About 10 years ago, I was living in a neighbourhood with a 50%-50% black-white population.
The local barber shop was staffed by two barbers, one would only do haircuts on whites and the other only on blacks (the barbers themselves were both whites IIRC).
Since it was the only barber shop in the region, it was always busy. During the time I spent in the waiting room I made two observations:
Haircuts for black people were taking way too much time. By the time the “white” barber had finished 3 customers, the “black” barber was still doing his first. And I am not talking about stuff like cornrows, which are indeed intricate and time consuming, just a simple haircut.
I couldn’t understand what the “black” barber was doing. Most of the blacks had already really short hair, a buzz cut. Then the barber would snip a tiny bit here with the scissors, then another tiny bit there with the clippers, then again a tiny bit with the scissors, etc. When the haircut was over, the hair length and style wasn’t any different than before, at least in my eyes.
A serious and non-critical question: have you had black friends/acquaintances that you’ve been around for a while where it was apparent to you when they’d gotten a haircut?
I have lived all my life in a country where the number of blacks are practically zero, so no, I never had any relations with them. The aforementioned barber-shop was in the UK, where I lived for 3 years as a student.
I ask because I tend to notice right away when someone else black has had a haircut. And yet, I have always had SEVERE difficulty telling when someone with caucasian-styled hair has done something different. (This used to be quite a sore point with my ex-wife, who was caucasian, until she realized one day that I had this problem with everyone because I failed to notice that her sister had chopped off 10-inches.)
I know that when I used to go to a barber in my youth, the cuts seemed to take a really long time, too. I don’t know that I’ve ever watched someone with hair unlike mine get cut, so I don’t have any sense of the difference in time. But I’m making a semi-educated guess, based on the difference between our observations, that barbers working on black hair are doing things that are on a much more intricate scale, and that are actually noticeable to people who are used to looking at that style of hair.
When I cut my own hair (which I do all the time now), it only takes 10 minutes or so. But I have never been able to get it to look neat in the way my barber used to.
Is it perhaps akin to the difference between mowing the lawn (a white guy’s hair) and trimming up a topiary (a black guy’s hair)? There’s a lot more square feet to a lawn but a lot more noticeable detail in a topiary.
I go to a local barber shop that does both black hair and white hair. The last time I went there, it didn’t seem like the barber took any longer with either group.
Asimovian sums this up pretty nicely but I thought I would add a few things.
Black men tend to “edge” their hairline when they get it cut. That means that the barber will go around and clean up my hairline to make it sharp and even all the way around. It just gives a nice clean look to the haircut and makes it very clear where your hairline starts and stops. This process tends to take just as long as the actual process of cutting my hair.
When I cut my hair at home it only takes 10 minutes because I usually will not sit down and clean all of my edges. I generally save that for days when I am actually going out somewhere nice or for special occasions. Edging my hair can take a while because I am trying to be careful and I do not have as much experience as a barber. For picture events, (weddings, birthdays, awards, etc) I usually just go to the barber to get my haircut.
I have never had the patience to try to learn to edge properly myself. If I need something that looks that good, I would definitely have to find a barber. Come to think of it, maybe this thread will be my inspiration, since I haven’t had a “real” haircut in years.
Granted I am neither a barber nor of African descent, but I happen to work next door to a barber shop serving a wide range of ethnicites as well as having had friends of various backgrounds in my life. These observations are purely anecdotal, but some of them might account for differences in complexity/length of time to barber. Please note all of these are very general and there are plenty of exceptions.
As previously noted, black hairstyles tend to be more “sculptural”, and that applies to both genders. This is a difference between straight haired people and those with curly hair as well. Different techniques are required to shape hair of different textures and curliness, and it’s my totally casual observation that the more curly the hair the more time it takes on average.
Black people seem much more concerned with having a sharp edge to their hairlines, as also already noted. As also noted, precise edging can take some extra time. I have known people of other races who have had their hairlines edged for special occasions, and they, too, take a little more time. It’s just that black people seem to want this much more frequently. I’m guessing it’s a cultural thing.
Black people seem to favor shorter hairstyles where an extra half-inch in length is very noticeable, so they’ll go back more frequently for careful trimming to precise length. People of other races are more likely to select a hairstyle where that extra half inch/inch/inch and a half alters the look much less.
When I’ve seen white and Asian kids opt for the more sculptural and “black” hairstyles (short lengths with patterns/words cut into them, short styles with very precise edging, etc.) it takes the barbers just as long to do their hair as with the black kids.
Black men seem more likely to receive hair treatments involving “relaxing” or otherwise altering the hair’s texture/curl than do men of other groups. Adding these of course means additional time, but this seems less a factor than it used to be due to changing styles.
The barber shop serves a slightly different role in the black community, at least in America, than it does for other ethnicities. Actually, it somewhat reminds me of the old “beauty parlor” socializing done by women. So some of the extra time for the black people might be due to more socializing on their part.
I’ve also seen black people who opt for a “natural” type of hair without extensive shaping/edging get in and out of the barber chair as quick as anyone of a different color.
As an African American with African American hair, I’m usually in and out in no-time flat because I just get a quick shave all over (high and tight. Zero on the sides, one on top).
But like an above poster said, what takes time is edging. I had a really good barber in Santa Barbara who’d edge my hair with a straight razor. That took quite a bit of time.
I used to go to a black barbershop with my ex all the time and it didn’t take much time at all. That’s coming from the most impatient person in the world.
Shaved my buddy’s head the other day, he has that kind of hair. I have shaved my own head for twenty years or so, I have the clippers down. Spock’s hair took thirty minutes, density, curls and shaping were all very difficult, surprising difficult.
On the one hand, people of African ancestry in Britain - West Indian immigrants, African immigrants, and British born people descended from both communities as well as the white British population.
On the other hand, black Americans. Distinct history and culture, entirely American, and unique to themselves. So talking about what goes on here in the States may or may not have much to do with what goes on in Britain.
Why do white people have a siesta in the middle of the day? Well, “white people” don’t, necessarily. Spaniards do. What Spaniards do may or may not tell you anything about what Poles do.
Why do white people think eating well and taking lots of vacation are such important parts of life? Well, “white people” don’t. Frenchman do. Russians and Australians don’t relate to food in the same way. White Americans don’t take nearly as much vacation.
So am I out of the ordinary here to say I have never noticed when a black man has had a haircut? (Women, yes, when they change it drastically.) My understanding is that’s because the black men of my acquaintance go, like, once a week and it’s a bonding experience - for example, one guy takes his son and they go every Friday. Dudes always look the same.
I was kind of praying you’d start that out with, " As an African American with thick straight Scandanavian blonde hair, I don’t understand your point. "
My childhood best friend’s dad was/ is a haircutter. No clue how many African American clients he’s got, but childhood best friend had tightly curled white boy hair. Took his dad a looooooonger time to cut his hair than it did to cut mine. ( Poker straight thick white boy hair ). There are now salons dedicated to curly hair. ( I assume it’s white folks curly hair ).
Hey, were I sporting A.A. hair, I’d head to Harlem or Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn. Find the best haircutter known for fine work on my kinda hair.
I think you’re pretty normal. People in my office don’t usually notice unless I’ve gone over two months in between cuts, which is rare. I usually do it about once a month. It’s not very dramatic.
I must admit, though, that I’ve never had a barbershop bonding experience. This may explain everything that is wrong with my life.
