Dennis Lafferty at Gro Salon

Street cred Taking up haircutting in college after tiring of writing, the 41-year-old Ohio native trained at Chicago’s Vidal Sassoon. A few years later, after working as a Sassoon educator, Lafferty joined forces with his colleague Gro Ferskaug, who had decided to open her own shop. Twelve years later, he’s maintained the role of art director and educator (training new stylists and managing the occasional hair show in addition to working with his own clients as a stylist). It doesn’t hurt his reputation that staff at trendy spots like Blackbird and Avec go to him, either.

Why I love him When I took the plunge to lop off my 14-inch, perfectly even locks, the look I’d been sporting since freshman year of high school, I was ready for a drastic change. Instead, I got a boring bob. Two years and several stylists later, I finally found what I was looking for: a stylist who followed my request to “make it funky, without having to spend more than a few minutes on it every morning.” For 90 minutes, Lafferty either amuses me with stories about his sordid past or offers hair-related suggestions (in other words, no snoozy small talk), until he’s transformed my ’do into a testament to his art of perfection. Best of all, it always grows out so well that I don’t have to go back for five months.

Haircuts by Lafferty cost $84 at Gro Salon, 2119 N Damen Ave (773-772-1153).