Business & Development

Panacea Barbershop – A new spot for tailored cuts

DEMARCOUS WRIGHT – PANACEA BARBERSHOP AND LOUNGE Aliya Hall/The Creswell Chronicle

There is a new barbershop in town and its owner, Demarcos Wright, has a mission to ”help clients connect with their mind, body and soul.”
Panacea Barbershop and Lounge is named after the word ”panacea,” which is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as, ”Something that will solve all problems or cure all illnesses.” Wright said he kept being drawn to panacea when he meditated on his business plans and goals, and he now strives to have his barbershop align with it by giving his clients a stress-free environment to feel better about themselves.
”We focus on self-love and self-care,” he said. ”To not worry about the outside world while in here, to relax and be one with themselves. We want you to feel good; look in the mirror and feel good about yourself, and get the self-confidence to go out there and tackle the world.”
The shop offers fades, beard shape-ups, color and lightening, women’s undercut, braids, designs, as well as more basic haircuts and buzzcuts.
Originally from Peoria, Ill., Wright started doing hair since he was child. He said his mom took him to the barber because she got sick of doing his hair; Wright explained that he had a cowlick like Alfalfa on ”Little Rascals.” From that, he started to cut his family members’ hair, and the trade continued as a hobby while he went to school for engineering. He decided to take some time away from school to focus on hair, where he met his biggest challenge and realized studying wasn’t over.
”I didn’t know we had to do women’s hair,” he said. ”It was more schooling, with the anatomy of the head and face, but I fell in love with (barbering).”
He said he first became interested in straight razor and design cuts because of the art aspect with it. ”Art was always the thing,” he said.
He started studying in 2011; however, due to taking time off, he finished up his licensing in 2017. He has had his license for over a year now, and moved with his family to Creswell, where his wife grew up. He noticed that while razored hair styles were becoming more popular, there weren’t many barbers in the Eugene-area doing it.
”My biggest thing is filling a need or want,” he said. ”One thing I love about the internet now, small towns get to see things they couldn’t see before. They’d have to wait for someone to come into town, and now a lot of kids can see the different kinds of cuts, designs, long- (and) short-hair styles. With us living here now, I started to see that and I wanted to bring that here.”
Panacea Barbershop and Lounge opened on Dec. 19, 2018; already, Wright said that he’s received ”nothing but love from around the community. Creswell’s been amazing. Other businesses around town have welcomed him, and he has received positive feedback on the Creswell Community Facebook Page.
He said he was nervous at first, especially because he said that ”coming where I come from, my speech isn’t the best,” but he was told by friends and family to just be himself – and that’s what he’s been doing.
”I focused on being me. You either love me and love me – or if you don’t, you don’t. I’m going to give it my all.”
In the future, Wright eventually wants to hire on two more barbers, and set up a photo studio in the back to showcase on his Instagram page. He also said he wants to continue to be involved with community, such as sponsoring activities for kids, and bring continuing education courses to the Eugene area.
”I want to stay focused on the craft,” he said. ”I think the work will speak for itself.”

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