So Xavier is talking about haircuts and job interviews on his blog, which reminds me I need to go grab one.
It's not desperate yet; I'm stil in regs, but just barely.The only real problem I have is that my barber is always busy when he's open, and the times he's got time for me without a wait arent the times I have etc... etc...
So why don't I jsut go to some supercuts bullshit? How about because they can't cut hair worth a damn.
Seriously, these "stylists" can't cut hair worth a damn.
A Barber needs to learn how to cut hair properly, so it looks good the day he cut it, and doesnt need any special product to look that way.
Stylists just can't do that.
I have three basic haircuts I've been getting since I was 17. Sure I've tried other "styles" but I always go back. The three styles are of course appropriate to different situations, jobs etc... but my hair grows so fast I can go from cut #1 to cut #3 in a month anyway (yes it's a PITA).
1. Modified high and tight - #1 back and sides with a slight blend into a #2 top. Completely off the ears and shaved high up the neck
2. Short and Neat - #1 just off the ears and back of the neck, completely off the ears, blend from a 2 to a 4 on top. Use the scissors to even it out and shape it properly. Shaved high up the neck.
3. Generic officers regulation cut - #2 just over the ears and neck, blended smoothly into a top that will just lay flat and be comb-able without any fixative. Shaved low up the neck, no sideburns.
Just try and get a "stylist" who can do those properly, without using "product" or fucking them up. They don't exist. All these poufs know how to do is make fancy twirls and sell you mousse and leave in conditioner.
I want a haircut that looks god the day I get it, and for two weeks afterwards. I want to be able to dry my hair in the morning, quickly run my fingers or a brush through it, and be done. Nothing else.
You need a real barber for that, and there jsut aren't all that many left.
Worse, the whole of the true barbering world are retiring and dying off; and no-one is being trained to replace them.
I went to the same barber form the time I was 4 years old, until I joined the Air Force. Even when I moved, I would go back to that town just because he KNEW how to cut my hair properly. He retired about 10 years ago in his 80s. I've never found a barber as good, but a few have come close.
One of the very first things I did when I moved to AZ, was find a good barber. They tend to be old men; and if you can even find one these days forget about him being a white american (not that that matters) because they've all died off or retired. There may be a few eastern european immigrant MEN who can do a good job (the women dont seem to do as well), and they are almost uniformly in their 50s and 60s.
There do seem to be at least a few good black, phillipino, mexican, and native barbers left.
With the black barbers, it's a cultural thing. The black barbershop has always been a real MANS PLACE, and the barbers tend to be good at what they do. Also there are a lot of black ex military barbers. With the philippinos, mexicans and natives, it's because of government vocational training programs in the 60's and 70's and again because a lot of them are ex military barbers (especially the philippino navy barbers).
I've had to switch my barber three times in as many years; because they've retired or died. I've found another great barber now (Native American, 26 years as a barber in the navy. One kid in the army, one in the navy, one a fireman - some people know how to be patriots don't they). He's in his 60s as well, and I'm dreading the day he retires.
Can anyone save the barbering profession? Am I the only one notcing this? Crying out in the wildnerss?
Please, just give me someone who can cut my hair, please?
