Barber Shops and Salons
motorhead
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
It’s been 6 or 7 years since I’ve been in a barbershop. My entire life I’ve always gone to an old fashioned men’s barbershop. Only once have I ever been in one of the chains like Super Cuts.
The barber I went to for years was straight out of Mayberry. Wore a smock like Floyd, men only, 1970’s Coke Machine, no appointments. 1982 PMOY Marianne Gravatte centerfold on the wall. $7.
I started shaving my head so stopped going.
What kind of shops do you go to? What’s the current price. I can’t imagine paying the prices I hear are being charged in NYC and SF.
I’ve only had men cut my hair. Some guys are the opposite - they would only have women cut their hair but I’ve never known anything different
https://images.app.goo.gl/opjFzR9NpowHc8…
The barber I went to for years was straight out of Mayberry. Wore a smock like Floyd, men only, 1970’s Coke Machine, no appointments. 1982 PMOY Marianne Gravatte centerfold on the wall. $7.
I started shaving my head so stopped going.
What kind of shops do you go to? What’s the current price. I can’t imagine paying the prices I hear are being charged in NYC and SF.
I’ve only had men cut my hair. Some guys are the opposite - they would only have women cut their hair but I’ve never known anything different
https://images.app.goo.gl/opjFzR9NpowHc8…
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21 comments
SJG
https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=5041
He had a reallly old school coke machine in his place too until the late 90s.
Probably overdue to do that pretty soon
SJG
Other times, I step into my dry bathtub, slap the #2 guard onto my Wahl electric clippers and mow it all down. Came in handy during the shutdown.
My longtime barber finally retired about 4-5 years ago, he was the only person that ever cut my hair from the time I was 3 until he retired. He was definitely an old school barber that had been in the same one chair shop for more than 50 years and was an Army barber before that. He only had 5 hair cuts that he did and they were listed on a piece of paper that had been thumbtacked to the wall next to the mirror for so long the paper had turned yellow from age.
"Basic Haircut" - short on the sides and back with it a little longer on top and parted on one side.
"Summer Buzz Cut" - a basic military style buzz cut.
"Winter Buzz Cut" - a buzz cut with the guide set slightly longer.
"The Greaser" - slicked back with old fashioned pomade
"The Hippie" - shoulder length straight cut
He would always give anyone that wanted a greaser or hippie style a little grief and tell them it was time to act like a real man and get a real haircut. If anyone new ever came in and tried to tell him about a different style that they wanted he would tell them about the types of haircuts he did and that there was a women's hair salon (owned by his wife and then his daughter) down the road if they wanted anything else.
Up until about 2010 he always charged $5 per cut but he finally raised his price to $10 towards the end with a hot shave being an extra $5 and was always cash only. I usually gave him $20 for just a cut or $30 for a cut and a shave which he always tried to turn down saying it was too much. One nice thing that he always did was whenever a local service member was back in town he would give them a free cut and shave when they got home and before they left to go back and would always bump them straight to the front of the line because he said they need to spend every minute enjoying their time back home instead of waiting around for a haircut.
The only downside was it was a little hard to get a haircut for a few weeks each spring and fall because he was also a farmer and had to help his sons during planting and harvesting seasons. He would also close for a week or so during deer season until he had bagged his limit.
When he retired he referred all of his regulars to a good barbershop about 20 miles away. They are a little fancier and a little more expensive ($17/cut) but they are still mostly old fashioned and the shop has been around more than 50 years and each of the barbers that work there (not sure if it is currently 2 or 3 guys) has been a barber for at least 20 years. I do miss getting a traditional shave every now and then but I can't bring myself to pay the extra $30 they charge for a shave. At that point with a haircut ($17) shave ($30) and tip (usually $15) it would be over $60 and that is just more than my ugly head is worth.
Of all the places I've been, I don't think I've paid more than $25 with tip on the high end. Usually, it's $20 with tip. It's always a barber that I look for. Could be man or woman. I don't look for a haircut with extras.
The shops shut down; she got a better job elsewhere.... now I have a new stylist.
First name Flo..... last name Bee... the fuckin thing is amazing. Perfect haircut every time.
https://flowbee.com/
I have gone to independents my whole life, unless you count the Army exchange service, which runs a worldwide chain of barber shops. In overseas locations, they contract with local nationals for barbers. I remember one somewhat austere location where an active insurgency was still going on. The local barber came in once a week to provide haircuts. We had electricity, but he used all manual tools, including manual hair clippers, if you’ve ever seen those. He did his final touchups with a straight razor that he sharpened on a leather strap. Every time he pulled out that straight razor, I wondered how well he had been vetted.
After college he retired - and I started trying those clips places - and they are fine. Sadly, they don’t offer the magazine selection that I had become used to.
Since the pandemic I’ve been using my Wahl trimmer - that I got at Costco. It’s not bad - but it’s not a professional cut by any means.
SJG
Honeyybunn
https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=8133
I’ve never heard of such a business but if there is one somewhere, this group would know.