Mark-Jason Solofa, Men's Grooming

Mark-Jason Solofa, Men's Grooming "Mark-Jason Solofa, Men's Grooming" is Northern California's premier premium men's grooming lifestyl Meter rates are $1.50 per hour.
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Metered parking is available directly in front of the Parlor. Free parking however is available just around the corner on the cross street "Allston Way".

*Please note that there is NO PARKING on "Allston Way" on the first Friday of every month between 9am and 12pm.

12/01/2025

I’m someone who is less inclined to believe a lot of things or accept a lot of things at face value, not necessarily because I’m a skeptic, but because I just grew up in a generation where we had to see something in person to actually believe it.
Today we have social media, a magical place where you can be whatever you want to be, and portray the life you want to live, even if it’s not your real life. Popular personalities, or Influencers, are born overnight, every single day, as are experts and authorities on any and every possible career path or field of interest.
While that’s a pretty amazing concept when you think about it, with the good always comes the bad, and so for every authority and expert that is legit and a proven success story, comes the phonies and frauds and scammers just looking for their 15 minutes of fame.
As it relates to Barbering, who you choose to follow and influence you on your journey to success should be decided by the authenticity of their advice, but more importantly, by the actual tangible experience they have on what they advise you about.
Would you take advice from a Barber who tells you that you need to compete in Barber Battles to be a better Barber, or from a Barber who tells you to educate yourself more on how to be a better business person? Would you listen to a Barber who is always telling to raise your prices, or a Barber who tells you to understand what needs to be considered before raising your prices? Would you listen to a Barber who posts about their escapades in Vegas, or the Barber who tells you how they went about buying a home in Vegas?
We are the reflection of the 5 closest people we spend time with the most, so who you spend your time with, be it in person or on social media, all matters in your quest for success.
Look deeper than the perfectly curated reels and posts, and actually look at the depth of the content and information being shared to find true value!

11/30/2025

Look I’m all for taking pictures of your haircuts to post on social media, but can we stop with the ridiculous trends of taking unflattering photos of clients and posting them for the world to see?
Some of you are taking the whole creativity thing far too literally!
Why do you have photos of grown *ss men sticking their heads through ring lights as if they’re about to be executed in a guillotine?!! Some of you have these poor clients looking like Sponge Bob, just out here doing dumb things for no reason.
Earlier in my career Barbers we’re taking photos of their clients with the lids of pomade tins hanging off of their ear to promote the product, having these grown *ss men looking like they’d lost their damn minds!
Please remember that these are “paying” clients who came to get their haircut and hopefully receive good services. DON’T have their faces permanently plastered on the internet looking foolish because you thought you were at some photoshoot in Milan! Not only does it cheapen your value when potential clients see it, but it degrades the client and reduces the client experience as a whole.
All this foolery needs to stop!! 🤦🏻‍♂️🛑🚨🚧

11/30/2025

There are a lot of Barbers who haven’t worked at a walk-in Barbershop or who even understand the history of how a clientele used to be built, and it shows….not just on social media but in real life too.
I’m not sure when Barbers starting to develop such an elitist personally about themselves, but even as an appointment only shop, you shouldn’t be rude and dismissive to customers who walk up asking for a possible walkin opportunity….ESPECIALLY if you’re just sitting in your chair with no client coming or waiting!
My shops are by appointment, but we will accommodate walk-in’s if we have the time and availability, and the walk-in is okay with the prices of services. And if we can’t accommodate them, we don’t rudely decline them or send them off. Instead we apologize that we aren’t able to accommodate and then explain our booking process in the even they may want to try making an appointment for another time.
Some of you Barbers need to get off of your high horses with this “I only do appointments bro” attitude, because trust me, NONE of us as Barbers are that special!

11/29/2025

I’ve been drinking coffee since my age was in single digits. My parents would always ask my sisters and I to make them a cup, so of course we’d have to taste it to make sure there was enough cream and sugar for them. Over the years, the taste “test” probably became more of a gulp than a sip.
Also if they had a pot of coffee left over, my Dad would make iced coffee and go around the house asking who of my sisters and I wanted some,…which was always all of us!
Into my adult years, while living back in Samoa, coffee is what often brought us all together. Someone wouldn’t yell out they were making a “fresh pot”, and we’d all congregate around the kitchen making our respective cups, and sit around in close proximity of each other sipping away and chatting.
My late Dad, God rest his soul, had become diabetic in his late years so he had to start drinking his coffee with just cream. You could always catch him in the kitchen though making a cup and stirring it slowly and quietly, but once he set the spoon down and you tasted the little coffee residue on it, boy you could tell there was sugar in it!!! The threat of going to tell Mum and prying that cup from his kung fu grip was enough to send us all into a hysterical laugh! “Let me just enjoy this one cup!!” he’d always say.
Then one day Dad, now on a healthier tip, looks at his kids drinking coffee and says “look at you, you’re all addicted!! Coffee is a drug!!”
To which we just looked at him with rolling eyes replying “and whose fault is that? Whose been the pusher all these years!!” 🙄🤦🏻‍♂️😂
The moral of the story is, drink and enjoy and savor your coffee however you fix it and drink it as often as you want,…we’re all gonna die anyway so what’s the point? I know Dad was still sneaking that sugar and cream into his cup when no one was looking, and we all would’ve rather seen him just drink it how he wanted guilt free if we could’ve,…and I’m sure he would’ve enjoyed drinking it more that way too.

11/28/2025

Opening a Barbershop isn’t difficult. The challenging part comes in trying to keep it open and running…..that’s where a lot of Owners seem to struggle.
Now, crazily enough, even the worst run Barbershops with absent ownership, dysfunctional management, uncaring Barbers, disorder and no processes or systems, a culture of “every man for themselves”, and horrible service somehow still find ways to exist because there’s a clientele for that kind of shop, though usually they’ll fall to the wayside and eventually close down at some point (usually for unpaid rent).
Shops that have present and purposeful ownership, structured management, processes and systems in place, and a culture built on service and community are the ones that see greater success and longevity, but naturally require more effort and hard work to build and cultivate. But once established, these shops can almost seem like it was an easy and seamless thing to build and run for any outsiders looking in.
It has always been my hope to make working with me and in my shops as enjoyable as possible, where Barbers would come in and succeed immediately provided they showed up ready and willing to work, and prepared to uphold the values and culture of the Brand.
As I’m sure many other owners can relate, what makes the “now” look so easy to some came from all of the countless hours, sacrifices and endless work behind the scenes of the “then”, leading up to what they now see.
If you’re a Barber who is looking for a new shop to work at, be conscious of the things that went into building the shop and creating the space that you want to be part of. If you’re a Barber aspiring to open up your own shop, be conscious of the values and culture that you want to create in your shop. All of these things can easily be taken for granted when all people may see is a well oiled machine of a business, making some think anyone can just as easily do what you do and build the same thing.
They’ll find out first hand that it won’t be that easy!

11/27/2025

The trade of Barbering is either feast or famine, in many cases.
There are seasonal times of the year which Barbers can expect to be their most busiest, and we traditionally see a spike in business around big holidays.
This homestretch of the year that includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s happens to be one of those major seasonal spike times.
As a client, it is important that you are diligent about booking or planning for your holiday haircut in advance as much as possible, rather than waiting for the last minute to try to get in to see your barber, who will already be pushing the brink of exhaustion in most cases, to squeeze everybody in. This means longer wait times for you and longer days for them. Please be considerate of that and be patient with your Barber if you didn’t plan accordingly.
As a Barber, it is important to remember that while you are busier than normal, it shouldn’t be at the sacrifice of offering good service to your clients. While it is tempting to cut corners to get more clients seen, which equates to more money earned with an increase volumed of haircuts given, you should still be as consistent with your good service at the end of the year as you have been year-round, for that is what will earn the repeat business in the new year ahead.
With all of that said, may haircut appointments and availability for clients be in your favor, and may business for Barbers down the homestretch be fruitful and prosperous.

11/26/2025

Getting lost in a haircut that you’re not well versed in as a Barber can be frustrating, and in the early years of almost everyone’s Barbering careers, long men’s haircuts can be both intimidating and frustrating.
This is because it’s not a haircut addressed in Barber School, and not one that even the majority of Barber School instructors are even capable of executing without it ending up looking like Dora the Explorer’s haircut!
While a Barber can learn to do long haircuts, a Barber can’t learn how to fake being able to do a long haircut without a client knowing, because nervous energy is not an energy that can be hidden or disguised.
When a Barber is struggling through a haircut, please believe that a client will know. The conversation disappears, the Barber is spending a lot of time in one area of the haircut going over it and over and over it, or they’re bouncing around the haircut from one side of the head to the other side to the other side and then back and forth and back and forth:
That nervous energy of trying to fake it until you make it only gets compounded the longer a Barber puts off facing the challenge head on and learning how to do it properly, and if they don’t, they’ll keep running from that haircut for the rest of their careers.
There’s no excuse anymore for a Barber not to learn how to do something they’re unfamiliar with, especially with the wealth of education and tutorials that are readily available for free.
Because running from the challenge, or faking your way through the challenge, is both a disservice to your paying clients who are trusting you with their hair, and it’s a disservice to you as a Barber to limit your growth financially and technically too.

We’ve been blessed to add some great new talent to the MJS Men’s Grooming team recently.💈Zander, Barber (Berkeley locati...
11/26/2025

We’ve been blessed to add some great new talent to the MJS Men’s Grooming team recently.
💈Zander, Barber (Berkeley location)💈
Zander Mendoza is a barber who combines technical skill with a personal touch. His journey began by cutting his own hair, where he discovered a genuine love for the craft that quickly grew into a lifelong passion.
Known for his precision and versatility across all hair types, Zander continually hones his skills through advanced education — including scissor courses with Josh OP and ongoing professional training. He brings intention and care to every appointment, creating a welcoming space where clients feel seen, confident, and consistently well cared for.

If you’re looking for a barber who combines technical expertise with personalized style and a thoughtful approach, Zander Mendoza is a strong choice.

is now taking reservations at our Berkeley location, and we are truly excited to have him on board with our family/aiga/ohana…please help us welcome him to the family!

11/25/2025

Let’s put some perspective on this topic.
If you have 10 Barbers working in the same shop, and 9 of them give great identical haircuts and no service, and 1 Barber gives a really good haircut and great service….and all of them charge the same price….which one do you think will stand out the most in a waiting room of clients all waiting to be next?
Let’s say someone is giving away 10 free dinners, 9 of them are to Mc Donald’s, and only 1 is for a fancy steak house, which one are hoping to receive?
When all prices are equal, whether it’s 10 same priced haircuts or 10 free meals, all of us by nature want to get a little something extra for the same price.
When you look at Barbers who do great haircuts but don’t offer good service too, then nothing distinguishes one Barber from the other. That makes them all dispensable, and you can’t build loyalty without a relationship.
However, when you’re able to give a good haircut as the byproduct or better service, then you establish value to your clients beyond just the haircut.
Don’t let these experts gas you up, half of them are just talking to be heard and be relevant, yet offer no substance or truth!

11/24/2025

With so many new Barbers entering the trade over recent years without a pension for wanting to do straight razor shaves, it means that straight razor shaves are becoming less prevalent and aren’t as common practice in many Barbershops anymore.
I never thought that would be the case when I came into the trade almost 15 years ago, as all I wanted to do was to be able to do straight razor shaves often and well.
I knew there was talk when I first started how straight razor shaves became a concern during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s, but they made a return when the understanding of how the disease was transmitted became more wide spread knowledge. At least from there on after, straight razor shaving was still the corner stone of what Barbers prided themselves on as a service.
Now a greater percentage of Barbers won’t and can’t do a full straight razor shave and are quite content with not having to, this even includes some your favorite social media influencer Barbers too. So this parody of Barbers running away from a shave is no exaggeration.
Here’s to the all the Barbers out there that still love shaving, that don’t shy away from it, and even to the ones who strive to improve and get better at them (because at least you’re trying). We are the keepers of the Trade, and hopefully we’ll inspire more Barbers to follow our lead,…and not run from it….so shaves will always be part of what we do!

11/23/2025

And when your day is done at the Barbershop, and you’ve spent the entire day focusing on the needs of your clients, exerting positive vibes on them, keeping a positive and welcoming and hospital professional demeanor the entire time, and you’ve ensured that you have given the best possible service to each and everyone that sat in your chair for a service, then head on home in however fashion you care to because you’ve done your job and duties as a Barber the way that a Barber should.

11/22/2025

Firstly, no one owns a client,…clients are free to choose their Barber and follow their Barber of choice if they move on from one shop to another.
HOWEVER, it is ethically wrong for a Barber to go into a shop’s clientele list and just start pulling names and contact info at their own discretion to use for their own self gain.
In some instances such actions can bring legal repercussions.
If new clients come in to a Barbershop for the first time, they may choose to sit with one Barber exclusively or they may sit with whichever Barber is available. The question becomes when does a Barber “think” that a client becomes theirs to poach when it comes time to leave that shop?
This is my take. If a client comes in to the Barbershop based on advertising and promotions that the Owner has done, and is someone who sits with multiple Barbers, or sat with another Barber primarily before landing a few times in another’s chair, then they’re not a client to be blatantly poached.
If a client comes into the Barbershop because of a social media post that a Barber did to promote themself, or they’re a previous client from another shop, or they did sit “exclusively” with that Barber from day one regardless if it was the shop that enticed them in, then that’s their client.
Barbers today are too scared to put in the hard work when leaving a shop that they’ll steal information that’s not theirs to access, rather than build on their own merit and stand on their own two feet. I have no tolerance or sympathy for that.
If you’re a Barber whose active on social media, posting your work, handing out business cards, asking for referrals, then I’ll help you identify the names of clients in the database for you to use, or I’ll gladly tell clients where you’ve gone if they ask. But if you’ve been lazily sitting on your ass just feeding off of what’s been given to you, then you don’t deserve any help or leads.
Barbers, stop stealing and relying on others to set you up for the success that you yourself don’t even want to work for, because then it becomes success that you don’t deserve.
Earn your keep!

Address

3372 Village Drive
Castro Valley, CA
94546

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 2pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

(510) 859-8112

Website

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