, the line to pick once your hair is past the ears.

The Shave is listed at $51.50 as its own service, separate from the beard work, and the Line Up/Beard Trim starts at $20.60 for anyone keeping a beard between full cuts. The shop's own Instagram has been pushing beard shaping lately, with clips of crisp cheek lines. A Shampoo add-on is $6.18, worth it if you are heading straight to dinner and want the loose clippings washed out.

Haircut w/Senior or Master costs $53.46 to $63.86 depending on which barber you book. Color, Highlights and Chemical Services start at $61.80, and bleach-and-tone jobs show up often on the shop's feed. The retail shelf carries R+Co, Keune, ELEVEN and Nutrafol, and Shorty's says it will price match any hair care product you find cheaper elsewhere, so bring the screenshot.

For a tight clipper cut with a faded back and sides, Haircut w/Skin Fade at $49.44 is the order. If you wear your hair past the ears, book Mid/Long Length Haircut instead of the standard cut, since the stylist is pricing in scissor time. The Blow Dry, starting at $56.65 with flat iron extra, is aimed at longer styles that need finishing for an event.

Women and anyone wanting a color change should book rather than walk in, because the shop staffs dedicated specialists for color and a bleach and tone needs the right person free, not whoever is next on the walk-in list. The Brazilian blowout is also on offer for frizz-prone hair. Mention your texture when you call. The shop's pitch is that every hair type gets a barber who knows it.

Book a Sunday morning cut and you can walk south to the corner for the Melrose Trading Post, the weekly market held at Fairfax High School on the corner of Melrose and Fairfax. It runs every Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm with more than 250 local makers, vintage dealers and food stalls. On October 25, 2026, the market hosts a Halloween dog costume contest, and the holiday season kick-off follows on November 29.

Keep heading south on Fairfax Avenue, under half a mile toward Beverly Boulevard, and you reach Canter's Deli, the Fairfax District institution that marked its 95th anniversary on August 3, 2026, by selling pastrami sandwiches for 95 cents for one evening instead of the usual $22. On a regular day, a pastrami on rye after a fresh fade is the classic Fairfax pairing, and the deli keeps late hours long after Shorty's has swept its floor.

One honest warning: ignore older listings that still show Shorty's open until 9 pm on weekdays. The shop's current posted hours end at 8 pm Tuesday through Thursday and at 6 pm every other day, so a Friday-night touch-up before a party will not happen here. Also skip the Senior or Master tier for a basic clipper cut. The $43.26 Haircut covers it for as much as $20.60 less.

If the call-ahead list is long and you cannot wait, head to Floyd's 99 Barbershop on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, the nearest branch of that chain. Do not aim for the Floyd's on Melrose Avenue: the chain's site says a recent fire has closed that branch until further notice, and it points Melrose regulars to the Cahuenga shop instead. For color or a Brazilian blowout, though, Shorty's specialists are worth the wait.

Shorty's Barber Shop is at 755 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046, just north of the Melrose Avenue intersection. Hours: Sunday and Monday 10 am to 6 pm; Tuesday through Thursday 10 am to 8 pm; Friday and Saturday 9 am to 6 pm. Cards are accepted, and cash takes 3 percent off every service.

Without a car, Metro Line 217 runs along Fairfax Avenue and stops near Melrose, and Line 10 runs the length of Melrose Avenue between West Hollywood and Downtown, so either drops you within a block. On Sundays, the Trading Post runs a free valet entrance on Fairfax at Clinton Street with three complimentary hours for market visitors, so a cut and a browse can share one parking stop. Management answers email at management@shortysbarbershop.com.