Barbers and hairdressers have different skills and approaches to cutting hair, with barbers focusing on men’s hair and facial hair, while hairdressers work mostly with women’s hair and keep up with current trends. Some stylists also offer additional beauty services. It’s important to find the right professional for your hair type and needs.
Barbers and hairdressers receive training that allows them to cut hair, but they have different skills and approaches to cutting hair, which makes the members of these professions quite different. When selecting the services of a professional who provides hair cutting services, people should definitely consider the distinction between barbers and hairdressers so that they can select the one that will offer the services they need.
Both professions are quite old. Barbers, or barber-surgeons as they were known, used to handle men’s haircuts along with basic medical treatments like bloodletting. Hairdressers, better known as hairdressers, provided women with hairdressing services, from creating elaborate hairstyles, such as those in vogue during the Elizabethan era, to cutting and trimming. Historically, many hairdressers also worked in wigs, and in some cultures, women kept their heads shaved and wore complex wigs.
A barber tends to work primarily with men’s hair, focusing on the traditional short styles. Barbers also receive training in working with facial hair, which allows them to shave and style facial hair. This is an important distinction between a barber and a hairdresser, as most hairdressers don’t deal with facial hair. Barbers also tend to stick with simple cuts. Some may also offer facials and skin care services, depending on where you studied.
Hairdressers are used to working mostly with women’s hair or longer men’s hair. They can apply color and other treatments to the hair, and they are also more up to date with current trends and fashions. Hairdressers regularly attend continuing education classes to learn more about new processes that can be used with hair and keep up with trends in the fashion industry. A hairdresser will be comfortable making recommendations to a client and working with special requests, whereas a barber tends to offer a more limited range of styles.
In addition to doing hair, some stylists also receive certification as cosmetologists, so they can perform waxing, manicures, pedicures, and skin care. This wide range of services can be attractive to clients who want to take care of multiple beauty needs in one location.
Barbers and hairstylists generally establish very comfortable working relationships with their clients, and they work hard to cultivate a loyal clientele that will keep coming back for hair needs. Some specialize in specific hair types, such as a barber who works primarily with people of African descent or a hairdresser who has received special training in working with Asian hair. People with unique hair needs should definitely look for the right supplier; the average barber in a white neighborhood, for example, may have problems with black clients’ hair because he or she is not familiar with the unique needs of black hair.
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