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History of Barbering and Barbershops:
A Brief History of Barbershops... The 1880′s to the 1940′s was the golden age for barbershops. During this time, men socialized in barbershops which rivaled saloons in popularity. Visiting the barbershop was a weekly, and sometimes a daily routine. Men would stop in not only for a haircut and a shave, but also to chew the fat.
Barbershops were classy places with often stunning surroundings. Marble counters lined with colorful glass blown tonic bottles. Barber chairs elaborately carved from oak and walnut, and fitted with fine leather upholstery. Everything from the shaving mugs to the advertising signs, were rendered with an artistic flourish. The best shops even had crystal chandeliers hanging from fresco painted ceilings. Despite this level of luxury, barbershops were homey and inviting. They smelled of cherry, wintergreen, apple, hair tonics, pomades, oils, and neck powders. These aromas became ingrained in the wood of the entire shop.
From the moment a man stepped inside, he was enveloped in the warm and welcoming familiarity. And as soon as the hot lather hit his face, his cares would simply melt away.
The first blow to barbershops came when Gillette began mass marketing the safety razor. Touted as more economical and convenient than visiting a barbershop, the use of safety razors caught on, and during World War I, the US government issued them along with straight razors to the troops. Having compared the two razors size by side, upon returning home from the front, many soldiers discarded both the straight razor and their frequent trips to the barbershop. So going to the barber for a shave, became a special occasion instead of a regular habit. In the decades after, several other factors combined to weaken the place of the barbershop in society. Companies like Sears began selling at-home hair cutting kits, and mom began cutting Junior’s and Pop’s hair. When the Depression hit, people also cut back on discretionary spending like barber shaves. Then when hairstyles began to change and some men grew they're hair longer and shaggier, they made less visits to the barber. But through all of this the short hair styles endured and so did the Barbershop. In the 1980′s, a new type of hair salon siphoned off the barbers’ clients; the unisex salon. Places like “Super Cuts” which were neither beauty salons nor barbershops, catered to both men and women. Many states’ licensing boards accelerated this trend by ceasing to issue barber licenses altogether and issuing only a “cosmetologist/stylist” license to all those seeking to enter the hair cutting profession.
If you’re like most men these days, you’re probably going to or have gone to some salon like Super Cuts, Great Clips or even unisex salons that call themselves Barbershops, like Floyd's 99 or (aka) Floyd's Barbershops. I used to do it too. Most of the time, I’d walk out of these places with a crappy haircut. The problem is that many of the people who work at salons are not trained barbers. They’re cosmetologists or stylist. A barber is trained to cut with clippers, clipper over comb, a straight razor and scissors, all tools in cutting a man’s hair. Cosmetologists, on the other hand, are trained to use only scissors and their training is also geared towards catering to women's hair. Which is why when you ask the stylist at Super Cuts to use the number 2 on the clippers; you walk away with a bad haircut. It's because they are probably not well versed in how to use them. But a barber can employ the clippers with finesse.
Today, very few barbershops still give the traditional hot towel, hot lather, straight razor shave. And in my opinion, you haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the pleasure of a great barber shave. So next time you spot the familiar red and white striped pole, with "Kurt's Cuts Barbershop" beside it, stop in. You’ll be glad you did.
