How to communicate with your barber.

A man’s hair is an important part of his identity. Getting the right cut for you can boost your confidence and make you feel ready to take on the world.

When it comes to making sure the cut you receive is in harmony with what you want, it’s important to be able to communicate effectively with your barber.

Whether you’re looking to try a new style, or you’re visiting a barber who has never cut your hair before, to avoid disappointment it’s a good idea to have a strong notion of what you’d like.

Your barber wants to do what is going to make you happy and the best way to make sure that happens is to express that effectively. To help your barber do the finest job possible.

To ensure you leave the barbershop feeling like the best version of you, here are some tips on effective barbershop communication.

Be prepared

Your barber is likely to ask you about your hair-care routine, what products you use (if any), whether you blow-dry, towel dry or allow your hair to dry naturally, what sort of comb or brush you use… they might even ask about your lifestyle and occupation. This is all to help your barber understand what sort of cut and treatment your hair requires. There’s no use your barber creating a look for you that you’re never going to bother - or be able - to replicate. Be prepared to answer some questions about your hair, your routine and what works best for you day-to day to help your barber give you a cut that’s going to work for you and your lifestyle.

Bring a picture

Accurately communicating the look you want using only words can be difficult even for the most eloquent among us. Before your appointment with your barber, find pictures that demonstrate the sort of cut you want. This can be one single picture that fully represents your desired look, or a few different images that highlight individual features, for example one that shows how long you want your sideburns, another that illustrates your ideal parting. Your barber will be able to understand what you’re going for and translate it to your own hair.

A tip: when choosing a picture, try to find a model that shares your face shape and hair type. Requesting a cut that looks great on someone with fine, straight hair might not be possible if you have voluminous, curly hair and similarly the sideburns that look perfect on a long-faced model might not look quite so good on a rounder face. Of course, your barber will voice any doubts they have about the suitability of your chosen looks, but you can save time and awkwardness if you arrive having thought about this in advance.

Avoid Jargon

It can be tempting to try to describe how you want your hair using words you’ve heard barbers use in the past. However, it’s worth noting that one barber can have a very different understanding of the meaning of a certain term compared to the next barber. While your previous barber may have described your usual cut in one way, your next barber might not interpret that description in the same way, and you risk leaving the barbershop with a very different look to the one you’d envisioned. Try instead to talk about how you want your hair to feel. If you want lots of movement in your hair, or you want it to be smart and tight, don’t be afraid to express that. Don’t worry about sounding inexperienced or unclear, if your barber is unsure they’ll ask, and they’d rather you took the time to explain fully than end up with a cut you’re unhappy with.

Be Specific

Another way in which communication lines can become crossed while in the barber’s chair is by using vague words like ‘long’ and ‘short’. Saying you want your hair to be long on top can mean very different things to different barbers. Try to be specific about exactly how much you want taken off. ‘I want a couple of centimetres taken off the top’ is far more clear and lets the barber know exactly what you want. If you’re not sure exactly how much you want taken off, tell your barber that. Then they can shorten your hair incrementally and ask you to signal when you’re happy with the length.

Be honest

As already stated, your barber wants you leave their shop feeling happy and confident, and the best way to ensure that happens is to be honest about your hair. Any cowlicks, whorls, unruly curls or unusual things your hair has been known to do at certain lengths is all valuable information for your barber. Tell them about any thinning or balding you’d like to disguise, or anything you really don’t want them to do to your hair. The more your barber knows, the better equipped they are to make your chosen style work with your hair type and avoid highlighting anything you really don’t want the world to see.

Trust your barber

If your barber expresses any doubts or offers any advice about the style you’ve asked for, a good tip is to pay attention. Your barber is a professional and has seen a lot of different cuts on a lot of different heads. A good barber will be able to tell if a style isn’t going to work in the way you’re envisaging with your particular hair type, and will more often than not be able to advise on an alternative cut that will achieve a similar look but works better with your face shape. Trust your barber.

Relax

As long as you’ve explained what you want as fully as you can, whether that’s through pictures, precise lengths, or a description of how you want it to feel, your barber can get on with making sure your hair turns out how you want it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions throughout and get ready to enjoy feeling like a new person at the end of it. At Mario Costantinou - Barbers of Cheltenham, we understand how tricky it can be to express exactly how you want your hair to be cut. Our barbers are experts in hair and do everything in their power to ensure your cut is everything you hoped it would be and your experience is relaxing. For the full barbershop experience, book an appointment today here

To book your next (or first) hair appointment at barbers of cheltenham get in touch with us on:

Cheltenham  07970195002

Or book online plus you can keep up to date with all our special offers and barbers of cheltenham news by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The Difference Between Barbers and Hairdressing.

Is this age-old question as simple as breaking into a binary. Men go to barbers and women go to hairdressers, or is there more to the story than meets the untrained eye? 

At Barbers of Cheltenham we pride ourselves on a rich heritage. One where barbers are recognised as barbers and where barbershops bring signature style to the gentlemanly way of life. We aren’t splitting hairs, here are the reasons why barbering and hairdressing are different.

A HINT OF HISTORY.

Unravel the etymology behind the word barbering and you see a wealth of history and weight. The term barber comes from the Latin ‘Barba’ which roughly translates to ‘beard’. While this may seem a simple and straight forward translation, trace your finger back through the ages and barbers have played an integral role in tribal history.

In a time when ancient tribes were shaken by the belief of good and bad spirits, the Barber was the original medicine man – the community leader. In roman times the barbershop was a place of status as only the barbarians would sport beards. Barbers were also considered high-society surgeons; covering everything from fire cupping to neck manipulation.

The history of hairdressing comes later; with the word first appearing in Europe’s 17th century when the towering bouffant of wealthy ladies needed to be teased and tamed and held in place. Hairdressing is a response to crafting trends in society, whereas barbering is arguably the very foundation for building a society.

SOFT STYLE OR SHARP CUT.

Today, people often assume that hairdressers occupy a more feminine space whereas barbers hold court in a male environment. This can be true as hairdressers tend to bring softer styles to the table – words like feathering, layering, highlighting, and teasing all come into play.

Compare this to the hair-centric words used in modern barbering – cut, clip, buzz and it’s easy to see that barbering is more synonymous with a sharp masculine look.

TRENDING OR TIMELESS SKILL.

That’s not to say that barbering takes a heavy-handed approach; in fact, barbering has long been considered one of society’s most important skillsets. We almost lost the lilt of barbering a few decades ago as unisex salons started to crop up. However, these spaces seemed to cater for basic grooming needs rather than calling on the in-depth specialist skillset that went with the art of barbering.

As culture shifted from the easy come easy go nature of the sixties, the modern man wanted a return - not only to the rugged edge of masculinity, but to a laid-back space dedicated to escaping the daily routine, committing to the self, and building their own social status.

TAILORED TREATMENTS.

While hairdressers will be busy dressing tresses, barbers bring a wealth of male-centric treatments to the table. Hairdressers are well-versed in colours, cuts, wash and blow drying but the barber is specially trained in added elements such as beard grooming and trims, ear flaming, timeless wet shaving, and hands on friction massages and hot towels to truly amp up the experience. Hairdressers are not trained in the art of shaving or dealing with neck trimming.

The same ethos applies to the range of products pulled off the shelves by your stylist or barber. In a hairdressing salon the products will often be geared towards more feminine styles; spritzes and shining creams and light mists. In a barber shop you find the range of products tailored towards the masculine with gels and beard balms and treatments that tailor texture, hold and style.

IT’S ALL IN THE VIBE.

Throughout history the barbershop has served as a place for blending male centric socialisation with style. From the opulent golden era where marble counters and leather chairs set the scene to those tiny backstreet barbers found stashed in Morocco’s medinas; the emphasis on providing an urban or neighbourhood hangout for men has always been the backbone of the barber shop industry.

As soon as you step inside, you know you are entering a world you can wear as well as a carefully tailored suit. There’s a casual cool yet high-end vibe, there’s a drink with your name on it and the kind of conversation that keeps you at ease. Along with the soothing style of a hot-towel treatment, style and shave you become part of a crafted scene, a space where modern men are celebrated, and you are free to find your style. Barbering will forever outlast the trends; it’s a timeless craft built on honour, heritage, and heart.

So there you have it, If you have anything else at all that you’d like to ask us prior to your appointment at Barbers of Cheltenham, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch, either by calling us on 07970195002 or by email: hello@barbersofcheltenham.com Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you very soon! 

To book your next (or first) hair appointment at barbers of cheltenham get in touch with us on:

Cheltenham  07970195002

Or book online plus you can keep up to date with all our special offers and barbers of cheltenham news by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram