At the barbershop today to get my thrice-annual “alright, I’m getting too shaggy, time to get this buzzed off” cut. I’ve nevwr bothered much with my hair, and I’ve been getting it cut the same way since I was 13 - I get it buzzed with a #3, let it grow until it starts to bother me, and then get it buzzed again. There was a bit of a wait today, so I had time to ponder something I’ve never thought much about.
Since my needs are simple, I usually go to quick, iinexpensive, no-frills ndependently owned barbershops that are staffed either by ex-military types or older Asian women. I’ve been to many such a barber, in multiple states, and there’s one commonality to all of them - the posters. Imvariably there are one or more posters (the shop I went to today ahd four) that are labeled something like “The Barber’s Hairstyle Guide”, and feature several dozen pictures of almost exclusively black men with various short and long styles. The posters are always visibly dated, and judging from the hairstyles in them and the clothes the men are wearing, look like they probably haven’t been updated since 1990 or so.
Where do these posters come from, and to what extent do people actually refer to them? As a white guy, I’m vaguely aware that black hair needs to be treated differently than white hair because of how it grows out, but I can’t say any more than that. If I were African-American and sat down and told the barber “Give me a #17”, would that be all they’d need to know? Do people even use those posters at all? Do white guys ever use them as well? If people actually use them, why do they seem so out-of-date?
[Moderating]
There was some question of what forum this should go in. I think I’m going to rule that hair styles count as an art form, and so it can stay here in CS.
When I was a kid (probably 11 or 12), there was a traditional barbershop across the street from the hardware store that my parents owned.
I remember my dad taking me over there to get my hair cut once or twice; one of the barbers there was deaf, and he had a bunch of old, worn, laminated cards (about 8" x 10") with a range of “white guy” hairstyles, for my dad and me to look through, and pick a style. They might have been numbered (I don’t remember), but what I do remember is, that by 1976 standards, those styles were probably a decade out of date.
I’m sure some people use them - but I’ve seen similar posters/books/magazines everywhere I have ever had my hair cut. Not all the photos are black men and half or so are women. I’m guessing that this might be unusual in a barbershop - but are you sure it’s barbershops you are going to and not hairstylists?
Quite. The places I go to pretty much exclusively serve men and boys, charge a flat rate for a cut (usually there’s an extra charge for flattops), don’t do dying or perms or shaves or anything else as far as I know, and I’ve never seen a poster with women’s styles in them, and if any of them have had posters of white guys (or any other race for that matter) I can’t recall them. The only women I see there are moms escorting their kid and the barbers themselves (who, like I said, are mostly elderly Korean women around here for reasons not clear to myself).
Vaguely related: most manicurists I’ve encountered in my area are Asian immigrants (most commonly Vietnamese or Korean, so far as I know). Wonder if those are easier fields for someone with limited English living in the US to find work in?
I asked the Filipino lady at my nail salon. She said it’s an easy business to get into if you have the skills. She spoke perfect English.
Also, the Beauty supply stores here are often ran by immigrants.
I suspect the barber/cosmetology shops are a lot harder. You have to be licensed in Arkansas.
I’m White, and I get my hair cut about once every three weeks. I currently go to an Asian-staffed barber shop, whose customers are of all races. The long-timers know how I get it cut. For new barbers, I point to “number 14” on the poster. They always get it right.
The barbers in Iraq were the most skilled I’ve ever encountered. I would point to a template, and they would cut my hair perfectly in less time than anyone else ever has. It may have helped that most of us got it cut similarly.
FWIW, Egyptian author Sayyid Qutb came to America briefly in the 1940s, and left disillusioned. Among his many complaints: “incompetent barbers”.
This sounds to me like a salesman came by at some point with free posters and the shop took them and put them up. I’ve always felt like the books full of styles at the salons I’ve been to have been given to the salon as freebies either in a salesperson visit or at a trade show visited by the owner and/or the stylists who work there. I know my stylist goes to trade shows to check out new products.
“Had my hair cut today. Reminded me of the day I visited the barber in Masindi, Uganda, whilst making The Hemingway Adventure. Not only did I get a trim, I had a hairstyle named after me. So, if you’re ever in Masindi and want to look like Colonel Gaddafi (or Michael Palin), try a Number 8.”
In Toronto, I’ve seen one Chinese barber shop with pictures of Asian men’s haircuts and one hairdresser with pictures of non-Black men’s and women’s haircuts. All the other places I’ve seen didn’t have any pictures like that.
I suspect this is just traditional, a matter of cultural influence and replicating local practices, because I’ve noticed it’s not as prevalent over here in Europe.
At the hair shop where I regularly go close to my house in Luxembourg, the walls are all mirrored. Above the mirrors are pictures of people with styled hair, but they’re all “glamour” type shots, not practical everyday cuts and not numbered or labeled for reference. They’re just decorative.
The last time I got my hair cut at a barber shop in Paris, the artwork was all architectural, pictures of buildings and such. And I remember a barber shop in London where the framed pictures were of motorcycles. They did have reference pictures of hairstyles, but they were in bound books.
So the described decor could be as simple as “we have the pictures because everybody has the pictures and it seems to be expected.” Like one of those “make a restaurant” kits for Chinese eateries.
I guess any pictures might be to show off the stylist’s portfolio, not that you as a customer would want an exact clone of someone else’s style or a textbook reference haircut. Though I suppose if you did ask for textbook haircut #17, the customer is always right. Don’t forget to tip the shampooer…
