Would not getting a "pre-haircut" before the post-lockdown barber shop visit be considered rude?
As a relatively boring person when it comes to hairstyles. I've stuck to the same short back and sides and an inch or so on top for my whole adult life and used the same barber shop for the whole I've lived in my current home because they are close, cheap, and I don't know anything about whether or not they do a good job so they'll do.
However, the indifference I show towards my hair usually leads me to waiting a good while longer than most between cuts, which combined with what I'm told us pretty thick hair often leads to the lady there saying I shouldn't wait so long in a jovial tone that's obviously attempting to hide some genuine annoyance. This is the root of my current predicament. I was getting close to needing a haircut already when they were all shut for months, and the absolutely crazy mess of keratin strands on my head that don't deserve the name "hair" is something I imagine would be an absolute piss-take to cut at this point. I don't own any clippers and wouldn't know what to do anyway, and am not really at a friendliness level with anyone who would to it to the point where I'd be happy to ask them, so it would be inconvenieny, but as a Brit I'd be willing to massively inconvenience myself to avoid the slight inconvenience of barber shop lady
Posted Jun 24, 2020, 11:07 PM UTC
Absolutely not, and if you get any form of attitude you need to change your barber!
Your length of hair is not a significant factor in how long it will take them to cut.
However having clean, conditioned hair and a clear concise description (or photo) of what you want will be appreciated.
I've always just asked for a number 2 or 3 on the sides and cut down to about an inch or inch and a half on top. I've always presumed this was a basic and common hairstyle that wouldn't need a visual aid but might I be wrong?
It's really cheap, costing about £7 each time which is like a third of some other more professional looking places, and other than the odd grumble about how I've waited too long they're usually polite and just seem like a small family business where they seem to stay nice and cheap so they can live their respectably modest life.
Oh, and someone at work said 3 seems an oddly specific length to ask for. I don't really know if it would seem weird, but it's because I spotted on their price list that for some reason a cut with number 2 or shorter was 50p more than a number 3 and above. The weird thing is sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The price seems to bounce between £6.50 and £8 on different visits and I have literally no clue why. Don't bother asking either to be honest
[Edit: I never answered your question, sorry. Yes I guess that a two-back-and-sides is simple enough for them but they will need to know how to finish the back taper/line/fade as well as if they should do anything with the top thin/chop/partings etc.]
If your objective is to get the cheapest cut possible it looks like you’ve got what you need.
Personally my hair, and the haircut experience is more of a priority to me and I’m lucky to have found a very talented barber near me. I pay £15 for a cut and beard “shape” and often then tip another £5.
You’re probably thinking ‘three times what I pay, this guy is crazy!’ but here’s why I go back over and over:
He runs an appointment system. I WhatsApp him, we agree a time (he only needs about a days notice) the I turn up outside and am getting my hair cut in under a minute. The thought of sitting in a traditional barber shop for sometimes over an hour I can’t stand. I’d like to think my time is worth more than the money I’d save.
He operates out of an office building (his main customers are those working in the office) and has a small cubicle for just him. This means I don’t have to interact with anyone else. No overhearing the guy next to me talk a load of shite, or a massive steamy shop with too many people in. A much more relaxing experience.
Naturally I have the same barber every time who knows exactly what I want and how I like it. I have a more complex cut/“fade” and over time we’ve worked on things that annoy me with it until we’ve got it perfect. It also means it’s very consistent, no good cut or bad cut.
Finally as it’s now someone I’ve known for years and more like a friend I’m not subjected all the random boring chat I used to find; “so what do you do then?” groan! Now we get to talk about our kids, recent travels and plans fo the future, as well as the odd inside joke.
So for an extra cost over a year of about £150 over going to a budget barbers, for me it’s worth every penny.
As someone obliged to pay women’s salon prices I am tickled by your impulse to write a seven-paragraph justification for a £15 cut.
It was more a 7 paragraph objection to a cheap cut, but I guess that’s just splitting hairs.....
for the last 25 years I’ve just asked for short back and sides, 2 around the sides, short on top, always been the norm for me, generic and boring. Where I’ve been going for the past 5+ years it costs 7 quid, this goes up to 8.50 from Thursday presumably because it’s busier (not 100% on that I’ve never asked). There’s never really time for much small talk because it takes them all of 5-10 minutes to do and that’s fine with me.
Got mine done a week before lockdown (try to get it cut every 6-8 weeks) but it’s now a mess, starting to curl and when it’s hot it just feels shite. I’m probably not going to get near any barbers for a few weeks when they reopen and my dad has some clippers so maybe it’s time to borrow those and go for 2 or 3 all over. Take it down to the wood as they say.