======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====
A few weeks ago, I made a lifestyle change involving a new hairstyle. The previous seven years of my life, I went simple and clean with a 1-1/2 blade all the way around. I was a fan of the low maintenance involved with such a haircut because for the first two weeks I could roll out of bed with zero bedhead. The new style involves a bit more tending to but thus far, I am really enjoying the new look. My barber has installed a new confidence in me. I say all of this because when it came up in conversation, I’ve discovered some friends near and dear to my heart have yet to experience the finer things in life am actual barber has to offer. These poor schmucks are still getting groomed at big-name hair salons every three to four weeks. They know not the special bond between a man and his barber.
Haircuts can be a pain in the ass. You walk in, try to explain what you want, the stylist tries to interpret your gibberish, and then you fake a smile and lie to them when they ask if you like it. I’ve been there before. My work involves some level of traveling so occasionally, I have to bite the bullet and get a haircut from some stranger. With my barber, Kate, the results are consistent. She has been cutting my hair for over four years now. Ever since my wife and I moved to our first apartment, I’ve been visiting her. I’ve followed her through three different salons across that time period. Each time I go to see her, I know I am getting quality service. Walking into some of these larger chains, you never know who you’re going to get. As you establish a working relationship with a barber, you put more trust in them to know what you like so if you switch up styles, you know they are going to take care of you and make you look fresh.
“Awkward” is the one word I would use to describe the haircut experience to someone from another planet. We’ve all had awkward small talk before, but when you are sitting there getting your haircut, any awkwardness is magnified ten-fold. You are completely immobilized as a stranger operates sharp tools around your neck, face, and head. That sounds like a horror movie. When you are visiting the same person every few weeks, you get to know each other. There are no more introductions, small talk, and long silences. You pick up right where you left off. The conversation goes from “So, what do you do for work?” to “How is work going? I remember you telling me it was slow for a while there.” Or “Oh you’re married? Do you have any kids?” to “What are you and Mrs. Cush doing for the holidays? My boss is shutting the shop down for a few extra days around Christmas, so Nate and I are headed to Vermont to visit my parents!” It becomes a working relationship and you catch up on one another’s lives every visit.
People often go to the bigger places because of the price. Sure, the basic services are cheaper on paper, but you get what you pay for. If I want a shampoo, that’s an extra $5 bucks. If I want my eyebrows cleaned up, that’s extra as well. After is all is said and done, an actual barber is not that much more expensive, and I am getting a hell of a lot more out of it. The latest trend at barber shops is to provide booze complimentary with your haircut. I’m not sure what sparked this but it seems like everywhere is doing it now. For $30, I am getting a cut, shampoo, scalp massage, eyebrows trimmed, a warm towel finish, and two fingers of scotch to sip on during my haircut. I’ve yet to come across a location where the big guys are handing out liquor with your $18 haircut. Licensed barbers can also use straight razors, and there is no substitute for that feeling of clean necklines completely free of hair.
Guys get a lot of slack for not taking care of themselves, and rightfully so. We eat a lot and drink even more. Physique issues aside, the least we can do is be well groomed. But apparently, a lot of you are still out there getting bargain haircuts. It’s time to grow up. Do yourself a favor and start going steady with a barber — you won’t regret it. .
Respond
@207Cush
Women come and go, but I’ve been at the same barber for the past 7 years.
I used the same barber for the first 24 years of my life prior to moving states twice in the last 2 years. I have been through roughly 10 different barbers/shops since then and can’t find one I like. It’s always a joy when I go back home twice a year to visit my barber and get a nice clean cut once again.
Heard that. Having hell in my new town finding someone who won’t butcher my hair.
Moved back to my hometown and not much beats being in the chair of your childhood barber.
I’ve seen this take in a number of publications and I don’t disagree. But in DC, a cut at a specialty place is $70+ before tip. The place I go to looks and feels like just a step above Supercuts, but the crew is good, it includes a straight razor on neck and hot towel massage finish, and costs $25 before tip. I’d take a shampoo and booze for a little more though!
Same Father/Daughter barber shop for 30 years. The daughter cut my hair as a youth, now the dad (grandma’s 2nd cousin) cuts my hair as an adult. The dad worked at my great-grandfather’s butcher shop, it’s a family affair and it’s a game changer.
Bold move letting a teenage girl cut your hair.
Maybe my grammar sucked, but I WAS the youth, she was in her 30s
Tried going to a new barber when I moved to my new city. He JACKED my hair up…I mean really badly. I’m too scared to find a new barber so I just buzz my own head now.
How did he fuck up a buzz cut
Didn’t have a buzz cut at the time
you have hair plugs
for reference, the comment I replied to was deleted…..
Felt betrayed after my steady barber left to travel the world for a year. Don’t have it in me to start from square one again.
Any Chicagoans have recommendations? My steady barber moved to a Flyod’s 99 in a not convenient location and their prices recently raised so I’m looking to reevaluate
I had been going to the same guy for four years. The shop opened up a location closer to his house but like 15 further away from me. I foolishly tried other places closer to home for a couple months. Needless to say I’m making the trip out to my guy again. If you have a beard you’re trying to keep clean, finding the right barber is an absolute must. Otherwise you end up with your neckline way too high, you have to shave and then you girlfriend yells at you. Or maybe that’s just me.