BABE from Brooklyn barbershop and products help guys stay cool

Brooklyn’s BABE is a beloved brand and barbershop. But the original babe?

This is co-founder Wil Allen’s mother, a licensed cosmetologist.

Ms. Gracie Allen began doing hair in the 1960s at her home in Crown Heights and at a local salon (her late husband was a Navy sailor who served in World War II and the Korean War).

With 1,000 hours of training in specialties such as marcelling, curling irons, perms, bleaches, hygiene and anatomy, she was well prepared to accompany her clients.

Fast forward some six decades, and Mrs. Allen has retired to North Carolina while her son, Wil, and his wife, Tameka, are growing the family business.

The couple introduced a homemade, organic hair conditioner in 2012, then opened a Cobble Hill barbershop (which closed in 2020), followed by a Williamsburg one-chair salon in the Mill Building last year.

Allen’s brand name, BABE of Brooklyn, celebrates the women in his life, including his mother, late mother-in-law, wife and young daughter. “It’s basically a love story and my way of thanking my parents for everything they’ve done for my family,” says Allen, who is also the company’s creative designer.

After the Cobble Hill salon closed due to the pandemic, he wasn’t sure about rebuilding. “I wasn’t sure if people would come back,” he tells Alexa. “However, [we] built the space anyway. We’re grateful for the hug and really appreciate how people are coming back to the store.”

He crafts his products in small batches, including everything from beard balms to herbal shaving creams and alcohol-free toners. A new co-branded fragrance is made by an external perfumer. Allen’s hair care line is so popular that he has collaborated with other brands, including J.Crew and Fellow Barber.

“The products are all organic and have no preservatives in them,” explains Jason Biggs, who works as a master barber at the shop on weekends and as a social worker during the week. “They’re almost edible,” he adds. “Most products have too many chemicals in them to do what you need them to do. Not ours.”

BABE’s bestseller is No. 3 Biker’s Brew, a creamy beard balm formulated with mango seed butter, beeswax, cocoa bean butter and vitamin E. “It’s good for your hair, beard and skin all year round,” says Biggs. “It’s a good useful product.”

Original no. 1 was “designed to keep hair hydrated while moisturizing the skin underneath to prevent dry, itchy skin,” says Allen, who calls it his favorite. Ground number 2, meanwhile, provides a stronger hold. All three ointments hydrate and soften follicles, improve shine and tame flyaways.

The shop also offers a variety of cutting and grooming experiences, including number 3. This relaxing 45-minute service includes a consultation, fade, taper, scissor cut and hot towel, with shampoo on request.

“Men need pampering,” says Biggs. “The pampering for men is to come here, get a nice hot towel, be offered a drink and maybe be able to splurge a little on their day. Despite what people think, men love to be pampered. My gift is making people feel comfortable. It’s a two-way trade-off.”