Why You Should Forget Names & Show A Picture Of The Haircut You Want
As human beings we love to give everything a name.
Whether that be a recipe, our pet's, the title of this blog post or a haircut.
It's what allows us to identify what something is clearly and easily.
Or at least that's what we think.
But what if we told you that when you go in and ask for a specific haircut you could just be confusing your barber.
Pompadour, side parting, rockabilly, quiff.
These all sound great.
But just by saying that name does it mean that you'll get exactly what you want or what will suit you?
Let's try it.
If you were asking for a pompadour, which one would you get?
And again. If you wanted a side parting, which one would you get?
The answer - you could get any one of them.
Of course names can help to give the barber some basic direction.
With haircuts like a side parting, the barber will know OK he wants his hair parted.
And yes you can direct your barber further, by saying things like a zero fade on back & sides, or I want this much length off the top.
But, names leave room for confusion.
Haircut's have adapted over the years and now there are so many different variations on one cut that name's simply aren't enough.
What you see as a pompadour, may not be what your barber sees a pompadour.
Your best way to get the haircut you want?
Show your barber a picture. Show your barber multiple pictures of similar styles if you can to give them some variation.
This will allow your barber to have more of a visual idea of what you're looking for and see OK well I don't think your hair will do this or this won't suit your head shape exactly like that, but we can do some variation of it.
We know sometimes you can feel stupid handing your barber over a picture of David Beckham and saying I want to look like that.
But you will be making your barber's job so much easier as they can visually see what you are thinking, rather than you trying to express that in technical terms.
Believe us, one common theme that we've experienced when visiting barbershops for our videos is that every single barber says it would be so much easier if everyone just showed pictures.
It makes sense though, right?
Barbering is a visual art, and is not something that can be easily expressed in words.
You wouldn't try to explain a painting. You would need to see it to experience it.
And it's about what suits you. It's personal to you.
A haircut that suits David Beckham may not suit you, but some variation on that same style could be perfect for you.
The ultimate aim should be to find your haircut.
Whether you're someone that wants to keep the same haircut for life, or someone who switches their cut up every month.
You still want to find a variation that suits you, and is yours while you're wearing it.
If you're someone that switches barber's regularly or travels a lot then take a picture of your haircut (or get your barber to take one) when you get a good one.
Once again it just leaves less room for error and means you're both visualising something similar.
There's nothing worse than getting a perfect haircut and then never being able to replicate that style again!
Challenge - Give it a try next time you get a haircut. Show your barber a picture of the cut you'd like, especially if you struggle to communicate what you want easily.
