Barbers, barbershops continue on in modern-day society
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The barber pole adorns many a small-town barbershop but not everyone knows its red, blue and white stripes have special meaning.
Did you know ... ?The barber pole adorns many a small-town barbershop but not everyone knows its red, blue and white stripes all stand for something.
Old-time barbers were surgeons who often bled their clients. The red stands for ...
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Did you know ... ?The barber pole adorns many a small-town barbershop but not everyone knows its red, blue and white stripes all stand for something.
Old-time barbers were surgeons who often bled their clients. The red stands for blood, white symbolizes the bandages used to soak it up and blue stands for the "bad blood" they removed from their customers.
Source: Charles Kirkpatrick, executive officer of the National Association of Barber Boards of America.MORE THAN A QUICK TRIM
Pam Albright, who owns Stryk's Barber Shop, shares her tips on how to get the perfect shave.
Prepare the beard with heat. Apply pre-shave gel and then shaving cream. Cover that with a hot towel. Do this twice.
If the skin is extra dry, apply cocoa butter.
Use a straight razor to shave with the grain.
Afterward, apply a soothing vanishing cream and massage it into the face. Apply another hot towel.
Shave against the grain with a straight razor.
Apply aftershave lotion and place a cold towel on face to close pores.
Apply a final swipe of aftershave and you're done.
Like most things, the barber industry has seen its share of ups and downs through the years. Here, Charles Kirkpatrick, executive officer of the National Association of Barber Boards of America, lays out the highlights:
The industry hit its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, when the United States boasted 350,000 licensed barbers. At that point, Elvis had entered the military and had cut his hair off, so military cuts became popular.
Slumps followed when The Beatles' longer cuts became popular and, later, hippies and war protesters wore their hair down past the ears and, later, down their backs.
Many barbers went out of business in the 1970s. At that point, others became licensed to cut women's hair. It was another way to bring in income.
Other trends and changes came as the years progressed, he said.
During the 1980s, about 100,000 barbershops operated nationwide.
Bowl cuts were popular 10 or 12 years ago, introducing a challenge to barbers used to cutting smooth hair.
Current trends include artwork in hair. From zig-zags to stars and lightning bolts to President BarackObama, people are using their heads as canvases. The fastest-growing sector is the African-American side of the industry. Weaves and the like have become increasingly popular.
The United States currently plays home to about 245,000 licensed barbers and 105,000 shops.
It plays out in virtually any city where men like to gather, swap stories and solve the world's problems.
From Floyd the Barber's Mayberry location to Sweeney Todd's murderous Fleet Street site, it's ingrained in popular culture.
It's the barbershop and experts say it's here to stay.
The barber isn't going anywhere because he manufactures what he sells, said Charles Kirkpatrick, executive officer of the National Association of Barber Boards of America.
"In downtown U.S.A., the insurance man is connected to State Farm out of town," he said. "Banks are connected upstream from somewhere. The last one to go has been the pharmacist, but the barber and cosmetologist are the most independent business people in town."
At its all-time high, the industry boasted 350,000 licensed barbers nationwide, he said. Those numbers have seen increases and decreases over time, but today the United States still employs a healthy 245,000, he said.
On a warm November day in Victoria, Lew's Barber Shop buzzed with more than the sound of the razor.
Radio music blasted while football played on the flat-screen TV. A group of men - some in for a trim, others to shoot the breeze - lounged around the shop's perimeter.
A barber's role is complex, owner Lewis Goode said with a smirk.
"Here, we have to be marriage counselors, we have to be relationship counselors," he said as he trimmed a customer's hair. "We talk politics, we talk sports and we interact with people on a daily basis."
To Goode's left stood barber John Landry, who began cutting hair in the fifth grade. He learned from his brother.
"He was the neighborhood barber," Landry said, adding he took over once his brother left for the Navy. "Before I knew it, our backyard became a barbershop and I guess I kept working toward it."
Tisha Ybarbo, the lone cosmetologist in a shop of barbers, stands to Landry's left.
She began professionally cutting hair 12 years ago but got her start young, trimming up her niece's Barbie dolls.
"I think my first haircut was a 'Billie Jean' style," she said with a smile. "I hated Barbies."
Walter Brown, a long-time barbershop customer, said he sticks with them for the conversations, the cuts and the environment.
"It's a whole experience," said Brown, who serves as pastor at Gideon Baptist Church. "And I'm here pretty often. About twice a month. I wear my hair close, so I have to keep it up."
Across town from Lew's, Stryk's Barber Shop maintains a busy, albeit quieter, atmosphere.
Antique straight razors, blow dryers and hair tonics line the wall inside the nearly 60-year-old business, while a big-screen TV sits against a wall.
Owner Pam Albright said the shop prides itself on being a traditional barbershop, outlining the ears, offering shaves and a neck massage at the end. Men want a place to hang out and get a trim, away from hair dyes and manicures, she said
Although she began cutting women's hair, she said women are more temperamental when it comes to their hair. Men, however, find a cut they like and often stick with it for years.
Jimmy Hatch, a long-time Stryk's customer, said he's always gone with good, old-fashioned barbershops. Although he cut hair himself in the past - in the Navy he trimmed his captain's hair - he prefers to leave it to the experts.
"I never had any training," said Hatch, who is retired from CPL. "And they do a good job here."
Al Tristan's barber station sits a few feet to Albright's right. Tristan owned the South End Barber Shop in Houston for 14 years before family issues moved him to Victoria.
After working at DuPont - and cutting hair on his days off - he retired and decided to get back in the business.
"I was tired of staying home," he said, adding the extra income doesn't hurt. "Now, I work part-time. I come in three days a week."
Although Tristan said he enjoys his work and plans to continue into the future, he said he worries how many others will continue on. More people opt for computer-related jobs, he said, while trades like barbers, plumbers and the like are dwindling.
Goode, however, isn't worried because people still need to look good.
"To get a job, you have to have a presentable haircut," he said. "To keep it, you have to have a presentable haircut, too. I see my job as kind of recession-proof."
And, as for Kirkpatrick? He's confident the industry will thrive in the future, he said, and the number of barbers and barbershops is slowly on the rise.
He'll stay actively involved, too.
"I've been in it all my career and I haven't had a bad crop yet," he said with a chuckle. "Why stop now?"
Comments
Allison, I wanted to comment on an excellent reporting job. This is what I want from my local paper - connecting a national trend with local information, historical information and human interest. I was impressed with the level of research and color you added to this story. Well done!
November 30, 2009 at 10:52 a.m.