HISTORY OF BARBERING

Barbering is one of the oldest trades in history. The word “barber” is derived from the Latin word “Barba,” meaning beard. In the distant past, barbering entailed nothing other than shaves. Straight razors, the only tool that barbers had, have a long history: razors made of sharp stones date back to the Bronze Age (3,500 years ago) and have been discovered in excavations based in Egypt.

Historically, barbers also functioned as dentists and surgeons. The barber pole placed outside of most traditional barbershops is not just a fancy exterior feature. It signifies a period in the past when barbers were expected to heal bleeding individuals and, accordingly, the red represents blood while the white represents the color of the bandage. The red and white stripes cross over each other in an attempt to show the process of bloodletting, while the blue signifies the veins involved in the bloodletting.

Today hairstylists perform the art of barbering. Professional barbers in this day and age are known for being perfectionists, an approach that fits with the needs of their clients since the current generation of men are more stylish and fashionable than their predecessors.

Indeed, staying “clean” is considered an important aspect of one’s lifestyle. Buzz cuts are no longer buzz cuts. Now clients have fades or perhaps wave cuts with a taper on the neckline. And when speaking of fades we are not talking about a “short on the sides and longer on top” style. We mean, instead, personalized fades that take into account the shape of one’s head and one’s personal preferences.

Many hairstylists and people who “just cut hair” are in the industry, but a good barber is hard to find. My role is to introduce you to barbering at its finest.