If you’ve been to a black barbershop, you know there are different types of barbers. In my day, I’ve come across a bunch of personalities before I decided to leave the shops to cut celebrity hair. So allow me to break down the different types of barbers out there!
You got the playa. When chicks come in, he talks to them all, “Hey, wassup, wassup.” He’s single so he’s doing his thing. He might have a few girls on the side, but hey, what they don’t know won’t hurt them.
You got the businessman barber who’s strictly about his business. He’s on time. He’s this. He’s that. Everything is proper. Everything is to a science. If he says he’s leaving at 8 o’clock, on the dot. If you walk in at 7:59, he’s leaving at 8 o’clock. There is no, “I’m taking another client.” No, he’s outta there.
You got the hustle barber, who cuts real fast and gets all the clients. He keeps the bodies coming in and out in a steady flow.
The flip side to that is the lax barber, who’s just comfortable with what he’s getting and he’s cool. He’s like, “I’m good. I’m not gonna run out there. I’m not gonna chase money. The money is coming to me. I’m straight. I’m happy with what I’m doing.”
Then you got the barber who wants to be the next entrepreneur, you can tell he’s on his job. He’s advertising. He’s giving out cards. He’s making sure he got his barber jacket on. He’s making sure if you are in the shop he acknowledged you whether you’re his client or not. If people curse, he can’t have that. Because the barbershop is and has always been a family setting at the end of the day.
This is where men bring their sons to get a haircut. This is where single women bring their sons to get a haircut or braids, whatever the case is. They bring them there. So, there are rules that must be followed, certain things go on, but the people who are serious about the business, they don’t want any nonsense in the business. They just want to make sure everything is running right! The barbershop is the center of the neighborhood.
