Photo by LemonSunrise
For the past few months, I’ve been having my haircut at various barbershops. For most of my life, I went to unisex salons that reeked of perm chemicals and mousse. Every time I’d go, I’d walk away with a bad haircut. On top of that, I always felt out of place. Most of the clients were usually women and a woman was cutting my hair. I’d just go in, sit there silently while the person cut my hair, and leave.
I don’t know why I stopped going to a barbershop. As a child, I went to a barbershop on the main street in my hometown. It was called “The Friendly Barbershop.” I remember being fascinated with all the barber stuff. What I remember most though, was the distinct manliness of the place. Even as a young child, I could sense that a barbershop was a cool hang out for men. Twenty years later, I’m rediscovering the barbershop. You should too.
A Brief History of Barbershops
The 1880’s to the 1940’s were the golden age for barbershops. During this time, men socialized in all male hangouts, and barbershops rivaled saloons in popularity. Visiting the barbershop was a weekly, and sometimes daily habit. Men would stop in not only for a haircut and a shave, but also to fraternize with friends and chew the fat.
During this golden age, barbershops were classy places with often stunning surroundings. Marble counters were lined with colorful glass blown tonic bottles. The barber chairs were elaborately carved from oak and walnut, and fitted with fine leather upholstery. Everything from the shaving mugs to the advertising signs were rendered with an artistic flourish. The best shops even had crystal chandeliers hanging from fresco painted ceilings.
Despite this level of luxury, barbershops were homey and inviting. A memorable and heavenly man aroma filled the air. The smell of cherry, wintergreen, apple, and butternut flavored pipe and tobacco smoke mixed with the scent of hair tonics, pomades, oils, and neck powders. These aromas became ingrained in the wood and every cranny of the shop. The moment a man stepped inside, he was enveloped in the warm and welcoming familiarity. He was immediately able to relax, and as soon as the hot lather hit his face, his cares would simply melt away.
The Decline
Photo by Curtis!
The first blow to barbershops came in 1904 when Gillette began mass marketing the safety razor. Their advertisements touted the razor as more economical and convenient than visiting the barbershop. The use of safety razors caught on, and during World War I, the US government issued them along with straight razors to the troops. Having compared the two razors size by side, upon returning home from the front many soldiers discarded both the straight razor and their frequent trips to the barbershop. Going to the barber for a shave became a special occasion instead of a regular habit.
In the decades after WWI, several other factors combined to weaken the place of the barbershop in society. Companies like Sears began selling at-home haircutting kits, and mom began cutting Junior’s and Pop’s hair. Then the Depression hit, and people cut back on discretionary spending like barber shaves. The loss of male lives in the World and Korean wars also shrunk barbers’ pool of clientèle. Then in the 1960’s Beatlemania and the hippie culture seized the country, and hairstyles began to change. Men started to grow their hair longer and shaggier, and their visits to the barber became infrequent or non-existent.
Even when short hair came back into style during the 1980’s, men did not return en masse to the barbershop. Instead, a new type of hairdresser siphoned off the barbers’ former customers: the unisex salon. Places like “SuperCuts” which were neither beauty salons nor barbershops, catered to both men and women. Many states’ licensing boards accelerated this trend by ceasing to issue barber licenses altogether and instead issuing a unisex “cosmetologist” license to all those seeking to enter the hair cutting profession.
Why Every Man Should Go To A Barber Shop
Photo by Curtis!
A barber knows how to cut a man’s hair. If you’re like most men these days, you’re probably going to some unisex chain salon like Supercuts. I used to do it too. Most of the time, I’d walk out of these places with a crappy haircut. Sometimes, my haircut would look decent for the first week or so, but then it would grow out into a horrible bowl.
The problem is that many of the people who work at salons are not trained barbers. They’re cosmetologists. The difference between the two can spell the difference between a dopey-looking haircut and a great one.
A barber is trained to cut with clippers, the main tool in cutting a man’s hair. Cosmetologists, on the other hand, are trained to use scissors. Their training is also geared towards catering to women’s hair. They become experts in styling, coloring, and perming- things a man has no need for. That’s why when you ask the cute stylist at SuperCuts to use the number 2 on the clippers, you walk away with a bad haircut. She’s probably not well versed in how to use them. But a barber can employ the clippers with finesse.
It’s a great place to chew the fat with other men. When I went to hair stylists, I hardly ever talked to the woman who cut my hair. I’d chat about my family and theirs and that’s about it. The woman who cut my hair usually ended up chatting it with the other women in the salon, while I sat there awkwardly.
Barbers, on the other hand, are interesting guys with interesting stories to tell. On my visits to the barber shop, I’ve met a retried Army Ranger colonel, a musician who spent 13 years on the road in a jazz band, and a man who is the third generation in his family to take up the profession. Each of them had fascinating stories to share. And I in turn feel at ease to say what’s on my mind. There is conversation about politics, cars, sports, and family. Guys read the newspaper and comment on current events. In between the banter, jokes are told and laughs are had. And everyone is involved: the barbers, the customers getting their haircut, and the customers waiting to get their haircut. Adding to the enjoyment is that a variety of men take part in the conversation; young, old, and middle-aged join in the mix.
I think there’s a good argument that barbershops are among America’s last civic forums Where do people go today just to talk with others in the community? Coffee shops? Every time I go to a coffee shop, people are at their own tables minding their own business. The only other place that I can think of is a bar, but bars are now co-ed instead of being bastions of manliness. Graduate student, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, wrote an article about how discussions in traditionally black barbershops shape political ideas in the African-American community. She noted how political debate in barbershops can be vigorous and engages young and old alike. Unfortunately, white Americans are missing out on this experience. So, if you’re wanting to get your thumb on the pulse of civic life in your community, head over to the barbershop.
You can get a great shave. Many barbershops still give traditional single blade razor shaves. You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the pleasures of a great shave at a barber. This past weekend, I went to a barber here in town to get a shave. I reclined in the plush old school barber chairs that had ash trays in the arm rests, a throw back to a time when people could smoke in public places. Then my shave commenced. The barber first wrapped a hot towel around my face. Next, the barber massaged in a lemon based cream to clean out my pores.
After that, several more hot towels were applied. By then, I was feeling nice and relaxed, on the verge of falling asleep relaxed. The barber then massaged in some cocoa butter to soften my beard. Next, the barber brushed a warm lather into my beard that smelled like man and not like that crappy artificial goo you buy in a can. The barber then took a piece of razor sharp metal and scraped my beard off for the closest, best shave I’ve ever had. Allowing another man to hold a razor to your neck is a good way to remind yourself that you’re alive.
To finish it all off, I got another hot towel wrapped on my face along with a final face massage with a soothing vanishing cream. When I stepped out of the shop, I felt like a new man, ready to take on the world.
It’s a great activity to do with your father or son. Men need traditions that can help bond them together. Visiting the barbershop with your father or son is a great tradition to begin in your family. Many men have been going to the same barber all their life and have introduced their sons to the same chair and the same barber. What a great way to bond with the men in your life!
You’ll feel manlier. Every time I go to the barber shop I just feel manlier. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s the combination of the smell of hair tonics and the all-man atmosphere. But more so, it’s the awareness of the tradition of barbershops. Barbershops are places of continuity; they don’t change with the shifts in culture. The places and barbers look the same as they did when your dad got his hair cut. It’s a straightforward experience with none of the foofoo accouterments of the modern age. There are no waxings, facials, highlights, or appointments. Just great haircuts and great conversation.
When you walk out of the barber shop with a sharp haircut, you can’t help but feel a bit of manly swagger creep into your step. So next time you spot that familiar red and white striped pole, stop in. You’ll be glad you did.
Looking for a barbershop? Make sure to check out our barbershop locater. If you know of shop, please add it to the map.
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If you are ever in the Reading, PA area (the shop is actually in Wyomissing, PA) come visit Anthony’s Barbers…we’ve been around since 1888 and in the same building since 1959. A real old-fashioned shop…still do plenty of straight razor shaves, and we have one barber there that has been barbering for 65 years, since he was 7 years old in Italy. Another has been in the shop for 49 years.
I dream of one day going to such a barber, but doubt I will be able to afford it for a while. However, I can only recommend Mr Toppers if you’re in London as it’s just £6 for a haircut, and you’ll probably get a nice Australian girl doing a pretty decent job. Also, it being more affordable means you can go more often, and I find getting my hair cut on a Monday morning one of the best ways of starting the week…
I really enjoy reading information about the growth of the barbering industry and the rich history this industry has contributed to all men, women and children. I am VP of Marketing and Sales for the Official Barbershop Lifestyle Publication called “Against the Grain Magazine” which can be found in your local barbershop all over the country and I must say there has been a refocus on our industry with a great deal of our barbers taking control of the true business behind the barbershop. Our publication has been in circulation since 2005 and we have discovered some exciting inventions, projects and barber art which will bring the barbershop into the 21st century. Stay tuned! It is a great time to be a barber! Go to http://www.againstthegrainmag and subscribe today. See our latest invention by Everette Blaisdale called the Barber Stop at http://www.barberzzone.com
Thanks!
Aren’t shaves illegal now due to the threat of HIV?
I really enjoyed this post. Yes, barber shops used to be very manly places!
I was a barber back in the mid sixties in Oklahoma. My most memorable job was at a shop in Norman, home of OU (Go Sooners!) I worked there for about 2 years or so between ‘67 and ‘69, and have some wonderful memories. I left Norman on my 21st birthday, but that’s another story.
Our shop was owned by a man named Jack Mock who had been there on “Campus Corner” for over 40 years at that time. He was in his 70’s when I was there and he ran a really old fashioned barber shop, complete with a shoeshine “boy”, an elderly black man whose lips were deformed from always having the stub of a cigar, most of the time unlit, stuck between them, but who kept the shop clean except for the constant, but somewhat pleasant smell of that cigar. Today, the public wouldn’t stand for it, but back then, the world was vastly different. The majority of us smoked, and nobody objected to it.
Being only a half block from the campus, our typical customers were college age young men. Women very rarely even entered the shop, and to have one come in wanting a haircut would have been as foreign to us as anything–it just wasn’t imaginable! If they came in at all, they would be bringing their little boys in for a haircut, or for some other legitimate reason.
Hippies were just making their presence and were the butt of jokes when seen passing by our shop. Of course they didn’t frequent the barber shops at all. Luckily for us, that was still in the days before the “unisex” craze came onto the scene, and nearly all men, young and old alike, came to a regular barber shop.
Conversation in the shop consisted of nearly anything, but a barber could not afford to comment too much one way or the other on topics such as religion or politics. Today, I guess they call that being “politically correct”, but that left a lot of room for everything else.
A haircut consisted of having the customer sit down in the chair, wrapping a thin paper neck strip around his neck and then fastening the chair cloth around his neck with a metal clip. I would always ask, just out of courtesy, how he would want his hair cut but could usually tell by what style he was already wearing. Most would just say they wanted a regular haircut, but everyone was, and is, an individual. I would start out using the clippers and comb for the initial cut, and then finish up using the “shears” (scissors was a bad word!) and finally, maybe the thinnng shears to blend everything in.
At the finish of the haircut, I would shave, with an old time straight razor, what we called the “outline” around the ears and down each side of the neck, sometimes shaving across the neck if it needed it. I carefully tucked a small white cloth towel into the shirt collar which I used to wipe off the remaining lather, when I was through shaving the outline. Before using the razor, I would always give it a slap or two on the “strop” which hung from the side of the chair. Of course, I obtained the lather either with a mug and brush and hot water, or a regular hot lather making machine.
With the outline shaved and all the lather wiped off, I would apply a small amount of aftershave lotion around the ears and neck with my hands, fan it with that towel to dry it, finally, apply a bit of talc to a brush and brush the customers ears and neck and try to get as much loose hair off him as possible.
Between the smell of the smoke, the aftershave, and the talcum powder, the shop had a very unique fragrance that was very masculine, and one which is rarely experienced today.
Removing the chair cloth signaled the end of the hair cut, at which time he’d pay me. When he stepped out of the chair, he felt good!
Haircuts were $1.50 at that time, and I recieved a 75% commission. One was very lucky to give 30 haircuts in a day’s time, usually on a Saturday in most shops, with the weekdays maybe 10 and sometimes less. At this particular location, though, we had an edge. The University of Oklahoma had an ROTC program that all male students, unless exempt, were required to take. It also required an inspection every Tuesday so all the guys in ROTC would come in on Tuesday and get a haircut for drill. That made it seem like having 2 Saturdays, very unusual in the barber business.
I had some nice times there and even met some celebrities, believe it or not. That was in the time of Chuck Fairbanks, head football coach for OU, who came in every other Thursday evening and I’d cut his hair. He was one of the very few who didn’t want to talk about football. As a matter of fact, he didn’t talk about much at all, but he was a nice guy.
I also met Jayne Jayroe, who was Miss America in, I believe, 1967, She brought her husband’s combat boots into the shop to get shined for his ROTC drill inspection.
I also almost met another celebrity one day. He’d been raised there in Norman and was good friends with Jack, my boss. I’d stepped down the sidewalk to a drugstore for a cup of coffee one afternoon and when I got back, Jack told me that James Garner had stuck his head in the back door and said “Hi”. I just missed him by about 5 minutes!
The long hair movement brought about by the hippies changed the barber business and even the men who were not “hippies” per se, could let their hair grow for a month or more, as opposed to getting it cut every week. That, in itself, cut the barber businss by more than half. I eventually got out of that profession and moved to other things that paid better.
The years have sped by since the mid ’60s and I’ve seen many changes in the world–some good and some bad, but I’ll never forget working at Norman on Campus Corner!
I’ve been going to the same Barber all my life and would never think of going to a salon. If you’re ever in the NW GA area, stop by the Tunnel Hill Barber Shop, which is ran by 2 brothers (Claude & Raymond). Besides getting a great haircut for $7, you’ll also get a chance to catch up on politics, sports, and even trade pocket knives!
Great blog!
Grandpa Beardsley, my dad, uncle, cousin, brother, myself, sister, 2 brother-in-laws, my son, and 3 nephews are Barbers! We have 6 shops across America, my son and I work in my shop in the Chicago area. I don’t think there is a better place to get a haircut or shave than at a barber shop! (especially one of ours!)
We offer old fashion services in most of our shops, including specializing in Flat-tops, Fades, and Hot Lather Shaves.
I have old porcelain barber chairs in my shop – AWESOME CHAIRS! I had ordered new barber chairs for another shop of mine and I received five pieces of junk that you pumped up with your foot! I started looking around, and travelled as far as Detroit to buy some REAL CHAIRS! I had one from 1901, it was made from oak and metal, had to sell it to make room for something I didn’t mind using daily…now all my chairs are from around 1920 – 1930. I must say, these chairs are a pleasure to work with, and they are older than ALL my customers! (with the exception of a couple)
Concerning the comments about barbers vs cosmetologists, the difference is training and practice IMHO. When I finished barber college I went to work with my dad, and this is what I heard, ” Son, I am sick of this barber college garbage!” Dad was a perfectionist! I would be finishing a flat-top…dad would be cutting hair next to me and I would hear, ” You aren’t done with that are you?”, I would stammer around a little, and then dad woud command me, “Walk across the room, and look at it from there!”, I’d drag myself, humiliated, to the far side of the barber shop and look at my embarrassed customer…the top of his hair would be nice and flat, but, leaning hard to one side or the other, “Now get back over here and fix it!” I suffered at the hands of my ‘real teacher’ dad until I ‘graduated’ and I bought dad’s shop from him.
This is the difference in the profession today and what is was in its glory years…training. Barbers in training were required to complete nearly a year of formal school, this was tested on the state level – practical test, and a written test. Then three years of serving under a Master Barber was required. Now, the requirements consist of nine months of schooling, and then a written exam on the state level. Afterwards, $25 per year is all that is required till you die. It is little wonder that the profession has lost some of its ‘magic’.
I delve into the ‘wrong’ topics on a daily basis. Politics, religion, and sports are topics that are discussed passionately and rather forcefully! What a job! I LOVE it!
Where else can you visit with people you like (most of them) all day…and, GET PAID FOR IT?! If you would care to know more about AMERICA’S FAMILY OF BARBERS, that’s me and mine…please visit: http://www.beardsleysbarbershop.com
Long live America! …and of course, her Barbers!
Nice site. I have been a barber for 25 years and own 9 shops in the tallahassee area. My web site is http://www.renegadebarbershop.com and here you can register to win money and prizes by playing sport pick’em. We also have live video to our shops. Just say no to the salon.
Awesome site!
I have been barbering for over 20 years and own and run The Melbourne Barber Shop down here in Australia, I love my trade and mostly enjoy the many many relationships i have with my loyal clients, so many years now.
Feel free check out my web site.
http://www.melbournebarbershop.com.au
Its good to see folks want to keep the trade going for generations to come.
cheers George
hey everyone my name is joey and i have been a barber for about 10 years now… i think this was very well written and made alot of sense… the barber shop is one of the only real traditions america has left besides sports and its fading quick…. theres nothing like the barber shop we have guys that come in everyday to just talk sports of current events … its gr8 and i love it… much respect to all the barbers out there and to the guys and even the women who visit them …. peace and love..joey
I am training to be a barber for the same reasons mentioned. The “memories” I have drove trucks coast to coast, Grew up on a ranch served in iraq. I have been around the world and back. Guess what Barbering is the greatest joy i have experianced as far as work goes. I get along with older folks and love to bullshit like the next guy. Also by the way everyone clippers are our best tool and i dont cut ladies hair period. LOL except for my wife
I went to a Barber shop with my dad years ago, then my mom started taking me to places like SuperCuts. I eventually just started getting buzz cuts so my mom bought a pair of clippers and began cutting my hair. After I moved out I just cut it myself and have been for the last seven plus years. Picked up straight razor shaving last summer and I like it, but it got me thinking about the whole Barber shop thing. I plan to go get a straight shave from a real barber, for fun and comparison, and I think I might even grow my hair out a little bit to get a haircut while I’m at it. I know I haven’t been to one for probably seventeen years, but the thought of them dieing out seems depressing.
I’m a retired Navy Barber of 37 years and still cutting hair at 54 years old. I worked in a barber shop up till the first of the year when I got tired of the unsanitairy condition I was working in. I went to almost every barber shop in the city I live in and their just as dirty as the one I just left, so I went to work cutting hair in a salon, not one of my male customers complained, they love watching the girls coming and going from the tanning beds and their wifes and children are coming in also. My buisness in better then it’s ever been. I will always be a barber where ever I am.
my dad wow take me to the barbes
im a barber in nor. cal for the last 13 years.. i took over the shop from the owner who started it 1958.this is my frist time reading ur website.and i have to say u hit it on the nail!!!!! unlike the comment that Sherwin (may 20) wrote he just dosent get it . . .so i would like to thank you for this site. . .the other day the barbers who work for me ask what do i think is going to happen to the trade?now these guy have a total of over 145 years in the trade. . . .. !think of that , how many lives that these man have been part of.?so with a smile i said that we will always have a place in this great country. . .the turely and only place for a man to be just that. . . .so like we like to say at the shop “see u next time ! god willing!!!!
I think this is an excellent site..I like the rediscovering the barbershop blog..it’s true that when you go to those places like supercuts..they don’t really give what you ask for..I’ll say take it down to a half inch on the sides and an inch on top..they say ok then cut my hair the way they want..anyway great site..especially when the art of manliness is sadly under taught…
Love the article. A bit bummed though that your locator features only Judes Barbershops in Grand Rapids, MI. While the atmosphere and people are fine, its a barbershop in name only. Female service providers (as they call them) and scalp massages plus, its a franchise… ugh. In any case my quest begins to find a wicked cool old barbershop here in GR. Added to the locator as soon as i find a manly joint.
I couldn’t figure out how to add a barbershop to the locator, so…
I go to Gene’s Barbershop, located at 610 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove, California, 93950 (831-375-2335). Gene and his brother Gordy are the barbers, and they’re both old guys well past retirement age who only work mornings. That means they have decades and decades of experience. It’s a man’s hangout; I always feel a little invaded when someone’s wife is in there. Both Gene and Gordy are experienced and talented barbers, but I don’t think they have shaved anyone in ages.
If Gene’s is closed and I need a haircut now, I go to Franco’s Barber Shop, 838 Abrego Street, Monterey, CA 93940 (831-375-8571). Franco started his career in Italy during WWII, so he’s another very experienced and talented barber who does it for the love of it. I think he still offers shaves.
support your INDEPENDENT barbershop!
I think your article has some truth to it, however I believe the time you speak of is dead. Today, many men (at least younger men, by younger I mean 45 and younger) want more than just a simple Marines haircut. They want color, a style that is flexible, and the 60’s long hair for men fad is kicking in again. I highly suggest men who want a unique cut to go to a stylist, not some chain like SuperCuts but a local salon and pay the $35 to get a nice cut.
I just believe that men are starting to take a huge interest in fashion and looking their best. The rugged, over bearing, manly man phase is over, the metrosexual phase has arrived. I know for some people it sounds kinda gay what I am saying and yes I am gay but look around and notice, there are a ton of straight guys out there that work way harder at looking good than I do. This is just my POV though.
i’m a girl and i go to a barber shop for hair cut. odd? no. i so love to have a haircut from a barber than from faggot who doesn’t know how to cut hair. i also love the back massage included in every haircut.
Hmm.
“There are no waxings, facials, highlights, or appointments. Just great haircuts and great conversation.”
No facials?
“The barber first wrapped a hot towel around my face. Next, the barber massaged in a lemon based cream to clean out my pores. After that, several more hot towels were applied. By then, I was feeling nice and relaxed, on the verge of falling asleep relaxed. The barber then massaged in some cocoa butter to soften my beard…To finish it all off, I got another hot towel wrapped on my face along with a final face massage with a soothing vanishing cream”
That definately sounds like a facial to me, sweetheart. Hot towels and a face masage with lemon cream? Cocoa butter? Vanishing cream? Silly man!
Not exactly accurate. What did happen to the barber shops in was the fact that many barbers did not bother to learn the new hairstyles. They didn’t keep up with the fashion or trends. Yes barbers know how to cut men’s hair but only one way.
So, I did go to the unisex places to get my hair cut and they listened and cut it exactly how I wanted it.
Now I got to a barber shop simply because it is cheaper and I just get a buzz.
The main difference between barbers and hair stylists is that barbers are licensed to use a razor. Stylists cannot put a razor to the skin. A stylist can never give you a shave or clean up the hairline using a razor.
Today I end up visitng a local BarberShop in my Neighbor Hood,he has been in business for 18 years here and when I walked in it was sort of sad.I was the only person there.I told him what i wanted I sat down right away.We bullshitted for a while I fixed his TV since he was on rabbit ears and had no clue on how to use that damn converter box..
I too have been guilty of going to the great clips and Super Cuts.During my High school years I only went to a barber but he was an old man and passed away so i stopped going.I was stubborn and only wanted to use that One barber.
As soon as that hot Lather hit the back of my neck and my ears I remembered Why i went to a barbershop.I will make sure I go back on a regular basis.If he was open sunday i would go back for a shave.
I’ve gone to one my whole life. I’ve been cut a few times by stylists but the cuts always looked funky. My barber always makes sure that he’s done what I want him to do before I get out of the chair. Straight razors, the scents from the creams and balms, and interesting conversations are just a few of the things I would greatly miss by not going to a barber shop.
I followed your advice and went to a barbershop. Jesus, were you right! See , I sport a low rockabilly pomp, quite retro-like, and I was tired of crappy cuts performed by young “cosmetologists”. As you said, most times the cut was crap, and the rare times when it wasn’t, one week later it turned out horrible.
Indeed, the barber did an amazing job and I’ve had quite possibly the best cut in many, many years. What I’m amazed is the legion of details that you wrote that I came to identify as the session went on: the old comfortable chairs with ashtrays incorporated to the amr rests, the thousand different bottles and containers, the scent…
And the most amazing thing is: it was all so true despite the fact I live in Spain! Now I’m always going to barbers and recommend it to all my friends. Congratulations and thanx!
Not to purposely ruin the feeling of “manliness” here in regards to the nostalgia of
the barber shop but personally I’d rather be in a roomful of women whilst one of them ( preferably the large breasted hair professional) leans me back (face up) into the hairwashing sink and proceeds to massage my scalp with warm water and lovely smelling shampoo. Ocassionally leaning close enough to cut off my air supply and yet providing comfort. I don’t think “Gus the barber” would do well at this stage of the hair cutting process ( unless you like to feel manly by going to the guy trained to cut a “man’s” hair. After “she” washes my hair she puts a warm moist towel over my face ( I guess so I don’t go into shock from the breasts leaving to quickly ) . She then proceeds to cut my hair and run her fingers through it tugging gently and cutting sections. Every now and then she leans in close and something soft touches my ear or my elbow and I smell perfume. By this time I don’t care how I look when it’s all over ( And IF I’m wearing my hair short LIKE A MAN it can’t be screwed up anyway!) . My hair cutting professional LADY doesn’t have to be a young sweet thing; she may be 40 something or 60 something but the experience is well worth the $50.00 and tip. THAT, is manly fellas!
Absolutely. As a young man, I absolutely appreciate a real barbershop.
I got my haircuts from a “SuperCuts” type place as a young teenager, and they were _terrible_! Most of those stylists couldn’t manage a decent cut even if I told them how I wanted it (2-3″ at the top, squared off in back, no sideburns).
I now go to the same barber that almost all the men in my family have used, and I’ve never once had a bad cut. Sit down, tell him what I want, and 10-15 minutes later, it’s perfect.
Not to purposely ruin the feeling of “manliness” here in regards to the nostalgia of
the barber shop but personally I’d rather be in a roomful of women whilst one of them ( preferably the large breasted hair professional) leans me back (face up) into the hairwashing sink and proceeds to massage my scalp with warm water and lovely smelling shampoo. Ocassionally leaning close enough to cut off my air supply and yet providing comfort. I don’t think “Gus the barber” would do well at this stage of the hair cutting process ( unless you like to feel manly by going to the guy trained to cut a “man’s” hair. After “she” washes my hair she puts a warm moist towel over my face ( I guess so I don’t go into shock from the breasts leaving to quickly ) . She then proceeds to cut my hair and run her fingers through it tugging gently and cutting sections. Every now and then she leans in close and something soft touches my ear or my elbow and I smell perfume. By this time I don’t care how I look when it’s all over ( And IF I’m wearing my hair short LIKE A MAN it can’t be screwed up anyway!) . My hair cutting professional LADY doesn’t have to be a young sweet thing; she may be 40 something or 60 something but the experience is well worth the $50.00 and tip. THAT, is manly fellas!
I can certainly appreciate the environment of a barbershop, nothing like sitting with the guys and being able to speak your mind. I used to visit one before I relocated to another city, but now I can’t seem to locate one that gives a decent cut… perhaps it’s a matter of skill not being picked up by the younger barbers, but many times I’ll leave with a helluva painful rash on my neck at the hairline – seems like they’re ham-fisted when it comes to the trimmers, or maybe the trimmers aren’t clean..? The women that cut my hair seem to do a better job, and I don’t mind seeing some of the cute gals at the place I go to
I was raised in Cleveland Ohio by a southern mother and father. My mother never set foot in a barbershop, she was brought up to believe that it was “not done” for a lady to enter a barbershop, she might hear words that a lady should not hear. My father took me to a local shop and it was great. I am lucky to find a real shop near me. It has the smells, the barber is a 70 year old guy from Italy, he plays opera. It has the old orange leather and chrome chairs and beat up tile floor. I have been going for five years and have never seen a woman in the shop, A great place to be.
Read Bob Abuie’s article… ya fruitcakes!
I think your article has some truth to it, however I believe the time you speak of is dead. Today, many men (at least younger men, by younger I mean 45 and younger) want more than just a simple Marines haircut. They want color, a style that is flexible, and the 60’s long hair for men fad is kicking in again. I highly suggest men who want a unique cut to go to a stylist, not some chain like SuperCuts but a local salon and pay the $35 to get a nice cut.
When I was a kid I used to always love to get a haircut. The main reason why is because the barber’s buzzers always used to tickle my neck. It used to feel good. How come they do not tickle anymore? I even bought my own timmer. When I trim my neck it hurts.
I was concerned if other men may do this. I know it sounds wierd, but I have a hairy neck that when I get a haircut, after a few days when the neck hairs grow in just a little, i rub my thumb up my neck and the neck hairs tickles under my thumbnail and it actually feels good and soothing. To do this though I have to keep my thumbnails a little long to guide the neck hairs in. Does anyone else do this, or am i the only wierd one? It looks retarded at first but it feels good
The barber shop is great but it’s hard to get a good haircut there anymore; its usually some middle aged or older guy who pulls out the clippers and the next thing you know you’re in the marines with a high and tight; most of the unisex salons are awful with women who seem clueless, badly trained and pissed to be dealing with a man;
“Allowing another man to hold a razor to your neck is a good way to remind yourself that you’re alive… When I stepped out of the shop, I felt like a new man, ready to take on the world…. When you walk out of the barber shop with a sharp haircut, you can’t help but feel a bit of manly swagger creep into your step.”
You’re not kidding! I went to my usual barber shop – Cal Bloom’s Barber Shoppe, in Westminster, MD – for a pre-new-job haircut, and having just read this and a few related articles, decided to ask Cal for a straight-razor shave: my first ever, in 43, almost 44 years of life. I walked out of there feeling good, with a definite spring in my step! This may have been my first “real” shave, but it won’t be my last.
I remember my first visits to a real barber, in the sleepy town of Campbell, Ca. It was the 70’s and things seemed easier and seamless, and oddly enough innocent. Of course, this perspective is of a pre-adolescent precocious boy, living in a predominately white middle class neighborhood. Though we were Sephardic Jews, and people couldn’t tell if we were ‘”Mexican”, Greek, or Iranian. We were treated with dignity for the most part, especially when we clarified that we were not “Mexican”.
The Sephardim:
Sepharadim, are Jews who lived in Spain for hundreds of years under Islamic rule prior to the discovery of what eventually would be called America. The culture of what was to be called Andalusian Islam, helped to promote religious humanism along with peaceful ethnic interaction with (Christians, Jews and Moslem’s) of which the world since has hardly known. The Andalucian Jews in particular, are recognized by scholars of that period, as being instrumental in translating works of great importance which helped in the development of European culture emerge from the dark ages. Our lingua franca, is Spanish with an admixture of Hebrew and Arabic, known as Ladino, but to the untrained ears and culturally ignorant it sounds like “Mexican”. (a language class of its own)
A note about the Spanish Language:
The Spanish language prior to the 1950’s or the mass immigration of Mexican working class families in California, was a regal language that at one time had the same status that English enjoys today. Somehow, the Spanish language fell into disgrace in North America, and it became associated with an “dirty immigrant” language by which common gardeners communicate with each other. My proud mother never let go of her heritage and her devotion to the Ladino language, much to my chagrin and embarrassment. As you can imagine, for a boy wanting to “fit in” the seventies in California, those sunny days were wrought with with a quiet prejudice associating anyone who could be considered “Mexican”, by default with all those who communicated in Spanish with their families. In retrospect, I have embraced my mother tongue pridefully, and have worked out my indifference to it, a stigma no doubt I developed while growing up in sleepy, California.
The local Barber shop:
Although I don’t remember my first haircut, a relish my first haircut in Campbell. It was a little shop located by the Winchester Hardware Store, another place that I enjoyed going to with my pop. He dropped me off at the barbers while he went shopping at the hardware store. I was left there for my first time facing what seemed to me a bear of a man, wearing what I could Identify was a “crew cut”. I knew the type of haircut because I was a devoted follower of, Gomer Pyle, USMC and his haircut was just like Sgt Carter’s, Gomer’s arch nemesis.
That type of haircut was what I desired, in my young mind it was sharp, but my parents talked me out of it, and I went with a less aggressive looking cut. In the end, years later, I won that fashion battle, as I ended up enlisting in the Marines, and I got my wish to have a very cool looking crew cut. I guess Gomer Pyle USMC made an indelible impression on my childhood.
The shop itself as I remembered was decorated banally, with an amalgamation of military knick knacks, pin up girls, and licence plates. It smelled like most typical barber shops, a mixture of baby powder, cheap after shave, and before it became uncool, cigarette smoke, yet I loved it there. For one, I was allowed to read the playboy magazines, as we all know we don’t really read them, and that was a rite of passage for any young precocious boy. The other treat, was the war stories that the men shared with each other. Typically the shop attracted the some young men who had fought in Vietnam, and I felt lucky sitting in on some of the conversations, that these men shared with each other. For a young boy who watched Gomer Pyle and played soldiers, it was fascinating being there listening to these stories while getting a good haircut.
That was my barber shop growing up in the 70’s it was a place were I was introduced to some of the puzzles of manhood, while walking out looking good.
Since then, I have had a fascination with barber shops but because of my busy lifestyle and constant moving, I have not had the privileged of finding one that captures the “feel” of that one barber shop on Winchester Avenue…Although I’m still searching for one, this time not only for myself, but for my four boys.
Samuel de Lemos
I used to go to a barbershop like many as a child but found my local barber only had about three haircuts. When you get to be around 18, the “number 2’s” don’t quite cut it as far as an actual style goes. People went to Unisex places as I have now because of my point earlier, old school barbers don’t evolve. If you get a bad haircut and complain, you are viewed as a queer or sissy. I would love to have a competent barber cut my hair and not take 8.5 minutes. I may search for one in town again after reading this article. I hate to see them go but not at the cost of looking like the last 20 guys that went before you…
I used to go to a barber shop when I lived in Baltimore – (the Beatnik Barber Shop). I loved it! Not only did they serve coffee there, but they would also use a straight razor to shave your neck hair. It’s one of the things I miss about living there.
There is something nostalgic about barber shops. I think of the age on innocence and is a way to go back into the past. It is more personal
My name is Justin Yahara and I just opened my own barbershop in central Jersey. The name of the shop is Swagger. I have a great bunch of guy who are great barbers. Were young and energetic and look forward to servicing anyone who may come our way. We are your family/neighborhood barbershop. We support our local sports teams and the rest of our community. We do the best flatop in the land along with fades, high and tights, tape up’s, and plain regular cuts. You bring the hair and we cut it! We use the straigt razor. We take care of our customers. Let us earn your business.
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