As a barber, Im right there with you.It can be just as nerve-racking for us when a new client sits in our chair. Weve never cut this guy before; we dont know what he likes, or what he envisions, or the weird things that his hair does when its clipped a millimeter of an inch too short. To be a better customer-so we can do a better job, so you can leave with the best haircut-you only need to communicate a few simple things.
Walk in ready to talk about your hair, and talk about it effectively.
For barbers, an overly fussy client is better than an uncertain one, for a simple reason: decisiveness. So please talk to your barber when he asks, What are we doing for you today? I understand how it can feel weird describing yourself and your hair and how, aesthetically, youd like that all to turn out. Most of us get a little uneasy thinking, let alone speaking, about the nature of our looks and our hopes and dreams for them.
Recognize that barbers are like fingerprints.
Or snowflakes. Or penguin mating calls. The point is: Were unique. You can walk into a spot and, because it seems cool online, think youre going to come out looking like Clooney. But even in that shop, there might be one barber whos a relative novice, just getting started in the business, while another is a long-serving stylist who cut his teeth in the salon world and may own it with a pair of shears but isnt necessarily as trustworthy with the clippers. Or you get a guy who came up in the old-school shops and chops your lettuce like youve just been drafted, or hes a wizard with the clippers but might start sweating when your hair is longer than four inches. And there is always a barber who can do it all but never developed the people skills and so comes off as disaffected or uninterested.
Really, show up with a photo.
If youve got a long John Kerry face and pull up a pic of Gatsby-era Leo DiCaprio, were going to be spending 15 minutes politely dancing around the fact that your head and face and hair cant do the things you want them to. A fruitful source of reference photos is a Google search of pro soccer players. You saw the World Cup. There are a ton of those guys with all kinds of haircuts. You can find one whos got a head shape and hair type similar to yours. But the smartest move is to take a selfie when you feel like your own hair is looking its best. We can get you back to that moment.
Communicate your cowlicks.
If youve got a giant whorl hiding under a bunch of heavy hair and we cut it too short, no one is going to be happy. Warn us, and understand theres only so much we can do. Like the grain in wood, your hair tendto grow and fall in a natural direction. As much as you may want to swoop things to the left, if your hair insists on going right, embrace it.
Come see us more often.
Depending on the length of your haircut, you can usually make it three weeks (for shorter styles) to six weeks (longer styles) before you need to visit me again. The general rule (and a sales tactic on the barbers part) says that as soon as youre not feeling as good as when you left the shop after your last cut, youre due.
How To Speak Barberese
Because a Caesar cut in Topeka can vary an inch or two in length from a Caesar cut in the Bronx. The right terms that work in any shop:
GETTING FADED
High, mid, or low fade: This refers to how high above the ear the shortest part of the fade will extend before graduating in length. The higher the fade, the more severe the transition.
Skin fade: The sides of your head start at shaved (the lowest setting on your barbers clippers), with the length gradually increasing as you go up. If you want to start with more length, ask for a guard (see below) and for him to fade up from there.
ON GUARDS
The lower the number of the guard, the shorter the hair.
One: One-eighth of an inch of hair is left on your head-which is down to just that sandpaper feeling.
Three: Three-eighths of an inch of hair is left on your head. Usually what the barber will use if you ask for short, but not too short.
GENUINE CONNECTIONS
Connected (or blended): The length on the sides blends smoothly into the top where your head begins to round off.
Disconnected: The sides are shaved or faded without any blending into the length up top, creating a drastic overhang of longer hair. If you like to sweep hair to the side or back and have a little more length to play with near the front, ask for just a slight disconnection.
PROTECT YOUR NECK
Tapered, natural, or faded: All interchangeable ways of saying you want the hair to gradually get shorter down the nape of your neck. Preferred for shorter cuts.
Square: Good for longer cuts. The length at your nape is squared off and stays only as short as the rest of the hair on the sides.
Rounded: Like a square neck but the corners of the neck line are lopped off for a more traditional, preppy look.