Barber has close shave with vision loss

Donnie Hawley has crafted thousands of hairstyles over the years, but

this cut was different.

For one thing, the customer was also his employee -- Eli Justice,

a barber who works at Hawleywood’s Barber Shop. And Hawley, the owner

of the seven-year-old Costa Mesa establishment, hadn’t been to work

in more than two weeks.

He started slowly by shaving the hair on Justice’s neck, squinting

as he traced his friend’s hairline. Eventually, he trimmed the bangs

and evened out the length, though the routine took much longer than

usual.

“I was a little nervous,” Hawley, 34, said. “I had to strain a

bit. In the end, I was just thankful to be behind the chair.”

Although he was recently named barber of the year by a national

haircutters’ organization, Hawley’s career almost came to an end

three weeks ago.

In an attempt to rid his Costa Mesa apartment of moths, he set off

a series of insect bombs and left for the afternoon. When he

returned, the lingering chemicals began to impair his vision.

“I couldn’t see what I was doing,” Hawley said. “Any light became

painfully blinding. My livelihood was totally threatened. I was

petrified.”

Over the next few days, Hawley said he was in and out of emergency

rooms. No one had an answer for his eye condition.

Meanwhile, his vision continued to worsen.

He finally found a Redondo Beach ophthalmologist who could help.

The doctor treated him every day for more than a week, but he warned

Hawley that it was possible he would never see normally again.

Back at the shop, Hawley’s clients let their hair grow long and

hoped for their barber’s recovery. Some sent cards and flooded the

shop’s answering machine. Others offered to donate money to offset

Hawley’s growing medical bills.

“I was scared for his health and personal finances,” said Mike

Clem, a Costa Mesa resident who has frequented Hawleywood’s since its

opening.

Clem, who sees Hawley at least once a month, said he relied on

the vintage barbershop, where classic rock blares and 1950s

paraphernalia adorns the walls.

“Without Donnie, we’d lose a meeting place for men,” Clem said.

“It’s a shop that people use as a refuge.”

Those who came into the crowded quarters continued to follow shop

traditions -- reading Playboy magazine and drinking complimentary

Pabst Blue Ribbon beer while getting a shave and a cut.

They continued to have boisterous conversations and tried to live

up to the shop’s motto: “Where a man can come to feel at home / Get a

hot-towel shave, haircut and comb / Come in for laughs and ice-cold

Pabst / Enjoy our club made just for chaps.”

But something was missing. Hawley wasn’t there.

Slowly he recovered. Now his eyesight is back to about 90%, he

said.

“It was a big relief to see him going back to work,” Justice said.

Hawley is back to hawking his trademarked hair-styling product,

called Layrite Deluxe Pomade.

He will soon resume his hobby of photographing haircuts.

He is gearing up to read the pilot script for a reality show based

on his barbershop.

And he can look upon his two young daughters.

Hawley is back in action, standing on the barber shop floor,

giving customers his patented hot-towel, straight-razor shaves.

“I’m thankful,” Hawley said. “I didn’t think I’d be able to cut

hair ever again.”