Located at 413 N. 14th Street in Ponca City. AfterShave Barbering Co. was founded by Amy Rae Arbona and her mother Toni Smith who both previously worked together at Barney’s Barber Shop. They wanted to go into business together with the goal to give clients the best haircuts they’ve ever had.

Arbona describes her coming into the barber business as something that formed naturally.

“I fell into it; Barney offered me a job and couple of years into it I decided I liked it and it was kind of my thing,” said Arbona. “I’ve wanted to open a barber’s shop in Ponca City for some time.”

Amidst the pandemic, After-Shave only had to be shut down for a month and were still working.

“It has gone real smooth. We made the money we needed to maintain it, but it was scary doing it during the pandemic,” said Toni Smith, who has been a barber for 33 years.

Smith stressed both she and her daughter are barbers and not cosmetologists. Both went to beauty school, but a big distinction between barbers and cosmetologists is that barbers have special focus on hair, while cosmetologists work more generally with hair, skin and nails. Barbers are also apprenticed under other barbers and put in 3,000 hours, $1500 for barber school and a test to pass to get licensed.

Sandra Walker is another barber at AfterShave with 22 years of experience barbering.

“It’s been good to me, it’s a good profession,” said Walker. “I love the fact I can help the men feel good. You get regulars and they treat you like family.”

Walker also speaks Spanish as her first language and being bilingual helps many Spanish speaking customers feel comfortable when they come in.

“I love the fact that a customer can come in and if they want to speak Spanish, they’re able to and don’t have to struggle with the language barrier,” said Walker.

AfterShave Barbering Co. has a social media presence on Facebook and Instagram provided by MyMediaMatters. AfterShave is also a member of the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce.

AfterShave Barbering Co. is open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Tuesday to Friday and from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm on Saturday.