NEW WINDSOR - When Anthony Mancinelli got his start as a barber, a haircut and shave cost 25 cents.

That was in 1924.

Mancinelli celebrated his 106th birthday Thursday with another day at the office, New Windsor’s Fantastic Cuts, where a haircut now costs $19.

And nobody offers shaves anymore, he said.

Mancinelli has held the Guinness World Record for the oldest practicing barber since 2012 - and he doesn’t expect anyone will ever beat him.

“Barbers don’t last that long," he said. "It’s not a healthy business.”

Mancinelli knows from experience. At 27, he contracted a lung infection, a common affliction for barbers that can go unnoticed. They inhale hair clippings that can build up in their lungs over time and cause infections, he said. The doctors told Mancinelli he should wear a nose filter or mask while working, but nobody wants a surgeon styling their hair, he joked.

Not surprisingly, Mancinelli is the last remaining barber from the group of 30 barbers he started in the business with in the Newburgh area. He’s a trove of information about the old days in the industry. He can recall different trends through the years, like the unisex Buster Brown cut or the long, shag haircuts for men, usually musicians.

Since the 1920s, the tools have changed, too, especially clippers for men’s cuts. Mancinelli prefers today’s electric clippers, but he first learned using hand clippers. He still has a vintage set of clippers stashed away in a drawer at Fantastic Cuts. Hand clippers came with their own set of challenges, and an inexperienced barber could pull a client’s hair, he said.

Straight razors, now reserved for the daring or adept, were commonplace.

Even Mancinelli’s son, 80-year-old Robert, said he wouldn’t dare touch a straight razor.

But there’s “nothing to it,” Mancinelli said. “If you know how to do it.”

The only tool that hasn’t changed is the scissors.

When Mancinelli owned a shop on Liberty Street in Newburgh for 40 years, haircuts and shaves weren’t the only service offered, either.

Clients could stop by for cupping, a traditional Chinese therapy for pain management. Mancinelli has only one of the special glass bulbs left.

Other services he offered included wart-burning and a now-unconventional treatment for high blood pressure: leeches. Mancinelli said the neighborhood drug store sold leeches for 2 cents each, and he would stick them on customers to lower their blood pressure.

“I don’t even know if it’s legal anymore,” he said. “The doctors would be after you.”

With all of that varied experience, Mancinelli has been “a blessing” to the salon, said owner Jane Dinezza. She remembered being surprised when she first saw Mancinelli for an interview a few years ago.

“I didn’t think I was going to hire him," she said, "but his work speaks for itself.”

Dinezza said clients travel from New York City and even other countries like England and Japan to visit Mancinelli.

Other barbers choose him for their haircuts, too.

So who cuts his hair?

“I cut my own hair!” Mancinelli said.

aspadaro@th-record.com