Barbers

Although hair cutting is a barber’s primary function, most barbers will also provide hair washing, beard and moustache trimming, hair styling, and hair dyeing.

A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men’s and sometimes boys’ hair. A barber’s place of work is known as a “barber shop” or a “barbers”. Barber shops are seen as a solely male preserve and whilst a barber would not be able to refuse service to a woman, a barber is less likely to have studied women’s hairdressing or be able to produce a modern style cut. The surroundings of the barber shop is designed to appeal predominantly to men, with an emphasis on sport and machinery used in sport. Some barbers are even combined with tattoo parlours to capture additional aspect of modern male grooming.

The resurgence of barber’s shops in Australia has been happening over the past fifteen years and there are certain points that differentiate a barber shop from a hairdressing salon – unisex or otherwise. The ‘no appointments’ rule is one of several that distinguishes the code of the barber from the modern hairdressing salon, and while the ‘men only’ rule is flexible, a woman would need to want short hair to visit a barber. However it is the shave with a cutthroat razor that is the point of professional pride that separates the men from the unisex salon crowd.

Whilst the return of the barber shop may be seen as somewhat anachronistic, their continuing popularity bodes well for their longevity in this modern incarnation.