What I learned is that it makes a huge difference to get a haircut from someone professional. Going to some cheap random mall hair place is a terrible experience. They don't care about their work, it's going to be awkward and it'll look terrible.
I have been going to a fancy hair place in recent years. AUD $85 seems like a lot of money for a mens haircut, but it makes all the difference. It's a proper craft. No "what haircut would you like?", instead it's pretty much at her discretion and suited to the actual person. Zero regrets.
Nah, you can definitely find great people that love their jobs even at places like that.
I used to cut at a Supercuts in PHL (the Rodin place one for those in the know) and there was this great lady there that was both very skillful and incredibly nice, we always had great conversations.
Agreed, I don't doubt that. But starting from a place of anxiety I'd say it is much more likely to come away with a bad experience from there. At least that has been my experience.
I wholeheartedly agree. In my mind it's fancy because it's expensive. It's not the high society designer fashion nose high kind of fancy. More boutique :)
Adding to this, I'd like to say that it's the difference between getting your code written by some outsourced underpaid and overworked junior and someone who has a decade of experience and clearly takes pride in their craftsmanship.
$85 does seem like a lot of money for a haircut. I used to use the Great Clips, $10 places before switching to a “proper” barber that was more like $30 (US). Was it better? Yes. But I’m still not sure if it’s worth the money. I have a lot of hair that grows quickly, so I probably would go for a haircut once every 3-4 weeks. At $30 a pop that’s around $400-500 a year on cutting my hair. I don’t care how nice of a job they do, it’s hard for me, personally, to not feel like I’m just setting cash on fire.
These days I do neither. When the pandemic hit and people were socially distancing, my wife tried giving me a haircut, which wasn’t great but also wasn’t terrible. So we bought a hair trimming kit, watched a few YouTube videos and after a couple attempts she got pretty good at cutting my hair. She is by no means a proper barber, but she also only has a single client, me, so she doesn’t need to become great at cutting hair, we are just fine if she gets good at cutting my hair. And she has. I think the results are at least as good as any barber (and more consistent), and we now aren’t spending half a thousand dollars a year on cutting my hair. Obviously that isn’t a situation that will work for everyone, but I definitely recommend exploring it for those it does.
I'm sorry you don't like your hair cuts, but clippers, like scissors, are just a tool.
IMO thick or curly hair is always best cut dry and washed after. The hair changes way too much when wet to get a realistic idea of what it will look like when done if you wash it first. If time and patience were infinite, sure, maybe, wash and treat curly hair first, but it has to then be fully dry and it has to dry slowly without blowdrying before cutting because it completely changes shape and size between wet and dry.
For short hair or for someone who wants it styled, I'd agree that curly hair should be dry when cut.
I'm not PP but I'm a dude with long, curly hair and I just want an even trim, so it's much better if my hair is wet.
(Also, shampoo is harder on curly hair than straight hair; "wash" curly hair with water every day and use some conditioner, and only use shampoo if it feels dirty. That may only be once week or two, maybe once a month if the hair is short. Yes, really.)
Have you checked out barbers in the Black parts of your town? African hair is very curly and though most men don't keep it long, it's common enough and many barbers know how to handle it.
If you're just looking for an even trim, then almost anyone should be able to do it. (And I usually clean my hair right before I go in.)
I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that the only thing barbershop stylists know how to do is an undercut, a taper fade, or some variation of those two.
"I'd like layers. I don't want an undercut or fade. Here's a photo."
"You got it."
--> Undercut.
I have been going to a fancy hair place in recent years. AUD $85 seems like a lot of money for a mens haircut, but it makes all the difference. It's a proper craft. No "what haircut would you like?", instead it's pretty much at her discretion and suited to the actual person. Zero regrets.