1/29/12

As I began building my barber skills, my primary teacher was my Dad. He gave me knowledge that guided me through a barber school education that was poor at best. When my instructors left me scratching my head, Dad had the words and hands-on demonstrations that made sense and gave me the skills I needed.

Five decades later and I am still learning. Over those many years my main teachers have been the almost 50 barbers I've worked with--some taught me how to be a better haircutter, and some showed me things that must be avoided. The majority of the barbers I've worked with came from having summer vacation jobs while I went to college.

I graduated in 1971 and began teaching sixth-grade. For me, teaching 35 youngsters took more preparation time than I could handle. Barbering didn't need long hours of homework, so my return to the haircut business was an easy option. I firmly believe any education is never wasted, and I'm sure my teacher training was the KEY to me starting to think I could teach my cutting skills to others.

Feedback from folks who have purchased my videos says my how-to teaching works as intended (see the "Letters" page on the website). That positive feedback gives me the confidence to guarantee people will be HAPPY with my how-to, not just satisfied.

1/18/12

They say a man bald in front is a thinker; if bald in back he is a lover; if bald all over the top, he thinks he is lover.

Old barber shop humor

1/15/12

One way to make your skills obviously different (and better) than the majority of hair professionals is to offer a neck shave with your haircut. Make this an optional part of the haircut because some aren't comfortable with something new--that will probably change as they see it done on others. Your neck shave can be given just to the back of the neck or you can include shaving the bottom of the sideburns. A full treatment would include the burns, in front, on top and behind the ears, down the sides of the neck and on the back of the neck. Spending a couple of minutes on the neck shave will win you many new customers.

1/15/12

The largest room in the world is the room for improvement.

Anonymous

1/15/12

Todays world of haircare has seen the rise of a number corporate/franchise/chair shops. Many of these businesses have thousands of locations around the country. Typically these establishments hire cosmetologists rather than barbers. Their employees are well-trained in chemical treatments and the use of products or appliances that change the way a person's hair would naturally be. They know a lot about chemistry and gadgets, but they come up short in the art of precision haircutting. For these folks giving shorter haircuts typically amounts to heavy use of plastic attachments, done in as short a time as possible.

As a barber, your training put the emphasis on skillful haircutting with scissors, clippers and straight razors. You can produce nice looking hair that's easy to care for without the extras. You're not burdened by sales meetings and corporate quotas to sell extra services and/or products. Your goal is to make folks happy with their hair through your skillful cutting abilities. Take pride in that fact!

The two most important days of your life are the day you were born...and the day you discover why.

William Barclay

August 17, 2011

Once in a while you'll have a customer come in who is about to have a special occasion in their life--a wedding, a "senior picture" for the yearbook, etc.

Whenever photos are going to be taken, expect to leave the hair longer than they usually get it. Photos with flash bulbs will make a medium cutting on the side look like there is no hair there. Explain this to your customer and you'll do them a favor.

Getting a wedding haircut is an extra special event. In this case you should make every effort to have the future spouse come along for the haircut so they can have their input. If possible, have the loved one come for the haircut before the last minute "wedding cut". That way you'll have a "practice run" on it--if the haircut needs last minute modifications, you can get it done.

Speaking of spouses, I always encourage new customers to bring their significant other along for their haircut. The person who has to look at it should have a say on the matter.

7/11/11
After nearly 50 years of practicing my craft, I've worked through about four recessions. Some had no impact on the number of customers coming through the door; a couple saw a 5 to 10% loss of income. Then there's today's recession--this one is a "dilly".

According to my barber supply man, virtually all the shops he calls on have had a 25 to 30% loss of business--some even more. Parts of the country have it worse than Minnesota. What's going on today to make things different?

Today many folks have gone the do-it-yourself route; home haircutting is at an all-time high with decent haircutting kits available (you can't blame folks for saving a buck any way they can); plenty of heads are being shaved, which never has happened in the past; and getting a haircut less frequently is common. In today's economy, people do whatever their pocketbook dictates.

One of my video customers emailed me regarding his concerns on this subject, and what suggestions, if any, I had for him. The March 9th blog entry included having a website (see www.bobshaircutshop.com) and making use of "Groupon" type of advertising. These inexpensive business builders gave my daughter a fast way to build up her client base when she came back to take over my shop after barbering in the Portland, OR area for the past nine years.

After emphasizing that there are no easy answers or quick ways to fix a shop experiencing difficulties, I pointed out that the home haircut folks, shaved heads and infrequent customer are the exact ones we need coming back to the barber shop. To that end, here are some suggestions I passed along to my video customer:
1.Stay the course with precision haircutting, being sure to cut according to your customer's wishes.
2. Do a little classified ad in local papers offering a "Shut-in haircut and/or shave" service.
3. Again, using local classified ads, have a half price offer for unemployed folks--include the old Master Barber slogan "It pays to look well!" in the ad. Set this up for your slowest days. If someone comes in who can't afford the half price, give it to him/her free.
4.Check with local nursing homes and hospitals about doing some extra cutting in those locations.
5. Be sure to avoid shop conversations on the subject of religion and especially politics in this crazy partisan politics world we live in. Avoid negative conversations of any kind--this is hard one, but people don't need any more negativity than what's there already.
6. Our local barber school tells their graduating students to get a part-time job while they are in the process of building their haircut business--probably a good idea in this economy.
7. Hang in fellow barbers--in the wide world of work it's still one of the best ways of making a living!

5/23/11

My years of putting together the videos was done with the goal of helping professionals and beginners improve their skills. Besides skill development, another goal I kept in mind for the "newbies" was building their confidence that haircutting is something they could do.

From the feedback I've received from customers, the videos have done what I had hoped they would. However, additional things came to mind after the videos were completed that needed to be passed along--so the "BLOG" was started. After a year of blog entries, I am running short of things to explain.

So, for those who purchased my videos I want to help with any haircutting problems/difficulties they may have. Some of the problems I get may be unique to that person, and not very applicable to others. But if I think the problem applies to others, I will include it in my blog.

Sending me your problems will help me with my blog writing, but if I don't get enough problems to solve, I'll open up this venue to anyone who may be stumped by some haircutting difficulty.

Send your problem to my email address: Bob@howtocuthair.com

Thanks!

Our ideals, laws and customs should be based on the proposition that each generation in turn becomes the custodian rather than the absolute owner of our resources--and each generation has the obligation to pass this inheritance on to the future.

Alden Whitman

5/23/11

I used to work with a barber who would begin his haircut with the standard question: "How would you like your haircut?" You'll get a wide range of answers to that question, but some of the more common ones are: "Just give it a trim." or "I like a regular haircut." or "Cut the long stuff around the sides--the top too."

It didn't matter if his customer gave one of those vague answers or something more detailed, he was always anxious to say: "Sounds good!" and to start cutting. Wrong, wrong, WRONG! To compound this folly, he would do his haircutting without any check on his haircut--for example, instead of giving the customer a hand mirror after using a clipper on the side hair to see if it should be cut shorter, he would just go on his merry way until he thought his wonderful haircut was done. This same barber wondered why he was having a hard time building up his customer base.To make matters even worse, he wouldn't change his way of doing things. It's good that he found another line of work.

"Precision Clipper Cutting #2-Regular (Tapered) Haircuts" includes about five minutes or more on asking the questions (and follow-up questions) that allow you to give people the haircut they want. There is no more IMPORTANT time spent on your effort to give people a haircut that has them coming back for more.

I am not the man I ought to be, nor am I the man I want to be, but thank God I am not the man I used to be.

Alcoholics Anonymous saying

5/9/11

All in all, my 50 years of barbering has been a pleasure. But then there was the long hair era of the mid 60s to the end of the 70s. It wasn't 15 years of total misery for those barbers who adapted to the longer cuts of the time. I enjoyed giving the longer haircuts and could do a good job on them. But it wasn't very pleasant dealing with the "generation war" going on at that time.

The battle of the generations got crazy, for me miserable, when a certain kind of Dad brought their youngster in for a haircut. He wanted a short haircut like he was used to having. From Dad I got: "Make him look like a man!" The kid was begging me to leave it long--just a comb-out would have been nice. Of course Dad was paying, so that carried a good bit of weight. But the kid's whole sense of worth depended on letting those locks grow, the longer the better. This wasn't just a matter of whims, this was very big stuff for both sides of the issue. Dad grew up in an era of once a month short haircuts--to leave hair covering any bit of the ear (even touching it) went against all his notions of respectability. The kid wasn't burdened with such notions--he just wanted to fit in and not be considered a doofus by his peers.

So there is me, the poor barber stuck on the front line between two warring sides. I'm in the business of giving people what they want, and I enjoy doing that. So, do I give the kid what he wants or do it the way Dad demands? If Dad got out of hearing range I would offer a little deception: "I can leave it long enough to cover the upper part of the ear and then comb it back on the side so the hair tucks in behind the ear--shall we try it?" Of course I was risking the loss of two customers if the boy wouldn't keep that long hair tucked out of sight in Dad's presence, but doing it Dad's way left many a child with tears coming down their face.

It was the worst pickle I've ever been in. May those days never return!

Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
Sunnah

Confucianism: Surely it is the maxim of loving kindness: Do not unto others that you would not have them do unto you.
Analects, 15, 23

Brahmanism: This is the sum of all true righteousness: Deal with others as thou wouldst thyself be dealt by. Do nothing to thy neighbor which thou wouldst not have him do to thee hereafter.
The Mahabharata

Love they neighbor as thyself.
The Great Commandment

5/8/11

Tapering the bottom neck hair (also called a "faded" neckline) can be done a number of ways. Some of those ways can produce a nice result (or not), but they usually take too much time to do. My recommendation gives an excellent result in the shortest time. We start with some general rules followed by specifics.

A. Tapering the bottom one or two inches of neck hair should be done after the longer hair on the upper back has been cut.
B. Neck tapering begins with a coarse blade, then a finer blade is used on the lower neck hair followed by an even finer blade on the very bottom.
C. As usual, each time the clipper moves up into the hair, you finish that clipping path with a taper-out movement.
D. Longer back hair has the lowest, most abrupt taper. A short cutting on the back hair gets a longer, higher tapering.

LONGER HAIR. A longer upper back cutting can be done with scissors and comb, an attachment on a clipper, or by using the clipper over comb cutting method. A low abrupt taper (about an inch or less) is used on the bottom hair. Here are a couple of typical blade sequences to use after the upper back has been cut:
1. Use a #3 1/2 blade to taper up an inch or so, followed by a #2 or a #1 1/2 blade tapering the bottom half to three-quarter inch. Next, an adjustable blade clipper in the open #1 position tapers the bottom quarter inch or so. The adjustable clipper in the closed position position clips off any stray neck hair below the hairline.
2. Use a #2 blade followed by a #1 blade and then the adjustable clipper for "clean-up" cutting on the bottom.
(Both of these options may need a little clipper over the barber comb blending.)

SHORT HAIR. You'll find it's easier and faster to taper the neck hair when the upper back has been cut on the short side. You are less likely to need the barber comb for over the comb blending.
1. If the upper back has a #3 1/2 blade cutting, the bottom 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches can get a #2 blade cutting followed by a # 1 1/2 blade on the bottom 1/2 to 1 inch. Then use the adjustable clipper in the open position to taper the bottom, and the closed position for any stray hairs below the hairline.
2. If the upper back had a #2 blade cutting, taper with a #1 1/2 or a #1A blade followed by an adjustable clipper in the open position for the bottom half inch or so, and closed position for the strays.
3. Cut the back with a #1 1/2 blade and you can use the adjustable clipper in the open position to taper. The closed position takes care of the bottom half inch and any stray hairs.

Compared to the "blocked" neckline, tapering takes a little more time and skill. However, with practice you pick up speed and when done right, this tapered approach looks great and keeps a neat appearance for a longer time than the "lined" way of doing it. You'll find many prefer this kind of cutting.

Christianity: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law of the prophets.
Matthew, 7:12

Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowmen. That is the entire law; all the rest is commentary.
Talmud, Shabbat, 31a

Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hirtful.
Udana Varga, 5, 18

5/7/11

In my 50 year professional career, I've attended a number of "educational" conventions or seminars that were supposed to give me haircutting and haircare knowledge. It would have been nice if these gatherings were as advertised.

I suppose I learned a thing or two by attending these get-togethers, but because the organizers of these things are in the business of selling the wide world of hair chemicals and/or gadgets, the primary learning is how those products will put more $$$ in your pocket while emptying your customer's pocket.

These "educational events" are where you find out about the "latest" styles, which , of course, could not be achieved without the chemicals or special tools the promoters are selling. With few exceptions, the stylists who come up with these "latest" hairdos work for the sellers--their hair creations are designed to sell more stuff.

The problem with this way of treating your customers, is it makes the customer into nothing more than a "thing" burdened by too much weight in their billfold--your task is to lighten their "load". This get-them-for-all-you-can approach has led many shops to have quota programs in force. Employees must sell enough products and/or extra services, or they are out of a job.

I take a minimalist approach when it comes to caring for hair. Over the years I've heard of a couple of haircutters who described themselves as "natural hairstylists". I suppose my way of operating fits the "natural" description. I know I'm definitely out of the mainstream (when is the last time you heard of an educational gathering with "natural styling" as the focus or even a side show?) Search far and wide, that show doesn't exist.

Do you like to be treated like a thing with a bulging billfold? I don't, in fact I avoid it like the plague! There are many businesses that treat folks this way, but not at my shop. My customers appreciate the "no bull" relationship we have that meets their needs without any sales job.

No doubt Jack the Ripper excused himself on the grounds that it was human nature.

A. A. Milne

4/16/11

THE PROBLEM. A customer who has bought my videos emailed me about a problem he was having: On a regular tapered haircut given to a person with fine-textured straight hair, both sides were cut to the same length, but one side "puffed out" while the other side laid well. Why?

ANALYZING THE PROBLEM. Like many troublesome straight hair conditions, this is a hairgrain problem. The section on "Analyzing the hair" in "Precision Clipper Cutting #2" demonstrated how to check the hairgrain on straighter varieties of hair: You comb through the hair with the comb going against the grain while looking at the DIRECTION the first inch of hair takes as it comes out of the scalp. That first inch shows you what kind of hairgrain you have to work with. I emailed back saying he should check the hairgrain and it would probably show the grain on one side of the head goes toward the back of the head, with the other side heading downward. With this (uncommon) hairgrain, if both sides are combed toward the back of the head, the side that has a downward grain will puff out while the other side lays close to the head.

A FEW SOLUTIONS.
1. An easy solution is to comb the hair and let it lay in the same direction as the hairgrain on both sides. This approach eliminates the puffiness, however with one side combed down and the other toward the back, you have an unbalanced appearance that many customers won't want.
2. You could let the side hair grow longer so the puffy side has enough length to bend toward the back and lay like the other side. This approach probably needs hair spray or gel to keep it in place.
3. Cut the hair extra short. Assuming the customer approves, cutting the sides like it's done for a "Princeton" or a short/high taper cut will have the problem lying on the floor.

How long is a minute? It depends on which side of the bathroom door you are on.

Anonymous

4/5/11

Many of your customers love that short "fresh" haircut look around the sides. An equal number of folks would drop you like a rock if their side hair is cut too short.

Avoiding a freshly cut look around the sides is easy with the use of longer clipper blades like the #3 1/2 and 3 3/4. It can be left even longer with the clipper (or scissors) over comb cutting method. If these longer ways of cutting the sides are given a sharp outline around the ears and neck, the haircut will still have a fairly fresh cut look.

Occasionally a customer will tell you they want their hair to look like it was cut a month ago. In this case you would give it a longer side cutting and also have extra length left on edge hairs around the ears and neck. Leaving those edge hairs, (especially on the sides of the neck), a half inch or more from the natural hairline gives the hair that "been worn a while" appearance.

If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.

Lao-Tzu

3/24/11

You can do your customers a favor, possibly a life-saving favor, by keeping an eye out for signs of skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer and early detection is the key to successful treatment. I have informed a number of customers of an abnormal looking skin condition that needed a professional look-see. For some it was the best tip they ever had. Those who got good news appreciated my being on the lookout.

There are three types of skin cancer:
1. Melanoma. The rarest of the three is the most dangerous. In the U.S. in 2008, there were 62,000 cases with 8,000 deaths. These numbers are on the rise.
2. Basal cell carcinoma. The most common skin cancer rarely is fatal, but it can be disfiguring if left untreated.
3. Squamous cell carcinoma. The second most common skin cancer. It rarely spreads (metastasize) to the lymph nodes or other sites in the body, but it does happen more often than the basal cell variety.
Use the internet (Google skin cancer) to see photos of the three types.

Give a quick glance behind and on top of the ear, the top of the head (easier if the hair has "bailed-out"), the back of the neck and along the bridge of the nose for any sign of suspicious skin growth. If something catches your eye, tell them about it and recommend an early visit to the dermatologist or family doctor.

Love does not make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

Franklin P. Jones

3/21/11

America is becoming "greener". It has been a slow process since the first "Earth Day", but the change is gaining momentum. You can see it in the organic food trend; in electric or hybrid cars; in the recycling effort, and in many other ways that affect personal and environmental health. How a person deals with their hair can also make a difference. You can help.

Helping customers adapt to a "green" kind of haircare needs a little knowledge in several areas:
1. The skin. The largest organ of the body is our main protection from infections and the harmful things in our environment. Skin does a good job of protecting, but some chemicals can be absorbed through the skin. Most hair products are loaded with cheap, strange sounding chemicals.
2. Chemistry. Chemists do not take a "hippocratic oath" like doctors, but perhaps they should. They can make all kinds of things with their synthetic chemicals. Some things have made life much better, but some do damage--even causing cancer. (Avoid hair products that have benzyl butyl phthalate; butylparaben; DEHP; isoparaben; methylparaben; polyparaben.)
Usually, we do not find out about damaging chemicals until they have been in use for years.
3. Your cutting skills. The basic haircuts I teach can be given all manner of chemicals to change the appearance of hair. On the other hand, these haircuts have been popular for decades mainly because they need nothing more than a shampoo and towel-dry every day or two. Getting a haircut every month or two keeps the hair in good shape all the time without the need for extra products. People like the easy haircare; the environment likes it too.
4. Chemical-free alternatives. There are a number of companies that offer hair products and a range of personal products without synthetic chemicals. Here is a short list of websites for companies that fit into the "green" trend:
a. www.aubrey-organics.com
b. www.aveda.com
c. www.justnaturalskincare.com
d. www.sephora.com
e. www.simplyorganicbeauty.com
You could offer their products in your shop, or have this list on a hand-out for customers who are interested. They can order it from the internet, and your thoughtfulness will be appreciated.

A banker is a fellow who hands you an umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.

Mark Twain

3/9/11

As you probably know, building up the number of folks coming through your door is a slow process. There are some things you can do to speed up the process, and there are things that are sure to work against you.

First, the things to do.
1. Put up a nice website that includes the kind of shop you have, hours and location, pictures of the shop and close-up photos of a variety of finished haircuts you have given. Your website can be from a do-it-yourself software program, or you can hire someone to do it. An inexpensive approach would be to check the local trade school or high school and, if possible, trade haircuts for the work. My barber shop website is a good example--to see it, click on "Links" on the top of the home page header.
2. Ask your customers to give you a "plug" so you can include that on the website (they do want to see you succeed). Also, ask them to go to www.yelp.com and www.citysearch.com and give you some good words there.
3. Advertise your shop with the web address in the local newspaper, Yellow Pages, etc. A small ad will be sufficient.
4. The i-Pad is a great tool for recording information about your customer, especially the particulars of their haircut such as type of haircut, length, etc. Refer to it when they come back for their next haircut--if they want it longer or shorter, you know exactly what was done before, and any changes can be done with the earlier haircut as a reference point. This little tool is a sure indicator you want their return business.
5. Give customers the option of a "hot lather neck and around the ears shave", or a close clipper cutting.
6. Keep a clean shop and practice tool and hand sanitation.
7. Have your prices and hours in line with other shops.
8. When Kristin, my daughter, recently came back to take over my shop, we ran an offer on "Groupon". She is an excellent barber and would have built up her business in time--the coupon offer was just a fast way to do it.

Things to avoid.
1. Smoking by you or customers.
2. Slang or any of the four-letter words. Be willing to request that of your customers.
3. Sexist magazines.
4. Gossip. Talking about others makes your customer wonder what you say about them.
5. Negative talk. You do not have to be a "pollyanna", but who wants to hear 15-20 minutes of belly-aching.
6. Talking to a third person while giving a haircut.
7. Talking religion or politics (although once in a while I am not able to bite my lip on politics).

This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.

Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt

3/7/11

The haircutting taught in my videos is quite safe, but there are a few things to be aware of.

Tools
a. Your scissors/shears should not have sharp points at the end (tips) of the blades. You want blunt points for edge cutting when the points touch the skin.
b. Clipper blades need to be adjusted so there is no overlap of the top blade with the bottom blade. Precision Clipper Cutting #1 showed the proper adjustment for blades.

Scissor cutting
a. You must have your scissors under control and be aware of what is being cut as the blades are being closed. (In my almost 50 years I have only cut one ear--as I was edge cutting around the top of the ear I paid close attention to the tips of the blades but not the rest of those blades as they were being closed). Cutting an ear is a real day spoiler.
b. With the "comb-away" cutting method, the points of the scissor moves toward the face as you cut paths on the upper left side of the head. Just go slow and be very aware of where the scissor is in relation to the face. This cutting method is demonstrated on the videos.

Clipping around the ears
Even with clipper blades correctly adjusted, the back or top of the ear can be cut if the blades come in contact with the ear. This situation is especially true with children and it is more of a problem with a clipper (Andis or Oster) that has removeable blades. The remedy is simple: Be sure to hold the ear forward as you clip up the side behind the ear and hold it down as you clip on the hair above the ear. Giving a slight cut to a child is a sure way to alienate that child against barbers--for life.

I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.

William Penn

3/3/11

No tool has done as much damage to hair as the thinning shear/scissor. Back in the 1960s we called it the "Saturday Shear". Saturday was a very busy haircutting day in that decade and those "thinners" would help give fast haircuts. Precision haircutting it was not! You would run the clipper up the sides and grab the thinners to "chomp" away at the heaviness left on the upper sides. Some more chomping on the top followed by some greasy hairdressing to hold down those wrecked hairs. It was a terrible way to cut hair that needed lots of grease to look decent (?) at all.

With the shears that have little teeth, some hairs get cut shorter, some get a partial or nicked cutting instead of being completely cut and some hairs are left uncut. The shorter hairs push out the longer hairs, both the nicked ones and the longer uncut hairs. The hair is left puffy and those partially cut hairs have a hard time laying in with their neighbors. If no hairdressing or gel is used after the chomping is done, you have damaged hair that looks a lot like stomped-on straw.

My videos do not show thinning shears being used, however I do own a pair and I use them rarely. Here are a few instances:
1. It is common for people to say "thin out the top". At least nine times out of ten that is their way of telling to cut the top shorter to get rid of the long heavy hair that is prone to messiness. Once in a while a person really wants the use of thinners. After explaining a better approach to "thinning out the hair" is to cut the hair as short as possible so it still lays well, they may still insist on the use of thinners. Then the customer gets what they want, but I use them sparingly out towards the ends of the hair--I do not thin the hair close to the scalp.
2. Once in a while I have a client with a crown area cowlick that needs extra length to lay down. To blend that longer hair with the shorter hair toward the bottom of the back, I will do a little thinning.
3. Some folks with extra curly hair want their hair thinned even after it has been given a short cutting that minimizes the curls. Thinning the ends can relax the curls somewhat, so it is easier for the curls to lay into waves.

If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.

Anonymous

2/16/11

I have found my cutting efforts on "regular" tapered haircuts is easier and I believe better when I use a high stool to sit on as I work around the sides and back. With this sit-down approach my eyes are at the same level as my cutting. I feel it is easier to give the sides a smooth tapering and a gradual increase in shading as my cutting gets higher.

The tall stool I use is needed because my favorite old barber chair sits quite high. If you work with a lower chair, a lower stool would be best, or one of the pneumatic chairs that can be adjusted to different heights.

I get an added bonus with this approach--it is nice to give old legs a little break on a busy day.

Nobody can be perfect unless he admits his faults, but if he has faults how can he be perfect?

Dr. Laurence J. Peter

2/16/11

Some clients describe the haircut of their dreams as: "I want my hair to look like that actor..." "Do you know the hairstyle that channel four news anchor has..." "My friend has this cool hairdo..." "I brought this picture I saw in a magazine..." Some folks have the right hair to achieve their hair schemes, but most do not. To be happy with your efforts, most of the "hair dreamers" need some hair education.

Analyze their hair in terms of hairtype, texture, hairgrain, problem areas and the number of hairs per square inch. Share your analysis and let them know how their hair qualities are different from the person they would imitate.

Informing your customer about their hair is always a good thing to do. If you have someone in your chair whose druthers cannot be achieved, your teaching is a MUST if you have any chance of getting them back as a repeat customer.

A study of police records show that a woman has never shot her husband while he was doing the dishes.

Anonymous

2/13/11

Some things are necessary to get into a "focused" kind of haircutting.
(1) You spend time finding out what your customer has in mind for their hair.
(2) You possess the cutting skills and quality tools.
(3) You have the confidence to give them what they want.
(4) You know you will be giving a very good haircut, but perfection is not attainable nor is it strived for.
(5) When you begin the haircut, check that the cutting is being done according to plan. (Some haircuts start on top, after a few cutting paths up there, check if it is what they had in mind; if the side was the starting point, check with them before moving on to the back or other side.)

Once these things are taken care of, you can get into a zen-like focus on your cutting. This focus is a kind of meditation that has everything out of your mind other than the task at hand.

Your customer may want to talk while you are cutting their hair, but if you are like me, I recommend you stop cutting to do your communication (some can "multi-task" and have good conversation while cutting hair, I cannot). Resume your haircutting focus when your talk has finished.

Focused haircutting produces excellent haircuts, and it will make your 15 to 20 minute task fly by like it was done in 5 minutes or less.

"Cut hair evenly and it lays like shingles on a roof."

Told to me by my Dad when I entered barber school in 1963

2/7/11

The type of hair a person has, has a major impact on how you cut their hair, the length you cut it to, the final appearance of the hair and the way it looks a couple of weeks or a month later.

For purposes of classification, there are four hairtypes: straight, wavy, curly and kinky.

Straight hair, like all hairtypes, can be cut to any length, but if you want straight hair to LAY well, it has one best cutting length.
a. To get it to lay well, it is cut as short as an inch on finer textured hair to as long as three inches on coarser hair.
b.Cut it shorter than these recommendations and the hair wants to stand on end; leave it longer and the hair tends to be floppy and easily messed up.
c. Since hair grows 1/2 to 3/4 inch a month, this kind of hair needs to be cut every 4 to 6 weeks to keep it shape.
d. Hairgrain (the direction of the hairs coming out of the follicle) has a major impact on how straight hair lays. For example, hairgrain determines if the hair easily lays toward the back on the sides or does it want to lay downward.
e. If straight hair is not laying the way the hairgrain wants it to lay, it can stand on end instead of laying down or it can take on a wavy or curly appearance.
f. Most straight hair has the side hair growing downward.

Wavy hair ranges from slightly wavy to quite wavy.
a. This hairtype like the others has a texture that can range from fine to medium to coarse on different people.
b. If wavy hair is cut to a length of 1 1/2 inches or shorter, the hairgrain determines what direction the hair lays.
c. Leave wavy hair longer and it can usually lay in different directions quite easily, especially on finer textured hair.
d. Wavy hair takes on different looks depending on length--cut it shorter than an inch and it looks straight, add an inch of growth and it takes on a wavy appearance, get it to a length of three inches or more and it can take on a curly look.
e. Wavy hair usually grows toward the back on the sides and a ducktail neckline is common.

Curly hair takes a winding path (like a stretched out spring) as it grows out of the follicle.
a. If curly hair is cut shorter than an inch, the hairgrain will show itself.
b.This hair looks fairly straight if cut shorter than an inch; add a little length and it quickly goes into waves and then curls.
c. A ducktail neckline is also common on this hairtype.

Kinky hair is the curliest of the curly hair varieties.
a. Kinky hair also takes a winding path and it also resembles a spring, but it is not stretched out as much as curly hair.
b. It too has a hairgrain, but to see it, this hair has to be cut a quarter-inch or less.
c. Curly and especially kinky hair, does not show its growth as much a straight hair. It has a similar growth rate, but to see how much has grown, you have to stretch out the hair.

All hairtypes need a smooth, even cutting to be well-shaped. Choppy uneven cutting is a sign of poor cutting, or worse, the hair will look like there is some kind of underlying growth or an odd shape to the head.

Knowledge helps you make a living; wisdom helps you make a life.

Chinese fortune cookie saying

1/29/11

After finishing a great haircut, one that has been cut according to what was agreed on beforehand, there are a few more things to get it done RIGHT.

1. Give your patron a hand mirror with them faced away from the back bar. If needed, help them adjust the mirror so they can see the back of their head appear in the big mirror. Slowly turn the chair to the left and right so they can see both sides of their head. At this point, my usual comment is to say: "I have plenty of time to make any changes you may want."

2. If you see any long eyebrow hairs, ask if they would like them trimmed. Do the same for ear hair--both inside the "nub" and on the top and outside edges of the ear. Check for hair that may protrude from the nostrils.

3. Check to be sure the hair in front of the ears is cut to the same level in relation to the ears.

4. A final look has you behind the patron as they face the back bar. See if both sides are in balance (not "bulging" out on one side or the other), and the bangs are as intended. Touch up as needed.

5. Make eye contact as you THANK them.

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.

J. Brotherton

1/15/11

Recently a video customer of mine asked if any of my six videos showed how to give the "Justin Bieber Hairstyle". I responded that the layered shag cut on the "Precision Scissor Cuts" video came close to the Bieber style, but it would have to be modified slightly to leave the hair a bit longer. I also pointed out that the different cutting skills taught in my videos will make it possible to give virtually any hairstyle that comes along, and those skills can even be used to create new hairstyles of their own design.

Many of the new hairstyles are just basic haircuts like the ones I teach, but with a minor variation or two. Typically, those new styles require the use of one or more products to get the desired look. I think a "less is better" approach that uses a minimum of chemicals results in a healthier head of hair, but there is no doubt that some hair products can make a big change in the look of those little thread-like appendages.

Generous people are rarely mentally ill.

Dr. Karl Menninger

12/19/10

Despite your best efforts, a common condition exists after scissor cutting the top, The top will have "scissor lines" or "demarcations" after the cutting is done. The lines are hard to see on curlier hair and on longer cutting lengths, but are most apparent when the hair is shorter than two inches. Those visible lines exist because there are shorter and longer lengths (about a half inch longer) after the cutting is done.

The solution is fairly easy. The top cutting consists of three to five rows, with four to six cuts in a row going from the front hairline back to the crown region. You can MINIMIZE the length variations by increasing the number of cuts in a row--instead of four to six cuts in a row, do eight to twelve in a row.

Length variations can be virtually ELIMINATED by doing a second-time cutting that has rows cut from the upper sides, up to the center of the top. This "second-time over" cutting was demonstrated on "Precision Clipper Cutting #2--Regular (tapered) haircuts".

I am never bored anywhere: being bored is an insult to oneself.

Renard

11/6/10

Tapered haircuts, also called regular haircuts, are the most popular haircuts in the world. Their popularity has held for decades, and it has to do with the easy haircare they make possible. These haircuts can be done with just scissors and comb, and they can also be done with an all clipper over comb cutting. However, most of these haircuts are done with the clipper in direct contact with the scalp around the lower portions (more or less) of the sides and back. Then clipper over comb cutting occurs so the hair is gradually left longer on the upper sides/back, and eventually blending into the top hair which has the longest length.

Where the direct contact cutting ends and the over the comb cutting begins is the place where a smooth transition is required. If it is not a precision cutting here, the hair will be left with a "bowl" appearance, or worse. Achieving a nice gradual increase in length is quite easy if you follow this approach:

1.On the direct contact cutting, use a coarse cutting blade that leaves the hair 3/16 of an inch, but preferably 1/4 inch or longer.

2. Always finish the direct contact cutting path up the sides/back with a taper out movement with the clipper. Do not stop your pathway cutting with the tips of the clipper blade still touching the scalp.

3. Switch to a closer cutting blade and comb. The thickness of the blade and comb combined must equal the length the hair was left on the direct contact cutting.

4. Do the over the comb cutting with the tips of the teeth of the comb, held farther from the scalp than the backbar of the comb.

The sample video for "Precision Clipper Cutting #2" demonstrates this way of getting a smooth taper on the sides.

Laugh a lot, and when you are older, all your wrinkles will be in the right places.

Anonymous

10/27/10

Curly hair takes a "winding route" from the follicle to the end of the hair. This winding path has the appearance of a coiled spring if the hair is extra curly, and a stretched out coiled spring for softer less curly hair.

When doing bulk removal cutting on this kind of hair, the hand holding the hair out from the scalp for the cutting stretches the hair to some extent. It is necessary to have a CONSISTENT "hold out pressure" from one cut to the next. Inconsistent pressure results in different lengths in the cuts you make.

Cutting curly hair has the advantage of "hiding" slight length variations in the overall haircut. Dark curly hair hides these imperfections even more than lighter hair. The only disadvantage to cutting curly hair is the little extra time it takes to carefully scrape the top of the holding fingers with the points of the scissor blades. Curly hair likes to bend and wrap around the top of the holding fingers, instead of standing out from the fingers like straighter hair does. The scraping move gets all the hair to be cut between the blades of the scissor--they all get cut instead of just some.

Men wear three basic hairstyles--parted, unparted, and departed.

Anonymous

10/16/10

Clipper cutting is best done on dry hair because wet hair likes to bend or travel away from the clipper blades as it moves through the hair. If it is wet, expect to cut and recut, and recut...

If the hair has kinks or bends from "hat hair" or "bed head", a water treatment is called for. Use a spray bottle to wet the hair--after a couple of minutes the hair softens, then a brush can be used to help the hair lay the way it wants. Less than a minute of drying the hair and it is ready for clipper cutting.

Scissor cutting is best done with the hair wet. Wet hair cuts easier with scissors, and it falls away better so you avoid those annoying little cut ends being on your customers face and neck.

Remember, when scissor cutting wet hair around the perimeter (bangs, ears, and neck), the final laying length will rise up and lay higher than it was when cutting. This is because wet hair wants to lay flat on the scalp, but when it dries it has body which causes the edges to rise up higher. For example, if you are scissor cutting wet hair and your customer wants their hair to cover the top half inch of their ear, you need to do the edge cutting down at the halfway point (or lower) on the ear.

UFF DA!

Norwegian term for damaged or burdensome hair

9/30/10

Dandruff can be a problem anytime of the year, but it's always more of a problem when the heating season comes. Lower humidity levels in homes/businesses, and drier winter air all contribute to the problem.

That white flakey stuff that can itch like crazy is a reminder that we need to do more to keep the scalp free of accumulated skin cells (dandruff) that are being shed all the time.

Here are some effective ways of dealing with dandruff:

1. More frequent shampooing with mild, low pH shampoo. Daily is best, but every other day at a minimum.

2. Use a hair brush to scrub the scalp before and during the shampoo. Any brush is good, but a plastic "polypin" brush with longer bristles is best.

3. Use "Nizoral" shampoo once every couple of weeks, This shampoo used to be a prescription only shampoo, but is now available over the counter. Work up a lather and leave it on the scalp for 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing. Use "Nizoral" in addition to daily shampooing with mild shampoo.

4. "Hask" is a tried and true tonic sold in barber shops. After the shampoo and rinse, put enough of the tonic on the hair so that it gets down to the scalp.

5. For people who can't shampoo often (bed-ridden or otherwise handicapped), use "Listerine" mouthwash. Like the "Hask" treatment, use enough to wet the scalp.

Your customers need to know there is no known cure for dandruff. All they can do is control it.

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.

Victor Borge

9/17/10

On the video, "Precision Clipper Cutting #2--regular (tapered) haircuts", I demonstrated and explained a kind of clipper over comb cutting called "stepping out" cutting. This cutting method is an excellent way to get a lot of longer bulky hair cut off as quickly as possible. The following things were touched on in the video, but more emphasis is worthwhile:

1. Only those who can sit very still get this kind of cutting. This rules out children under the age of four, and most children from four to seven or eight. Even adults who are animated in their conversation are not good candidates for this cutting method.

2. After using the stepping out method to cut up through the hair, go over the same area a second time. This second stepping out cutting will get rid of any "stragglers" left from the first cuts you've made. Unlike the first time, no major amount of hair is cut, just some "smoothing off" happens.

3. For an extra precise cutting, a scissors and comb could be used to smooth off stragglers following the stepping out cutting. Here you would comb out and grasp the hair with the holding fingers pointing downward in a vertical position--use the scissors to cut off any unevenness.

Use the "stepping out" cutting method--it will make you a BETTER and FASTER haircutter.

Love of one's country which is not part of love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship.

Erich Fromm

8/31/10

In the early 1970s I graduated with a degree in education. My college training taught me many things, but most important for the production of my videos was learning how we acquire new skills.

Learning new skills in a video format, and having the confidence to put those skills into practice requires a few things:
1. An effective how-to video must CLEARLY show the complete process, and the various skills that go into the desired final product--in this case a precision haircut.
2. Besides demonstrating the skills, they must be THOROUGHLY explained in a way that compliments what the learner sees.
3. The information needs to be presented in a SEQUENCE that moves from the easier skills to the more difficult in a gradual way.

These three essential ingredients produce a very effective learning tool. Following my how-to will result in immediate haircutting successes, which in turn creates a CONFIDENT haircutter. A confident haircutter who always strives for quality work is bound to be a SUCCESSFUL haircutter.

The best and least expensive way to improve your looks is to smile.

Anonymous

8/11/10

Feedback I've received from customers whose training has been from hairstyling schools indicates the skills taught in my videos are used in two major areas:

1. The creative things they can do to hair is significantly increased by becoming proficient at the various clipper skills I teach. Knowing how to handle clippers for techniques such as "over the comb", "direct contact", and "stepping out" cutting, plus acquiring a thorough knowledge about the hairgrain all add to the many skills their training has already given them. Hairstylists are taught many ways to achieve some fairly amazing hair-do results, but clipper cutting is not one of the skills they learn. The skills taught on my videos will increase what they can do with their creative efforts.

2. Many hairstylists find today's lean economy has a large percentage of their customers cutting back on haircare spending. Wanting to keep up one's appearance remains, so simpler "wash and wear" hairstyles with a minimum of expense is what many are asking for. These basic haircuts/styles requiring minimum care and expense have always been the staple of the barber trade. These are the basic, always popular haircuts I teach.

Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind.

Henry James

6/28/10

Ask a customer how they want their hair cut, and many, if not most, will give you a fairly good description of their preferences. There are also a large percentage of folks who will say, "Just give it a trim". Those few words say a lot, but you need to understand the term, and probably do a little investigating. So what does TRIM mean?

When they use the term "trim", they're telling you their last haircut was to their liking, and they want the hair that has grown out since their last haircut to be cut off--no big changes wanted. When they say they want their hair trimmed, your first question should be: "When did you have your last haircut?"

Hair grows a half inch a month--a bit more for coarse textured hair, slightly less for fine hair. If they tell you it's been six weeks, you can explain growth rate to them, and suggest cutting off about 3/4 of an inch all over. A month would require a half inch cutting, etc.

Some can't give you a date for their last cut, but here's where investigating happens. If it appears they get a shorter tapered cut, look close at the hair on the outline around the ear. Combing the hair down, away from the outline, will show how much has grown out since the last haircut. Whatever that shows you, ask if cutting off that amount sounds right to them. On a longer haircut, comb the hair down and check how much covers the ear. Ask how much hair they want left covering the ear. If the hair covers all the ear and they want half the ear covered, that tells you at least one inch needs to be cut off--probably a little more.

Just because someone isn't good at describing their haircut desires, that doesn't mean they want you to "do your thing". Take the time to dig into this word "trim". Less than a minute spent here will give you a lot of repeat business.

When I get to be a psychologist, I'll direct all my patients to go and make something with their hands and give it to someone.

Anonymous

6/25/10

Tapered haircuts are cut so the shortest hair is around the lower sides and back, and they gradually get longer higher up. The goal is nice, smoothly tapered sides with a gradual change from skin color to the hair's color. Here are some things that make the goal harder to achieve, and what you can do about them.

a. The "fat roll" or wrinkle problem.
Some heavier folks have a fat roll on the back of their head. The older generation can have a deep wrinkle or two back there. These conditions leave a kind of crevasse back there, and it looks like you've left a dark line across the back of their head. The two possible cures for this are:
1. Leave the hair longer. A more full approach to the hair can hide the problem, but you may end up with the hair not lying very well in that area.
2. Give the hair a close cutting up to the trouble spot, and then start your tapering above it. This is usually the best approach, but which one you go with depends the hair and what they want.

b. A change in color.
A head of hair typically goes grey low around the sides and back, and moves upward over time. Despite a perfect taper done to the hair, where grey meets darker hair will look like it needs more cutting on the darker hair. Like the first problem above, the hair can be left longer, or cut it short up to the darker hair, and begin your tapering from there.

c. Bed head or hat hair.
If your customer's hair has kinks or bends from being slept on or from wearing a hat, you can't get a nice smooth taper on the hair. This common problem is easily solved by first wetting the hair with a spray bottle, and doing the top cutting first. Then use a blow dryer and brush to dry the hair--water softens the hair and when it's dry, the kinks are gone.

d. Dirty scalp.
Dirt or dandruff on the scalp makes it impossible to get the gradual shading/color change you want. Educate them about the need for a clean scalp, or shampoo it for them.

A good teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.

Anonymous

6/9/10

Job satisfaction studies has barbering ranked at, or very near, the top of the many ways people spend their working life. Here are some of the things I find enjoyable:

1. Every 10 to 20 minutes of cutting produces a positive result. A smile and some kind words says it was a job well done and much appreciated.

2. My cutting efforts result in haircuts that make life a little easier. They are low maintenance, low concern, and require the least amount of chemicals to stay in shape all day.

3. Years of cutting hair has resulted in people who aren't "clients" or "customers"--they're friends I look forward to seeing.

4. It's challenging work because of the variety of haircuts I give, which are always customized to the person's preferences and the unique attributes of their hair.

5. My shop is smoke and chemical-free. A variety of music plays without commercials, all helping to make for a positive day that goes by nicely.

6. I'm free to set up and run my business the way I want, and I don't spend time worrying about a lay-off notice.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Chinese proverb

6/6/10

1. Don't suggest to a child that handling their hair (combing, brushing or cutting) will "tickle". The notion that what you do tickles will cause the child to react by moving their head away or to raise their shoulder up toward the head in such a way as to make haircutting difficult at best, impossible at worst. Inform the parent that "tickle" is a word not be used in connection with haircutting.

2. Children under the age of 4 to 5 will move around some during the haircut. This is to be expected and not a problem--we can move with the child's movements, especially when scissor cutting. With a moving "target", a good haircut is strived for in the SHORTEST time possible, but it won't be a PERFECT haircut. You want a young customer who enjoys getting their hair cut the first time and every time. Soon enough they are sitting still for their haircut, and precision haircuts will be standard fare.

3. A little "bribery" is always a good idea. In my shop a cooperating child can either have the pick of the candy bowl, or a ride on "Sandy" the horse. Both a ride and candy can be had on request.

I listed almost 10 things you and the parent can do to make a child's haircut easier and more enjoyable for all concerned. Any one of these things will improve your chances for success--the more you put into practice, the more you'll benefit.

All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.

Edwin Markham

6/5/10

Perhaps the most important aid you have in achieving a precision haircut is your mirror. It's always used for short tapered haircuts, and flattops or crewcuts will also need some mirror help.

a. Use the mirror on flattops/crewcuts to see that your top cutting efforts aren't sloping off to one side or the other. Also use the mirror to check the top while looking at it from the sides--you want that top as smooth as a table top.

b. On tapered haircuts the sides and back hair has two areas of concern: a nice smooth gradual INCREASING LENGTH to the hair as you go up the sides/back, and a GRADUAL SHADING change from the shorter cutting around the lower sides/back to the longer cutting higher up.

To get a gradual increasing length you'll use the mirror to see any "bulges" where the hair has been left too long in an area, or where your cutting may have created a "line" from cutting the hair too short. The extra distance you get from looking at the mirror helps to see these conditions.

Shading isn't an issue on longer, more full haircuts, but on shorter haircuts (especially on darker hair) shading is an important part of your cutting efforts. On short clipper cutting around the lower sides/back, the scalp is visible especially on fair-skinned folks. As the hair gradually gets longer higher up, the scalp is hidden. You don't want an abrupt change from light to dark. If the mirror shows you a dark spot or area, you need to cut that a little shorter to lighten it.

**Extra tip** To achieve the smooth cutting and gradual change from light to dark, always do your cutting with the window light to your back--especially on sunny days.

Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give.

United Nations Declaration

5/29/10

First haircuts almost always work best if:

a. The child can sit on Mom or Dad's lap while their hair is cut. The child sits facing the parent, (who sits in the barber chair), as far out onto their knees as possible. This positioning is reassuring to the child, and it gives the barber ample room to do the cutting.

b. Avoid using a hair cloth. Yes, everyone gets a little hairy, (it sweeps off), but the little ones don't like having their arms covered by the cloth. Have the parent use a hair duster to brush away cut hairs from the child's face and neck.

c. They are distracted. It's good to have an extra person along to help keep their mind off what's going on. A favorite toy is good. A T.V. with a DVD player showing "Bambi" or "Shrek" or??? is effective. I'll give up my bunch of keys--they always seem to be fascinated with keys.

d. Scissors yes, clippers no. The big goal with first haircuts is a pleasant experience for the child, the parent, and you. To this end, I highly recommend a "scissors only" cutting on the first few haircuts. If they'll sit still for it, clippers can be used over the comb around the edge hair, but because of the vibration and noise, most children don't like them.

You can always tell a real friend: When you make a fool of yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job of it.

Laurence J. Peter

May 17, 2010

Dealing with this part of the haircut is always a matter of what the person wants, but there are some things to be aware of.

1. If the bottom neck hair is to be blocked, you need to ask if they want the corners--where the side of the neck hair meets the bottom hair--square (or nearly so) or rounded somewhat. Usually rounded works best.

2. If they ask what neck hair treatment you suggest, point out that tapered neck hair has the advantage of keeping a good appearance longer, as it grows out. Blocked neck hair has "stubble" showing up below the block line after a week or so--it "begs" to be cut again. As a tapered neck grows out it looks like it was left a bit long, i.e., not clipped real short. The tapered neck hair still looks "fresh" after several weeks.

3. If the neck hair is blocked, it should have the bottom 1/2 to 1 or more inches tapered shorter than the hair on the upper back. Leave the hair at least a quarter-inch long where the line will be, and be sure to keep the block line as low as possible

Our ideals, laws and customs should be based on the proposition that each generation in turn becomes the custodian rather than the absolute owner of our resources--and each generation has the obligation to pass this inheritance on to the future.

Alden Whitman

May 3, 2010

Whether a child grows up to enjoy or dread getting their hair cut can be largely determined on haircut #1. Of course what you do makes a big difference, but also what happens before their haircut can be an important help or insure failure.

The helpful parent:

1. Haircare. Use a "no-tears" baby shampoo that is low pH, acid-balanced. These mild shampoos have ascorbic acid (vitamin C) added to create the low pH necessary to avoid tangley split ends. The child should have their hair thoroughly brushed out so a comb can travel through the hair without running into any snarls. Getting tangles out of hair is painful--that's not the way to start a haircut.

2. At home. If they have an electric shaver or clipper, have the child see the shaving process, and also hear and touch the shaver while running. Spend time grooming (combing brushing) so they're used to their scalp being touched. They shouldn't use the word "haircut". Most children have already been conditioned to avoid anything that "cuts"--instead, use the word "trim", e.g., we'll go to Barber Bob's place to get your hair trimmed.

3. Timing. The parent should arrange to have the child's hair "trimmed" at their best time. For many it's right after a nap, but they know when their child is cranky or irritable, and when they are in their most pleasant state. Another "timing issue" that can have an impact is to bring the child before they visit a doctor--a haircut is painless but if it happens after they have been poked with a needle, they'll probably think they're in for more of the same.

More tips next week.

There is nothing like sealing a letter to inspire a fresh thought.

Anonymous