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Mokena Barber Cuts Hair With Fire: VIDEO

Watch as your Mokena, IL, Patch editor gets his haircut with an open flame at Dina's Barber Shop on Front Street.

 
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Paul Dailing and Michael Sewall
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Paper beats rock, scissors beat paper and, for Mokena, IL, barber Tony Dina, Jr., sometimes fire beats scissors.

Dina, the second generation to run Dina's Barber Shop in downtown Mokena, is still familiar with how to do a "singe haircut." That's how it sounds: You burn the hair off instead of cutting it.

Although the singe haircut leaves a sharper look—it cauterizes the tips of the hair rather than leaving tips cut at jagged angles—Dina said he's only done about three in the last three years.

For starters, people have to know the option exists. Two of the recent singe recipients were men old enough to remember that barber shops used to burn.

The third was a woman, a hairdresser who knew about the technique and, after looking at the memorabilia-laden, 64-year-old shop, figured the barber might be old-school enough to know how to singe.

Dina, a competitive bodybuilder in the over-70 category, was. Dina's Barber Shop has been a part of Mokena since 1948, when Tony Dina, Sr., got tired of taking the train to Chicago, more than 30 miles away, every day. Tony Dina, Jr., still runs the barber shop to this day. Watch the attached video of his skills at work.

For more on Patch editors getting their hair cut (seriously), donate to the New Lenox and Frankfort editors' St. Baldrick's Day fundraisers.

Related Topics: Dina's Barber Shop and Singe haircut

Suzi Voss

6:46 am on Wednesday, March 14, 2012

That's pretty cool...never heard of that technique before. You're brave, Paul!

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Paul Dailing

2:36 pm on Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Thanks! And I'm really happy with the haircut, too. It looks sharp.

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Martina Byrnes

9:19 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

I know sounds pretty crazy, but hey if works with no side effect I am interested specially for my boys. julianjulianna@aol.com.

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Martina Byrnes

9:21 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

yaa very brave, but thank you for being the sampler for others, give more information please.

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Martina Byrnes

9:22 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

yes I am very interested, please send more information please.

bigtimeyan

9:23 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

omg how do u stand the smell yukkkkkkkk

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Tom Sofield

9:27 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

This is one of the most awesome things I've seen all week!

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peggy jennings

9:51 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

my dad who is 82 was just talking about this a couple of months ago he went to a barber in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and this barber used this method. He said it was the best type of hair cut very clean and sharp. Now my question is where is Mokena? It gives a city but no state. I think it would be neat to watch someone do this type of cut.

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Kirsten

10:41 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

Peggy - Mokena is in Illinois, just south of Orland Park.

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Dominick Dina

9:02 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

Illinois...near Joliet...south of Chicago.

CG Rzy

10:08 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

really cool. now can he use the same method in cutting/trimming beard, nose hairs, eyebrows and eyelashes? lol.

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Kirsten

10:40 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

That is very cool! I'll have to send my sons over to try it.

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Janet Neal LaCoure

10:46 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

I don't know what's more interesting; the fact that he's an over 70 body builder or the haircut itself?? Enjoyed this story!

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Bird

11:29 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012

The last building burnt down? I would have run out when he said that.

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Paul Dailing

12:22 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

Ha! I did ask about that, though. It was a general store. No hair was involved.

Kristi Sharp

1:35 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

I think fire is a great answer for a lot of things... it sure can motive you if youve got fire and passion.

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Denise

4:13 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

Before getting married in 1972, I had my hair twisted and singed. It took my hair stylest a long time and my split ends returned more than 6 months later. I would like to find someone who could do it properly. My hair was real long and thick. After 6 months, I had a hairdresser do the proceedure and he just twisted too much hair together and didn't do a good job.

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justplainfolk

5:14 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

I think the flame was a little lame....let's see it done with a blow torch

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Paul Dailing

6:49 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

In all the excitement over this (520 Facebook "likes" and counting, wow!), I forgot to thank Patch community columnist Don Labriola, whose "I Love Mokena" column runs Mondays. Don's the one who first told me about Tony and about the singe haircut. (He also told me he went in and got his singe haircut today.)

Thanks, Don!

Check out Don's past columns here: http://mokena.patch.com/columns/i-love-mokena

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JR

7:41 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

When I was in the military stationed in Turkey, the Turkish barbers used a similar technique. They took what I think was an oversized cotton swab and lit it on fire. The flame was barely noticeable and they used it to singe the fuzzy hair in and around your ears. It worked real well.

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William Caldwell

8:21 am on Friday, March 16, 2012

Tony Sr. "usta" cut my hair with the candle. Never requested it, he just did it when he had the urge. The stink was pretty bad. Toiny Sr. was an important member of the Mokena Comunity. Served as a volunteer on a lot of things.

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Barberette T

4:19 pm on Friday, March 16, 2012

How do you get rid of the smell? Nice job tho.

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helpfulhairstylist.com

12:25 am on Sunday, March 18, 2012

I will be doing some more research on this technique. You are very brave seeing as the shop was burned to the ground once before! Hopefuly not with this method! www.helpfulhairstylist.com

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Paul Dailing

11:35 am on Monday, March 19, 2012

Ha ha. No, I asked. It wasn't a barber shop when it burned to the ground. It was the old general store. They built a barber shop there later.

Kristie Camfield

3:00 pm on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Great article about a great friend!

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