Barber, as a profession has gained many trends in recent years. With the celebrities celebrating their hairstyles like never before, barbers all across Australia have seen immense growth in their trade. However, for people who don’t want to go into the job and want to get their hair done, knowing the basics is necessary. Why? Well, when you know the practices, you can recognize a good barber and take services from him without any fear.
Here are some basic things about a barber’s practice that you must know:
Holding and palming scissors
Professional barbers will hold their scissors using their thumb and third finger. This helps to maintain maximum control with the scissors. Although initially, this can take some time getting used to, it will become natural over time.
During a haircut, a good barber should never need to put his scissors or comb down. Instead, when he is not using his scissors, he must ‘palm’ them. To do this, he will remove his thumb from the scissors and hold them in his palm. Some barbers prefer to turn the blade around to point towards their wrist when they palm. Either is fine, so let the barber do what he feels more comfortable with. Again, this technique may take a little while to get used to it.
It will help if he is comfortable with both of these techniques before he starts cutting on your head, so ensure that he knows what he is about to do!
Haircutting techniques
#1. Club cutting: This technique is when the hair is cut bluntly, straight across. It is used to remove length but retain bulk and can be done on wet or dry hair.
#2. Point cutting: This technique is used to texturize the hair and remove bulk. The amount of weight he removes depends on the angle he cuts in at. This can be done on wet or dry hair.
#3. Thinning: Using the thinning scissors will remove bulk without removing any length. They are ideal for use on medium to thick hair to remove weight and texture the ends. This should only be used on the mid-lengths and ends of the hair, and your barber needs to be careful not to overuse as this can cause wispy ends. This must only be used on dry hair.
#4. Freehand cutting: For this technique, the hair is combed into place and cut freehand – without any tension. This is ideal to use on fringes and hairlines as it leaves the hair to sit naturally, therefore not causing the hair to ‘jump up’ when the tension is released, or the hair is dried.
#5. Razor cutting: This technique is used to remove bulk and create a softer look. It should not be used on fine hair and should only be used on wet hair. Well, a job well done must always be checked before putting down the scissors. Won’t you like your barber cross-checking the task he invested his time in?
#6.Cross-checking: Cross-checking is a technique used to check for mistakes. This must be done on every cut to correct length and balance. When cross-checking, the barber will look at the hair the opposite way to how he cut, for example, if he took vertical sections, then he will cross-check taking horizontal sections and vice versa.
Conclusion
All in all, A good barber can be immediately recognized with the small gestures he makes while doing his job. All you need to ensure from your side is to see that the barber you go to has all the tools and skills required to give you a fresh new look.