The Often Minimized Path to Becoming My Own Barber!

It’s that time once again!

I just brushed my head, I’ve got the the best clippers my money can buy, and I’m ready to cut my hair once again.

Regular haircuts are something that was embedded in my routine a long time ago. As a child, I got haircuts every 2 weeks from the coolest barber ever. He was the owner of the shop and just had a way of knowing how to give people what they wanted beyond just the haircut.

He’d change the music from the profanity-laced hip-hop played at the barbershop when we’d come in with my grandmother.

He had personal greetings for certain customers when they entered the shop.

“Ladies and gentlemen! The one and only Chris Jenkins!“: He’d say with genuine enthusiasm

He had an effortlessly smooth style about himself that was reflected in the way that he cut hair.

He was a master barber, but seldomly did any of the over-the-top fancy designs.

I’m from the era where kids got Nike logos cut into their heads, but my barber at the tme didn't have to rely on those techniques.

In fact, my barber once shared a philosophy about haircuts that stuck with me my whole life!

“You just can’t beat a clean haircut!” He said

And as simple of a statement as it was, it's the statement that has helped guide me in my path to learning how to cut my own hair.

---

Today, I know a simple takedown, some light shaping, and a clean edge-up can take you a long way. These are basic skills necessary for a clean cut that I learned during the pandemic and perfected in the years since.

But these aren’t skills that came with ease. There have been failed attempts.

One failed attempt involved me doing nothing but edge-ups with a straight razor. No haircut, just the edge-up.

The latest failed attempt got me back into the routine of regular haircuts at a barbershop before the pandemic after I realized I didn’t understand how to blend fades or shape my beard.

After the first failed attempt, I went back into the barbershop and paid attention to the different things barbers did with the clippers. I paid attention to when the barber would open the clippers and when he would close them. I took note of the guards barbers used to shape my beard, giving me “that look” that I liked.

I got regular taper fades, but I needed to know everything they were doing to give me a clean cut!

I’d take these skills home and try to replicate them only to realize what I thought was the way to perform certain skills wasn’t as I thought.

Around this time I started getting into more barber videos on YouTube, 360Jeezy was my favorite. These videos gave me a better understanding of how to perform certain techniques on my own head.

Then I naturally got into more of the “cut your own hair” tutorials before the pandemic and started working on those skills before I was forced to learn them during the pandemic when barbershops were closed.

---

The forced practice and repetition during the pandemic has made me a pretty good barber for myself.

People notice the work that I’m able to do as a result of the path I took learning to cut my own hair.

“I like how you’ve got your haircut” co-workers say.

“You got a little fade huh?!” the young people tease.

It looks like I’m doing more than I really am at times. I hit different angles on my takedowns. I take my time on my blending, and I know how to shape my cuts around my edges.

All title things I picked up on the path to being my own barber.

Now I can get a “clean haircut” anytime I want!

The journey has been well worth the price of admission.

---

Post Prompt: https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/creative-nonfiction-prompt-101