Great HAIR OM SC EW N THEY WEAR EvenBarbershop politicians and bureaucrats are serious aboutQuartet their hair: Nearly a dozen IT WELL RIPPLAAR/SIPA/ federal entities have on-site barbers. Here’s a look at four. T Sure, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt By Kate Parham TOFFER sported distinguished facial hair, but modern S RI K Washington men seem more comfortable with a Y B close shave—though there are exceptions. OLDER We asked Mike Gilman, cofounder of the House of Central H OM; Grooming Lounge, and Aaron Perlut, chairman of ➻ Representatives ➻ Intelligence SC EW the American Mustache Institute, to tell us who Agency N around town has winning facial hair. Barber: Joe Quattrone, formerly LLAN/ U a farmer in Italy, heads the House’s M Barber: Daivon Davis is not only c By Christine Ianzito M privatized barbershop. His is one of K the first African-American to own C the best jobs, he says, “because you the CIA’s barbershop but the first to ATRI P come in contact every day with the cut hair in the shop, which opened people who control the world.” LDING/ Ted Leonsis Jayson Werth in 1955. Now 24, he got the gig at age U 18, then bought the shop in 2010. ENTREPRENEUR NATIONALS OUTFIELDER Inside look: He has trimmed ev- Y CLINT SPA eryone from Prime Minister Giulio Inside look: Davis’s chair has seen B ER Andreotti of Italy—who insisted on the likes of General Michael Hayden Z having his picture taken with Quat- and former CIA director Leon I; BLIT ZZ trone—to Dick Cheney, Al Gore, and I Panetta. “You know they’re bigwigs R EN Gerald Ford. He cut Ford’s hair two L when you see bodyguards standing Y B days before he became President. E outside the door,” Davis says. “A lot C AN of them are adrenaline junkies, so we V “Ford didn’t come “His goatee is pretty iconic “While it’s not the most Top secret: talk about cars and skydiving.” OM; once without asking about my wife,” SC at this point—it’s part of who he well groomed of beards, he EW N is, and he wears it effortlessly,” pulls it off well,” says Gilman. says Quattrone, who eventually Top secret: Davis knows some- brought his wife to meet the then– says Gilman. “Hard to imagine “It seems to match his thing big is happening when regu- him without it.” offbeat personality.” Vice President. “He shook her hand, OLL CALL/ lars aren’t coming in: “Last year R and they talked. Things like that during the Egypt situation, when you don’t forget. Every day I get out the president finally stepped down, of bed and kiss the ground that I live about 30 minutes later I had a big ADDALONI/CQ Henry Waxman Jim Vance M the American dream.” flock of people come in.” S CONGRESSMAN Channel 4 anCHOR Y CHRI B AXMAN Department Federal W ➻ of Energy ➻ Reserve OM; SC EW N Barber: David Besenyei has been Barber: Lenny Gilleo, self-pro- / MI cutting hair in the Forrestal Build- claimed Hairman of the Board, has ON S IC P / HOTOGRAPH ing since the 1970s, after being hon- been cutting hair for half a century, S “His mustache is certainly “DC’s news king has had AVI orably discharged from the Army. including the past five Fed chair- D unique,” says Gilman. “You a goatee for so long, I bet (He spent 18 months in Korea.) men. His business cards say: “My don’t see too many like that most wouldn’t even note that DAM DAM A Y S OF Q monetary policy is greatly affected B nowadays.” he has facial hair if asked,” Inside look: Although Besenyei by your growth rate.” Gilman says. U ERTH ERTH ATTRONE, BE ATTRONE, considers “every person who en- W ters the shop to be a very impor- Inside look: Gilleo, who may OM; SC tant person” and has snipped and cut “the hair of the chairman one EW N S shaved several Energy Secretaries, AND ENYEI, minute, the guy sweeping floors the Wolf Blitzer Eric Holder LLAN/ CNN ANCHOR US ATTORNEY GENERAL cutting the hair of singer James next,” says he knows something’s up U M c M Brown when Besenyei worked at G when people carry yellow notepads: K ILLEO ILLEO a barbershop at Reagan National “Just a guess, but that tells you C ATRI B P Airport was a big moment. Y JEFF they’re not doing anything on e-mail, so they don’t want anybody to know.” YMAN/ E LKIN H Top secret: Besenyei says that H C S ; nowadays most of his clients ask D “I haven’t seen any- AVI Top secret: Y ZA B S I S for short, razor-style cuts, a trend one who doesn’t come back look- S C O U that seemed to pick up after Sep- ing better,” Gilleo says of chairmen EON RTE L “Nobody has sported a more “He’s the first mustached tember 11, 2001. S who have retired and returned for Y OF C consistently well-taken-care-of attorney general since Francis a cut. “They look more relaxed.” beard,” says Gilman. “He gets Biddle in 1945,” says Perlut. IA extra points for not coloring HOTOGRAPH OF HOTOGRAPH Other federal institutions with on-site barbers include the US Senate, the Pentagon, the Agriculture Department, the Interior Department, and the Federal Aviation Administration. P either his hair or his beard.” 100 WASHINGTONIAN ★ SEPTEMBER 2012 SEPTEMBER 2012 ★ WASHINGTONIAN 101.