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Is the Barber Shop Dead?
1/21/2015
In the old days, you’d see the red, white, and blue stripes of a barber shop pole in every neighborhood. But today, you don’t see as many barber shops around. Is the traditional barber shop dead? Has it been replaced by the hair salon? Well, it’s true that there are fewer barber shops around today than there were twenty years ago, but there are still some of them around.
Barbers, unlike hairstylists, tend to focus on men’s hair. Women usually went to salons, while men went to barber shops. Barbers were generally men, too, although there were some women barbers.
Barber shops didn’t offer as many services as today’s salons do, which is why some men no longer go to barbers. They didn’t wash your hair, for example, nor did they really dye hair or do much more than simply cut it. However, the original barber shops did give men shaves. The barbers would use very sharp open blade razors to give their customers incredibly close shaves. Some even still do this today, although it’s fairly rare.
Why did men start going to salons instead of barber shops? It may have to do with the services offered. Some men hate the grey hairs that have started to creep into their hair, so they go to a professional to have their hair dyed. Others like the fact that the stylist can do more with their hair than a barber can.
Of course, there are still some barber shops around. Men who want a basic haircut with no extras tend to go to these shops because they’re usually a little cheaper and there’s not as much of a wait. Some of these shops even continue to have the traditional barber pole outside of their store, although others have abandoned it for a more modern look.
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