Length in centimetres, not numbers. Photographs of yourself, not of actors. And one barber, for years. How to get the haircut you meant.
Most bad haircuts are communication failures. A man sits down, says short back and sides, gestures vaguely at his own head and hopes. Twenty minutes later he has a haircut, and it is not the one he meant. The remedy is not a better barber, though that helps. It is a vocabulary of about six terms, a photograph and a relationship.
The six words
- Length, in centimetres or in fingers, on top and at the sides. Say I want about four centimetres on top, not just a trim.
- Taper or fade. A taper leaves the sides graduated but with hair; a fade goes down to the skin. Say which, and how high, low or mid.
- Scissors or clippers on the sides. Scissors give a softer, more grown-up finish. Clipper guards are numbered in eighths of an inch, which nobody understands; give centimetres.
- Texture. Point-cut or thinned on top for movement, blunt for weight. If your hair falls flat, ask for texture.
- The neckline: squared, rounded or tapered. Tapered grows out best.
- The parting: natural, left, right, or none. Find yours by combing wet hair straight back and seeing where it falls.
A barber can only cut the haircut you can describe. Learn six words and you will never have a bad one again.
The photograph
Of you, after the best haircut you have had, from the front and the side. Keep it on your phone. A photograph of an actor tells the barber what the actor’s hair does, not what yours will do, and a good barber will say so. If you have no such photograph, take one after the next cut you like, and the problem is solved for life.
Finding the barber
Ask the best-groomed man you know, not the internet. Book a mid-week morning appointment, when the shop is calm. Watch how he cuts the man before you: does he look at the shape of the head or just the length of the hair. Talk for a minute before the scissors come out. If the first cut is good, go back; if it is nearly good, go back and say what to change; if it is bad, do not go back and do not complain, just find the next one. When you find him, stay for years. A barber who has cut your hair forty times knows what it does in humidity, how it grows over the ears and when you are about to ask for something you will regret.
How often
Every three to four weeks for a short cut, five to six for longer hair. A five-minute tidy of the neck and around the ears between cuts, which most barbers do for a few euros or nothing, keeps the haircut looking new for the second fortnight. Book the next appointment as you leave. Tip ten to fifteen percent, in cash, to the man himself.
Questions we get asked
Barber or hairdresser?
A barber for short hair and beards, a hairdresser for anything over about eight centimetres on top. The best of either will tell you honestly if you are in the wrong chair.
Should I use product?
A matte clay or a light cream, a pea-sized amount, on dry hair, if the cut needs it. A good cut on the right hair often needs nothing.
What about grey hair?
Keep it. A good cut with grey looks distinguished; a dye job looks like a dye job. If it yellows, a silver shampoo once a week fixes it.
