Babble Community

c/barbers

5

logan_young29•1d ago

Old guy in the chair today told me I was the first barber to get his neckline right in 20 years

Had this older gentleman come in this morning, probably 70s or 80s. He sat down and said "just a regular cut, nothing fancy." But when I got to the neckline he kept leaning forward and looking at me in the mirror. I asked if something was wrong and he goes "no, I'm watching how you fade it into my neck, you actually follow the hair growth instead of just shoving a straight line." Said his last barber just buzzed it all off in a hard line and it always looked weird after 3 days. I don't do anything special, I just pay attention to where the hair naturally stops. But man that comment stuck with me all day. Has anyone else had a random compliment from a customer that just made you feel like you're actually good at this?

16

bell.felix•19d ago

Had a clipper motor die mid-haircut last Thursday

I was doing a fade on a regular and the Andis Master just stopped spinning with no warning. Smoke came out of the vents and everything. Anyone else had a motor burn out on an older clipper like that?

17

gavinb97•20d ago

Had a chat with an older barber that changed how I do fades

Met this guy named Dave at a shop in Portland last weekend, been cutting hair for like 40 years. He watched me do a skin fade and said I was losing the blend because I was rushing through the lever play. Told me to slow down and feel the hair instead of just looking at it. Made me realize I've been relying on my eyes too much instead of trusting my hands. Anybody else had an old timer give advice that totally changed your technique?

25

lopez.quinn•21d ago

Had a client today who wanted a 'modern mullet' and then got mad when it looked like a mullet

Guy comes in around 11, shows me a picture on his phone of some TikTok haircut that's basically a mullet with a disconnected top. I say sure, do the cut exactly like the picture. When I spin him around he's like 'this looks stupid, that's not what I asked for'. I literally showed him the mirror and the picture side by side. He paid but left a bad review on Google. How do you guys handle people who don't know what they actually want?

6

taylorc40•21d ago

Fade lines aren't supposed to be razor sharp, stop chasing them

I keep seeing new barbers post these fades where they've literally carved a line into the head so deep it looks like a part. That's not a transition, that's a ditch. I sat down with a guy in Dallas two months ago who had one of those sharp lines and his hair was already breaking off around it after a week. A gradual blend keeps the hair healthy and grows out looking natural for three weeks instead of needing a touch up after seven days. Has anyone else noticed clients coming back sooner when you give them that hard line?

21

claire_hart53•22d ago

Clipper oil I was sure was a gimmick saved my fading

I bought fancy clipper oil at the Atlanta barber expo last year thinking it was just hype. After four months of using it on my Wahl Seniors, my blades run cooler and I haven't had to adjust the zero gap once. Anyone else find a product they were dead wrong about?

24

eric_knight7•25d ago

Hot take: I stopped using thinning shears on every haircut after a barber in Chicago schooled me

Was at the Windy City Barber Expo last fall and this old school dude watched me work a fade. He straight up told me I was making my life harder using thinners on every blend. Said to trust my clipper skills more. I thought he was full of it but tried his way for a month. Now I only grab the thinners maybe once a week on super thick hair. My blends actually look cleaner and take less time. Anyone else ditch a tool they thought was essential?

21

the_nathan•27d ago

Hit 50 haircuts in one day for the first time yesterday

Ive been behind the chair for about 3 years now and never thought id push past 40 in a shift. Yesterday we had a walk-in rush before the local high school football game and I ended up doing 52 cuts from 10am to 7pm. My wrist is killing me today but it felt good to see that I can handle a busy day without messing up the quality too much. Anyone else track their daily numbers just to see where you're at?

1

val_williams•29d ago

My clipper blades went from dull to sharp after trying a different stone grit

I was using a 1000 grit stone for months and wondering why my fade lines were rough, then a older barber at the shop showed me to finish with a 4000 grit stone. Took me about 3 weeks of trying it on different heads before I saw the huge difference. Anyone else skip the finer grit and regret it?

17

lily70•1mo ago

Appreciation post: That random barber expo in Chicago that fixed my fade game

I went to that Barber Expo at McCormick Place last month mostly for the free samples. But I sat in on a demo by this older guy from Detroit who showed a trick with the clipper blade angle. He said to tilt the blade down just a little on the initial pass, not flat against the head. I tried it on my next client and the blend came out way smoother with zero lines. Has anyone else picked up a random tip at a show that totally changed how they cut?

8

emery_black•1mo ago

Saw a customer walk into my barber chair with a photo of a haircut from 1995

I was working my Saturday shift at Lou's shop in Austin when this guy pulls out this faded, crumpled photo of some dude with a frosted tip bowl cut and says 'make me look like this again' like it was totally normal, has anyone else had a customer ask for a haircut that was clearly a bad idea even back then?

31

the_aaron•1mo ago

Hit 1000 straight razor shaves and my hands still shake sometimes

I hit 1000 straight razor shaves last month in my shop. Some barbers say you never really master it, while others claim it clicks around 500. Has anyone else hit a big number and still felt like a beginner on certain days?

16

the_amy•1mo ago

I picked the Babyliss clippers over the Wahl and I'm kinda regretting it 6 months in

I picked the Babyliss clippers over the Wahl and I'm kinda regretting it 6 months in. I had to choose between a Babyliss Pro Gold FX and a Wahl Senior back in March when my old corded Oster started dying. I went with the Babyliss because everyone on Instagram hyped them up and I liked the idea of cordless. Fast forward 6 months and the battery life is already dropping off, plus the blade alignment drifts after like 10 cuts. I do about 15-20 cuts a week in my shop in Nashville. My buddy who stuck with the Wahl Seniors hasn't touched his charger in 3 months. Any of you guys switched brands and had buyers remorse like this?

0

wesley_adams•1mo ago

Tried a foil shaver on a older gentleman for the first time yesterday

I always used clippers for a clean look but this guy wanted baby smooth so I grabbed my Foil FX and it took half the time with zero irritation. Has anyone else had a client insist on a foil shave over clippers and regretted it mid cut?

14

bell.felix•1mo ago

Hit 500 clipper cuts in 18 months and it shocked me how fast word spreads in a small town like mine

I started counting after a regular asked how many heads I'd done, and now that I'm at 500 I realize it's not the number that matters but the 47 new clients who came because someone else loved their cut has anyone else had a milestone like this sneak up on them?

18

diana_west27•1mo ago

Swore by my cheap clippers for 5 years until a barber in Dallas let me try his Wahl Seniors

After one pass on a fade I finally realized my $40 set was leaving lines no amount of flicking could fix and now that I dropped $200 on the Seniors I'm wondering how many haircuts I butchered before.

24

the_linda•1mo ago

Clipper blade flew off mid haircut and hit the mirror last Tuesday

I was doing a fade on a kid when my Andis blade just launched itself across the room and cracked the wall mirror. Had to finish the cut with my backup clippers while the kid's mom laughed her head off. Has anyone else had a tool just explode on them out of nowhere?

22

the_spencer•1mo ago

Vent: The guy who told me I was charging too much for a fade

Had this older dude come in last Tuesday, sat down, didnt say a word until I was done. I do a solid mid fade, took me about 30 minutes, clean lines and all. He looks in the mirror, nods, then hands me $15 and says 'that should cover it for a simple cut.' My price is $30 for a fade, always has been. I told him nicely that it was $30 and he just stared at me like I was robbing him. He grumbled about how barbers in his day charged $5 and that I was just some kid with clippers. I held my ground but it stuck with me because he seemed genuinely mad, not just cheap. Where do you draw the line with customers who think your time isnt worth the price? Has anyone else had a customer try to lowball you after the cut was done?

4

dianahayes•1mo ago

My clippers died mid-fade on a paying customer yesterday

I was doing a skin fade on a regular of mine, right in the middle of the blend, and my Wahl Magic Clips just stopped spinning. No warning, no weird noise, just dead. I had to grab my backup corded clippers to finish the job, but the cut wasn't as clean and it threw off my whole rhythm. The guy was cool about it, but I felt like an amateur standing there with a dead tool in my hand. I think the battery finally gave out after three years of heavy use. Has anyone else had a clipper die on them during a cut? What did you do to fix it or replace it?

23

alex_wilson79•1mo ago

Rant: A guy came in yesterday wanting a 'reverse mohawk' and got mad when I explained that's just a bald head.

He insisted he saw it on a show and left a one-star review saying I 'lack vision'. Has anyone else had a client request something that just doesn't exist?

23

matthewmartin•1mo ago

Appreciation post: A regular showed me a photo of his hair from a year ago and I finally saw my own mistake.

I'd been cutting his hair slightly too short on the sides for months, but seeing the old picture made it obvious. The fade line was sitting a quarter inch too high, which was throwing off his whole shape. Has anyone else had a client's photo totally reframe a cut you thought you'd nailed?

11

tara_patel•1mo ago

The client who went from a buzz cut to a full Viking braid in six months

This regular guy came in for a simple trim last fall, but after his divorce he grew it out and now wants intricate braids with beads. I spent 45 minutes yesterday just sectioning his hair. How do you even price that kind of time jump from a basic cut?

14

uma_ellis•1mo ago

My shears were pulling hair and I couldn't figure out why for months

I was doing a standard taper on a regular client in my chair in Akron, and he kept flinching every time I used my left hand. I finally stopped and really looked at my technique. I was holding my main shears at a slight angle instead of keeping them perfectly vertical against the comb. A barber from Toledo I follow on Instagram posted a quick video about hand position, and it clicked. Has anyone else had a specific hand posture issue that was messing up your cuts?

20

coleman.gray•1mo ago

I finally gave a client exactly what he asked for with a skin fade

He came in with a picture of a tight fade that started way up high, almost a bald fade. I did it exactly like the photo, step by step, no adjustments. When I turned him around, he looked in the mirror and his face just dropped. He said, 'Man, that's way too high for me.' I learned that sometimes clients don't know what they're actually asking for until they see it on their own head. How do you guys handle a request that you know might not suit the client's face shape?

27

troysmith•1mo ago

Showerthought: I gave a free haircut to a regular and it backfired

Heard a guy at the shop say a free cut builds loyalty, so I offered one to a client who's been coming in for a year. He started asking for free trims every two weeks and got upset when I said no. Anyone else have a 'nice guy' move blow up like that?