Barbershops can be stressful places. You walk in needing to describe the haircut you want, then sit with the anticipation of how the cut will turn out, all while someone you may not know holds a blade near your head. But for many people - Black men in particular - those everyday nerves are compounded by deeper anxieties related to mental and physical health that exist well before they ever step through the door.

That reality was the focus of a two-year research project led by assistant professor of social work Amana Mbise, Ph.D., and research assistant professor of behavioral sciences Nathan West, Ph.D., which examined the role Black barbershops in Anchorage play in men's health.

The project grew from an earlier effort: the Alaska Black Caucus' (ABC) first-ever health needs assessment of Black Alaskans. Published in 2022, the report provides critical information on a population that has historically been understudied in public health research . As Mbise helped lead dissemination workshops sharing its findings, one absence became impossible to ignore. Despite the data addressing health issues that disproportionately affect Black men, Black men themselves were missing from the rooms where the findings were being discussed.

"Black people have been in Alaska for more than 150 years ," said Mbise. "But for a long time, Black people, and men in particular, have been missing in research and health promotion. So we wanted to uncover those disparities and help tell the story of Black men and increase their access to health care."

That absence prompted a fundamental question: Where were Black men engaging? During discussions within the ABC Health Committee, Jewel Jones , a longtime community leader and the first director of health and human services in Anchorage, offered a simple suggestion. If the researchers wanted to reach Black men, they should look to barbershops. That idea reframed the entire project, shifting it away from campus-based outreach and toward community-rooted spaces.

"This is a lesson for researchers writ large," said Mbise. "What we know now is that Black men feel comfortable in spaces that they trust. How can we find those spaces where hard-to-reach populations are? So it was a lesson for us to leave the comforts of campus and go out into those spaces that are safe and trustworthy."

Mbise partnered with West, who has a background in community- and faith-based health promotion. Together, and with a grant from the Alaska Department of Health, they began exploring how barbershops function not just as grooming spaces, but as social and cultural hubs. Rather than approaching the work with rigid assumptions, the researchers formed an advisory board that included barbers introduced to them by Jones, as well as their clients, ensuring the research remained grounded in lived experience.

Through individual interviews and focus groups with the advisory board, a clear picture emerged. Barbershops operate as trusted environments where men feel safe to talk openly - sometimes for the only time in their lives. Many clients maintain relationships with their barbers for decades, creating a level of trust rarely found in formal health care settings. In those chairs, conversations naturally drift toward family pressures, mental health and chronic illness.

"One of the people we interviewed said, 'This is the only place where I can trust a man with a blade on my neck.' You can't find many other places like that," said West. "That speaks to how barbers know exactly what they're doing. Barbershops are essentially non-traditional health care spaces - barbers go through thousands of hours of training to get their license, learning anything from disease prevention to creating a safe space."

The project also revealed the multifaceted role barbers play in their communities. They are mentors, especially to young men from single-parent households who may see their barber as one of the few consistent adult male figures in their lives. They are counselors, helping clients navigate life through shared experiences. And they are connectors, with their businesses acting as intersections where insight and information circulate freely. As a result, the act of cutting hair carries a responsibility to honor the trust clients place in them, physically and emotionally.

"Barbers are almost seen as doing a sacred job," said Mbise. "The role is so much more than cutting hair and grooming, it's also about stewardship. How do you steward the trust that people have on you? That level of trust where you can do anything with somebody's head brings a lot of responsibility."

One of the project's more unexpected findings was how inclusive these spaces are in Anchorage, as the small local Black population means these shops serve men from many racial and ethnic backgrounds. Despite those differences, the same core needs surfaced repeatedly. Men want to feel seen, respected and understood. Trust, once established, transcends race, underscoring the barbershop's potential for wide-reaching engagement.

Looking ahead, the researchers envision co-designed interventions developed in partnership with barbers, health care providers and state agencies. Potential next steps include resource navigation and health screenings, all offered within the barbershop setting. Central to everything is a commitment to simply giving barbers the necessary tools and letting them lead, ensuring that any intervention enhances rather than disrupts what already works for them.

"One of the cool things about this project is how it's becoming participatory action research," said West. "Instead of just collecting data and saying thank you, we can present our findings and then work to come up with solutions to address whatever the community would like to do in the years to come."

Beyond its immediate findings, the project has not only reshaped how Mbise and West approach research more broadly, but it also opened pathways for their students to engage directly in community-based research. To date, two students have worked on the project via UAA's Community Engaged Student Assistantships , which help students develop their civic leadership skills by pairing them with faculty doing community-based research.

"We're educating students that meaningful research can happen working alongside members of the community beyond the four walls of the classroom," said Mbise.