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Turning his head from side to side as he checks his reflection in the barbershop mirror, Terrell Mack seems pretty pleased with his haircut -- a tight, neat crop -- but he can't get up from the chair just yet.

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On a busy stretch of the Garden District in New Orleans—miles from the frat-boy brouhaha of Bourbon Street—Aidan Gill is rebuilding the idea of the American male, one haircut at a time. Walk into his shop and you're met with a monument to the history of barbering (here, it's almost necessary to call them "barber arts"): Glass cases on the wall display tonics and lotions of ancient pedigree along with old blades, powder brushes, and some downright-medieval-looking grooming devices.