A new place for ‘pampering’ opens in Sheboygan

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

July 27, 2026

SHEBOYGAN – Specializing in men’s haircuts, Nirvana Barbershop Owner Ashley Marzer said her personalized approach to barbering has helped her grow her clientele. 

“I like to make sure when people come in here, they’re paying for the experience,” she said. “They’re also paying for what I could do versus what they could do at home.”

Located at 615 South 8th St., Suite 140, in Sheboygan, Marzer said she aims to provide her clients with both what they want and what they didn’t know they needed.

“If they come in and [say], ‘I want a No. 2 [clipper guard] all over,’ but their head shape doesn’t really suit that, I am honest with them…, and they’re pretty grateful for that,” she said. “[If they] want to try a buzz cut, [I’ll suggest we] do a fade on the sides and back, because that’ll give the haircut a little bit more ‘razzle dazzle’ versus if I did one guard all over.”

Quietly opening her space in late April – just a day after returning from a trip to Africa – Marzer said she quickly got to work. 

“I came back April 24 at 7 a.m., then at 10 a.m. [the next day, I was] already cutting hair,” she said.
Marzer said a majority of her clients from previous jobs have followed her to Nirvana.

“I used to be with a different company, but I figured it was time to be out on my own,” she said. “I told my clients [when I left], ‘If by chance you get a message from me saying I can’t make [your appointment], it’s because my plane physically didn’t land.’”

Though she has been a licensed hairdresser since 2014, Marzer said she has focused specifically on men’s haircuts for more than seven years. 

“I kept getting promoted [at my job at] Kwik Trip, so I kept putting [hairdressing] on the back burner,” she said, “but even in beauty school, I loved cutting men’s hair.”

Now a full-time barber and business owner, Marzer said she’s excited to continue building awareness around Nirvana Barbershop and its offerings.

“Even if it’s not all the time, once or twice a year, you [can] come into the barbershop and get the whole pampering treatment,” she said.

Continuous education, growth

After deciding to take the next step and open her own business, Marzer said she began searching for a location in January, eventually finding the space that would become Nirvana. 

“The space I’m in currently used to be a data office,” she said. “When I [first] toured it, there was actually carpet in [the] space, and I almost turned it down because I can’t cut hair on carpet.”

However, as fate would have it, Marzer said her now-landlord didn’t want carpet in the space either.

“The owner of the building [said]…, ‘Just tell me what color flooring you want, and I’ll do it for you,’” she said. “He’s a wonderful landlord. He basically let me have creative freedom to do whatever I wanted with the space.”

Once the space became available in April, Marzer said they renovated the unit with new flooring and an in-unit laundry area. 

“Amazon was my best friend for a couple of months, getting all of my [supplies] in,” she said. “My husband is for sure very excited that all that stuff is officially out of our place.”

Throughout cosmetology school, Marzer said the curriculum focused more heavily on women’s hairstyling than men’s barbering.

“Based on my prior experience at my other job – I used to be an educator over there as well – girls who are graduating from beauty school [now] barely have that focus on men’s hair,” she said. “I have no issues showing people, but at the same time, it sucks paying that much to go to beauty school to only learn one gender of haircuts.”

Marzer said she took it upon herself to learn more about men’s barbering – a decision that helped her build a clientele early on. 

“My client base in beauty school was mostly men,” she said. “It’s just such a satisfying haircut all the time to do. Even if you take off a little bit of hair for a men’s haircut, they leave looking way better than [when] they came in.”

Marzer said continuing her barbering education is a priority of hers to ensure she delivers consistent, quality results for her clients. 

“I always love [taking opportunities for] continuing education in this career,” she said. “If you’re not continuously learning, you’re not growing, and it is obvious when people think they know everything – their haircuts reflect they don’t.”

For the bald, bearded, beyond

Though most men in her chair innately trust her abilities, Marzer said she has experienced some apprehension from clients who may have never received a haircut by a female barber.

However, she said any initial nerves are eased throughout the Nirvana experience.

“I would say overall a lot of guys trust me right off the jump, but there are some guys… who have only had [one] experience,” she said. “I always try to make sure my haircuts reflect… [what] I would want them to have [as a] haircut from a woman’s perspective, and I feel like that has reflected very positively [with] all my haircuts.”

Marzer said her baseline – what she calls a “minimal goal” with every client – is making sure they “don’t look stupid.”

“And they always laugh,” she said. “I do haircuts, beard trims, waxing [and] I love doing skin fades. I think that is my favorite [haircut], pretty much any version of it – military, high and tight, [etc.]. You can get more creative with the modern mullet/burst fade vibe as well.”

One service Marzer said sets her apart is offering grooming treatments for men who may lack hair on their heads but still maintain facial hair, including mustaches and beards. 

“For the bald guys who get their beards trimmed, I do offer a service called Bald & Bearded,” she said. “Instead of paying $40 for a haircut and a beard trim, it would be $30 for both, but it is a requirement that they either do a No. 0 [guard] all over or a trimmer for their haircut, then a beard shape-up. Everything does include a wash as well, [because] I feel like the people who shave their heads are forgotten about.”

Despite not having hair to wash, Marzer said the act of receiving a service can be relaxing – offering men a place to go for some aesthetic self-care.

“I also do offer a hot towel on the face, and then at the end for haircuts, if they want it…, I do offer a shoulder massage with an electric hand massager,” she said. “I know some guys don’t like being touched more than they have to be.”

Though she is excited about the new clients gained since her opening in April, Marzer said she’s especially grateful for those who have followed her to Nirvana.

“I’ve been very happy and grateful for everybody who’s followed me so far,” she said.

For more on Nirvana Barbershop, visit its Facebook page.