4 Ways British and American Barbershops Are Very Different
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2023
- During a very recent visit to my local barbershop, I got to thinking about all of the ways British and American barbershops are quite distinct. Here are four such ways.
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A US barber may cost a bit more, but at least you won't end up as filling in a meat pie----(maybe). 😂😂😂
Those would be the worst pies in London.
Edwin Drood, nice.
O' Sweeney.
In the US you just become “beyond meat”
😅😅😅😅😅
When my father-in-law was dying from cancer and could no longer leave the house, his barber of 40 years came out and gave him a shave and a hair cut (what little he had left). Huey (the barber) refused payment. I thought it such a grand gesture to make a housecall for a long-time customer. That's Southern barbers for ya, real good people.
Northern barbers too. One I knew, would spend one day a week, providing services at a homeless shelter. A few I knew, would frequently make a trip to the hospital or nursing homes if their "customer" was there. They never accepted payment, and believed that a fresh haircut, atleast made you feel a little better.
Southern barbers as morally superior human rights advocates has got to be the most bizarre thing I’ve read today.
My whole childhood my mother buzzcut my hair. When I graduated from school I joined the Army and kept it buzzcut for the 22 years I spent there. I retired from the Army 7 years ago I have not had my hair cut 1 single time since. It turns out that once I, for the first time in my life, had the chance to stop and think about it I don't like people touching my head. Who knew?
I'm from the US and can relate to this. My mom cut my hair until I was 11 and I didn't really think about it. Then it became my guardians responsibility and she decided to take me to a barber that was so old most of the decor of his shop was 50's themed, and this was in 2011. Terrible haircut after terrible haircut made my school life harder than it needed to be. I got maybe 5 haircuts as an adult before COVID hit and I decided to stop... I don't really want to go back.
Hairdressers make me incredibly nervous. They normally don't even talk to me which makes me feel self conscious, but I don't want to talk to them either. I'm worried that I told them the right thing and if I didn't then it'll be too late and they'll ruin my hair. Such a stressful experience.
Having been a hairstylist for 24 years, I really really appreciate the client that does not do the small talk. We have heard everything and it goes in through one ear and out the other. Your deepest darkest secrets are safe and away. Hairstylists, bartenders and therapists are all in the same group. We have heard it all.
I've always said barbers, bartenders, and busdrivers should be consulted about any political or social issue. They can tell you everyone's unfiltered opinions, without having to do a survey or hold a town hall.
It is not possible to have hear it all, ever. It's like that saying: "Well, now I've seen everything."
Well, two of those 3 professions are still admirable.
@@Blondie42 Like that old commercial: Honey, I finished the internet.
See I’m lucky; the girl who’s been cutting my hair for 10 years is probably an even bigger fan of hockey than I am, so we have a default topic of “small talk” 😂
When a British friend of mine was getting his first American hair cut the barber, making awkward small talk, asked "You speak very good English. Where did you learn it?"
😄😁😆😅🤣😂
Fair 🤣
😂😂😂😂
!!!
That's hilarious. There are two schools of English teaching outside the States and the UK. One style of teaching English overseas subscribes to British usage and spelling, and the other to American. If I recall correctly, the British is more popular, depending somewhat on the country where the person is studying and the overall purpose. Having met a number of people from various countries who had quite impeccable quasi-British accents and grammar, I can actually imagine making the same mistake!
Sometimes I don't feel like doing the small talk, so I just tell my stylist, "if it's okay with you, I'd rather just zone out a little and relax while you cut my hair." She's usually delighted to be able to be quiet since so many people expect her to be friendly and chatty all the time.
I'm going to borrow this. I never feel comfortable around stylists because I know I'm expected to talk, but I really don't have anything to say. I feel weird because the other stylists are talking, but I suppose just being honest that I'm not a conversationalist is better than the awkward conversations that end up happening.
i always tell them 'i cant tip u with cash, but if u wish i will give u a hard core BJ". Most times they agree
I am sorry but the fact that you said "stylist" and "she" ,means that your story has nothing to do with the subject of this video. Whatever you are talking about here is not a barber shop so...what's your point?
@@kennedymcgovern5413 You do realize that Lawrence specifically mentioned in this very video that in Britain they are called "hairdressers" and in America they are usually called "hair salons" which should have been your clue that he wasn't only talking about barber shops.
I'll fall asleep if they leave me alone. It helps my mental state, but not so much my actual haircut.
My beloved late wife did my haircuts at home for over 30 years. When she passed, I had to find a new place to get my haircuts. I've been very pleased going to a nearby barber college to get my hair cut by the students. My cut is super simple, so nearly impossible to mess up. Just $7, but I always give $10 and say "keep the change".
Mom gave me every haircut I ever had until I was over 70. Now I use a clipper and do myself. The back is hard to do by touch.
My husband is french and hates going to the salon. He went to mine once and they gave him a free scalp treatment. It involved lots of head massage. He HATED it! He kept looking at me begging to be rescued. But I thought he was enjoying it. Totally missed the message.😅😅😅😂
as a french man i assume he also not fond of going to the shower
That is hilarious. Can’t imagine a person who doesn’t appreciate a scalp massage. Guess they exist!
Maybe he thought that he was being tenderized for the meat pies.
I also dislike the head massage. It’s weird.
The least I ever paid for a haircut was 50 cents and this was back in the late 60's and early 70's. The barber was retired and would go into his old shop to spend the day to get away from his wife. I knew her, this was valid.
Back in the "old days," in the US, guys with red hair were often nicknamed "Rusty."
Anybody know why the brunette on Smothers Brothers was called "Goldie?" (By now she must be "Gray-lee.").
I need to remember this for my nephew.
Reds as well.
This isn’t still a thing? Rusty or Red are not used as nicknames of ginger boys anymore?
@@katherinemcintosh7247. Red Buttons and Red Skelton!
When I was a young girl in Brooklyn, NY, (1960's) my father would plant me at a soda shop while he went to the barber. The owners at the soda shop would look after me and my ice cream soda until Daddy came back for me.
There were things said in barber shops it was best little girls not hear! 😇🥰
Also, it make the men uncomfortable for me to be there. It was a social time guy thing. 💕
I had my hair cut decades ago on a visit to London and the barber asked what number I wanted - I asked for a fade and had to explain it to him so when he asked for a number, he meant the gage on the clippers. Felt strange but the cut turned out well enough
Someone gonna tell Laurence about the deragatory "red-headed step child" phrase we have here? Long before the "gingers have no souls" comments, I've always heard the former to refer to a child that's ostracized and neglected by their family and treated as "other". Such as if someone were lamenting about the way they were treated growing up and wanted to inject some dark humor, they might say, "I was treated like the red-headed step child".
I've also in rare cases heard this phrase used when someone has just been mistreated in general, like someone being distrustful of them without inherent reason and again, they're usually recounting it with a shake of the head and some humor.
THIS is the comment I was looking for!
I am a red head and female. My hair stylist always said my hair is “ Titian “ . probably strawberry blonde. I can’t understand why people are mean about red heads. The mouse colored hair people or dyed blonds…are probably jealous of the rare redheads. 😊
The European prejudice against redheads goes back at least to medieval times, possibly due to a belief that Judas Iscariot was red-headed. There's evidence of the medieval prejudice in France and Germany too, and possibly elsewhere.
Red-headed stepchild and a fiery temper.
I loved the "got beat like a red headed stepchild jokes!
Here a women's barber shop or salon is often referred to as a "Beauty Shop" you forgot that one, Lawrence. Fun segment, thank you.
Women's places are also often called Beauty Parlors, and apparently are required to be named with bad puns, mostly on the words hair. cuts, or shears.
@@frankandstein8618 I used to go to a place called Shear Delight! 😂
@@frankandstein8618’m old and grew up with saying beauty parlor or hairdresser. They were basically named after the owner. Salons in my area are mostly named after bad puns or wordplays
@@charlottecunningham2141For me the hair dresser is the person
@@frankandstein8618You forgot rhymes The Unique Beautique
I've never had a haircut. Much like Chuck Norris, I tell my hair to stay a certain length, and it does out of a mixture of fear and respect.
I got a haircut in the Czech Republic. The equivalent of $23 for haircut and beard trim. Super happy with it. The guy was a master and spent about 45 minutes on the process. I pay about $20 in the US for the haircut alone. My barber spends about 15 minutes.
Bob: the cheapest haircut I ever got was in a barbers (I'm female!) in Malta, it was two Euros, and the exchange rate was £1.75 or thereabouts. It looked dreadful 😄😄😄
My boyfriend got the BEST haircut in Bellagio Italy. The barber took about 40 mins & made it perfect, and then he charged $30 instead of the quoted $20, I told my boyfriend to give him $40 or I would. He finally did but complained about that $10 increase for DAYS!! He wasn't my boyfriend for very long after... 😅
45 minutes for a haircut?!? If it goes on for more than 10 minutes I'd go nuts.
@mournblade1066 I would agree with you in some cases but it was actually entertaining to watch this guy work. His hands were so quick and he made so many tiny cuts to match everything up. I suppose it would get old after a while, but you still feel like you're being taken care of to the utmost.
45 minutes? F that. Way too long.
I have cut my own hair ever since I became an adult, but when I was a child, my father, my brother, and I all went together to the barber. It will convey something of how long ago this was when I tell you each cut cost three dollars. The little dipping bird the barber had on display in his shop is now in the local museum.
Best part of Barbershops is their decor: Funny signs, old license plates, old tools, fishing gear, beauty Calanders, etc. It is like going into a museum. When I accompanied my husband, conversation halted. It would make me smile.
calendar's likely several years out of date too, making it an artifact just like every other decoration
The red and white of a barber's pole is associated with surgeons because before the statute was passed, they were often the same person. The barbers and the surgeons were the occupations with the sharpest knives, and since most medical treatment was blood letting, they went to the same people. Before the actual poles, a surgeon/barber would put blood on a white rag, twirl it around a stick, and hang it outside their shop so you'd know where to go. Hence the red and white twirled on a pole outside of a barber's shop.
I’m actually pleased to know I’m not rampantly over-spending by paying $25 USD for a fairly basic men’s haircut on my increasingly thinning & receding head of hair 😂 nah seriously I go to a proper salon, and my stylist washes & conditions my hair (which is luxury in and of itself) then takes care of everything including ear hair, eyebrows, beard/mustache; absolutely worth every dime every time. I know I could go to a cheaper corner barber shop or something but I’m spoiled rotten to the treatment I’ve had at this shop over the years! 😂😂😂
Because my father was retired military he (and by extension, the whole family) had privileges to go on most military bases and use some of the stores and services. About once a month he's take my brother and me down to the local Navy Base* and stop by their barbershop. Active duty personnel got priority but eventually we'd get our turn. The whole transaction could have been completed with four words (except my dad was chatty with everyone.) When my brother and I were in the chair, consecutively not concurrently, dad would point and say "Buzz." When it was his turn it was, "flattop whitewalls." (You can take the first sergeant out of the army, but you can't take the army our of the first sergeant.) About 30 seconds for our haircuts, and maybe a minute for dad's. He'd hand over a $5 bill (which was a good tip when our haircuts were a buck each) and we'd be out.
* Our local base was Rough and Ready Island just west of Stockton.
yeah, former Navy here- i miss haircuts on the ship, in and out in minutes, not a lot of chit chat, hair style choice or a lot of fuss and muss. I still like mine worn high and tight, short and manageable :)
Not to be confused with the Republic of Rough and Ready near Grass Valley, CA.
@@eclipsehorse8693 Haircuts on ship....done by a guy who a month before was in 1st division , deck force. Knew a guy on deck force then literally a couple weeks later he was striking for Corpsman and was giving shots. I'd rather get a haircut from an untrained barber.....
My first barbershop massage took place in the base barbershop in South Korea - after the young Korean woman was done cutting your hair she would lean you forward and start wailing on your upper back with her cupped hands. A bit jarring the first time, but something I missed after leaving.
These days I go to Sport Clips and get the full treatment.
Barbershop at the PX??? I don't know how it was during your day but I was in the army in the early to mid 2000's. The PX at ever base i was at was NOTORIOUS for f'ing up your hair, especially if you had thick hair. I always went off post and went to an actual barber shop. The only time I went to the PX barber after Basic & AIT was the day before getting deployed. Times change I guess.
I was super jealous of my redheaded classmates! Their hair is very beautiful ❤
Also, there are different types of red hair. There's strawberry blond, orange / ginger / carrot top, the classic (darker) redhead that's halfway to brown, and then there's also the modern Kool-Aid red hair that can only be achieved artificially. They don't all look good with any one skin tone, either, so if you dye your heir and fail to take your skin into account, you can end up with hair that doesn't really suit you.
We had two girls with long red hair down to their waist and it was very beautiful. One was my age the other my sister's age.
Red leaning brown is called auburn.
I always thought red hair was lovely and I don't understand the discrimination they seem to get in Britain. But I will say my parents generation back in the 60's seem to have some of that discrimination but I don't think it was on the same level. And I never heard anything like that when I was in school thankfully.
@@jonadabtheunsightly As a proud ginger: Only an individual born with red hair can dye their hair reed and look natural. I was born red but in my 50's it turned more brown so I have dyed it several different shades of red and loved them all.
Hi Laurence, one of my grandfather's was a barber. When we went to eat Sunday at their house, my brother and I would have to go to his shop and get our weekly haircut. I hated it! He knew how to use a straight razor too. I was in my late teens and he asked me if I wanted a shave, and I said yes. I was, at this point unaware that he meant with a strait razor. I asked if would just lend me a safety, but said to just sit there. He reached in steam box with some tongs and wrapped my head with some towels. A little while later he removed the towels and worked up a lather in a shaving mug, lathered me up, and with just a few large strokes he was done. Not one nick, no burn, and it remains the closest shave I've ever had! Still, it was very scary.
😊
I was always surprised at the British tendency to mock redheads! Laurence, I'd say that it's not just that we Americans don't mock red hair, we actually tend to think it gorgeous, special, and enviable! There is also something of a personality assumption we make about those with redheads: that they are actually a bit wild and fiery (I know that those would not be considered positive character traits by the Brits, but they sure are to Americans!) 👩🏻🦰❤️🔥
As a redhead in America, I can confirm. It's the best thing ever. Lol.
And yet the phrase "beaten like a redheaded stepchild" was still in use in my childhood (1970s). My mother was red haired (she's still with us, the hair color changed to grey) and she was badly bullied for being red headed.
yeah, the US mocks readheads... nothing special about it
Both my great-great-grandmother Carrie and my great-grandfather Jesse were Chicago barbers! Carrie’s shop was across the street from the entrance to the stockyards, and Jesse’s was on the Far South Side near 95th Street and Ashland near Evergreen Park.
I have Carrie’s business card from 1900, and it is amazing. It has her photo and “Lady Barber” in beautiful Art-Nouveau calligraphy, and also advertises “First Class Laundry” and “Quality Cigars and Tobaccos”. I can imagine a stockyard worker leaving his third-story walk-up early one morning, heading to her house (where she operated the first shop in 1899 and 1900) for a trim and shave, dropping off his laundry, then after his shift, stopping by to pick up his clean clothes and a few cigars to enjoy that night.
I also have a photo of Jesse at an early job in the 1910s, before he got his own shop but was one of several barbers, all of whom are in the photo standing behind their barber chairs.
As a redhead, I can confirm that I did not get made fun of as a child (for that), but a certain South Park episode has changed all of that and I am now called soulless, haha. Also, as a kid, I was always accosted by old people who wanted to tell me how cute I was as they pinched my cheeks, not fun.
I saw someone from the US looking askance at a woman from China who was admiring her son's red hair and touching it. In the US, it would be strange to touch a stranger's child. But I think that in China it's considered good luck
I definitely felt this as a child in grade school when south park introduced this to me, constantly heard that. I'm not spiritual so I don't care, I just said every freckle is a soul I've stolen.
@@LindaC616 my mom never batted an eye, so I'm guessing she was used to it by the time I could remember this. See the comments from the mothers here, it apparently still happens all of the time.
I am grateful that I was well out of high school when that episode aired. My hair has also darkened as I got older, although it's still quite copper in the sunlight. My hair is about 2 1/2 feet long, and for some reason people think they are allowed to just...touch my hair?! It happens so often, grown adults just kind or reach out and pet my hair. It's SO weird. I did overhear a child say I had 'princess hair' and I had to laugh. A princess has someone to help brush it all. 😅
@@CaesarRoyale I might have to steal that line from you, haha.
Some American communities (in the Bronx, for example) absolutely do say "I'm going to the hairdresser," but it's never really used as the possessive "hairdresser's," and I'm guessing its much more common for women to use the term, while men say "barbershop." Also, these two are often actually separate businesses. Women in these communities generally go to the hairdresser, while men go to the barbershop.
I had deep auburn hair and it was always seen as desirable amongst my envious friends with mousy brown hair here in WVa. It had a lot of sheen and I'd get so annoyed that people thought I dyed it...
Which I never did until midlife!
It’s WV, not WVa
My grandfather had a barbershop that was like the town meeting place. Men would solve all the city and world problems gabbing there. Most weren't even there for a haircut. There were leather couches and chairs and even a TV set where they'd watch sports. It was the most popular place in town.
My father in law is a old school Italian barber. He has a whole bunch of older guys who hang out and solve the world’s problems. Sometimes a guy comes in and there are half a dozen people just hanging out. My father in law tells the guy that he’s next. The customer says, what about those guys? My father in law tells the customer that the hangers out are just there to get warm, even in the summer. Even the post woman stops by to deliver the mail and read the newspaper.
This.
Men need more casual lounges
Sounds like the place my father used to go to when I was a kid, Every haircut took exactly 15 minutes, and all clients where walk ins. If you walked in and all the seats were full you came back an hour later.
The third place.
Actually here in the south (coastal Mississippi), especially older women, call it the hairdressers. We also use the term ginger for redheads but it's interchangeable with red head.
Same here S. Carolina, the older ladies call it going to the hairdressers, including my mother who's now in her 70's.
In the Midwest the old ladies call it the beauty shop
Yes. I spent the first 8 years of my life in NC. I remember my Mom went to the "hairdresser" once a week to have her hair teased into a boufant.
@@peppermoon7485In NC where I grew up the older ladies said beauty shop also.
@@Mick_Ts_Chick 😁👍
Lawrence " As dramatic as Shawm Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty."
Me and Captain America " I understood that reference".
I recently got my hair cut at Great Clips and it was free because I decided to donate my hair to kids who had lost their hair. It was down to my waist 🙂
I share your aversion to small talk at the barber shop. Luckily I wear hearing aids and have to take them out during a haircut. Perfect, no more small talk since I can’t hear well enough to carry on a conversation without them.
Or you could just say that even if you don't have any. :)
In some parts of the US, a bobble is a hair elastic with the large plastic balls (or bobbles) on it that you usually see in small children's hair.
That’s what I call a bobble. A hair tie with ball on the end that little girls wear.
That hurts quite a lot if it snaps back and hits your knuckle.
I've always called that a hair bauble. It must be related to the world bauble.
Before this episode, the only time I'd ever heard the word "bobble" was in knitting contexts. ("Bobble" in knitting is a small raised knob -- I started to describe it as "a knitted skin tag," but that sounds gross, and these things can be very cute. Maybe "a knitted hair bun"?)
Same in uk, we call these bands or ‘lastic bands down south. But the ones with two bubbles/balls are bobbles. But that’s down south, can’t speak for other areas
I used to use a scrunchie to make a ponytail, but now I have a pixie cut. I don't even need a barrette anymore.
During the American Civil War, poles with wrapped bandages were placed in front of a surgeon's tent. Haircuts were done if no casualties.
The original barber's poles were red and white to indicate the smeared blood from the aprons of surgeon's orderlies.
Americans seem to love red hair in general. If you have a red headed baby, you’ll get endless comments on how pretty their hair is.
And yet there's an expression..."I will beat you like a redheaded stepchild"....😬
Yeah, going to the barber in the US is definitely a sort of social event with a very long history, and the conversation always includes everyone in the building.
In my family, we only refer to hair ties as hair bubbles if we're talking about the ones with big round beads in the shape of an infinity sign. We also usually call hair ties, hair things, and usually, since we only use hair bubbles for children, we refer to them as hair bubas instead of hair bubble.
Props on the barber shop window reference at the end. Cant believe jannetty jumped through that window like that to get away, what a coward.
US has some regional differences. I had all my haircuts in New York until I moved to the South. The first time I went to a traditional barber he shaved my neck, applied after- shave, and wrapped my face and neck in a warm towel. So far...so normal. Then he pulled out this electric massager and started buzzing my shoulders and neck. I was mortified and felt half violated. My teeth were chattering. I never asked for that. None of the men waiting paid it any mind. Turns out that is part of a full cut and shave in parts of the South. Besides relaxing you it does have a practical purpose in that it shakes out any loose hairs not removed in the cutting process.
That's wild. I'm in the south and the only "extra" I ever got from a barber was a stick of Juicy Fruit gum. Then again that was almost 20 years ago, in a 2-chair shop.
@@adfdasdfadfadsfareae Maybe Larry was in Atlanta!?
I had a similar experience in Cincinnati. It's just a matter of how old the barbershop is, i think. Those big chrome vibrators seem to date to the 30's-50's.
@@PaulSteMarie At first I thought Larry was crazy. I grew up in the South and this sounded completely wild. But when you mention big old chrome vibrators, I felt rise a repressed memory from the early eighties as a very little boy at my dad's barber shop. Hopefully I didn't repress it for any reason ;)
This used to be something that just about all barbershops did throughout the country, but face shaves are a dying tradition in many barber shops as many are just becoming nothing more than hairstylist. A guy I used to bowl with in Bakersfield, CA, did shaves in his barber shop, but when he retired and sold the shop, the new owner didn't do shaves. It's getting more and more difficult to find barbers that do shaves.
I got my haircut at this old-fashioned shop with four barbers and they had lots of bigscreen TVs, gave stock tips, and did a very nice job. Pricey but fast and neat. Any of the four guys was equally fine. One day I was parked outside, shopping nearby and a big black sedan pulled up and a burly man opened the rear door for another feller to get out. To my astonishment it was the Governor of our state. I had the same barbers as the Governor! I felt strangely royal at that moment.
I've had haircuts in about 5 different countries but not America as the longest I've been there was 3 weeks, not long enough to justify going for a haircut. Can't say I really noticed a lot of difference between haircuts in England, Wales, Mauritius, Spain or Thailand aside from the languages!
In recent years in the UK there has been an explosion of Turkish style and cutthroat barbers. They seem like spa's for men, they also offer facial and fancy coffee.
Please do an entire episode with your American accent 😂
I've been going to the same little barber shop for about 30 years. The rates went up May 1st, to $20 (or $18 for Seniors - hoorah!); it had been $15 for at least 15 years. It's funny how the familiar constancy can be so reassuring, even for something like a haircut, isn't it?
My barber charges $18, too.
I've been going to the same one for about 35 years now. A haircut is 15$ now, it was 8 when I first went there. Only 1 barber of the original 3 is still there now, and there have been about 5 or 6 others come through there.
$20 in South Florida, including tip. I enjoy catching up with my barber.
Barber shop IS strictly for men! I recently entered a place that said "Haircuts" outside. So, I asked if I could have a haircut. And the receptionist said: "No, this is a barber shop." And it makes sense, as barbers and hairdressers have different training.
I think barbers are trained to cut female hair as well as male hair; but, they don't as much get much training in styling, coloring, and otherwise chemically or mechanically setting hair. And, barbers are also trained in the art of facial shaving (i.e. a good old-fashioned shave with warm lather and a straight razor)
Local barber shop here does both.
This is a very much, it depends, yes, generally here in the UK barber for men and hair salon for women and if hairdresser often does both. Often men do have their hair coloured and barbers do use hairsprays and waxes to set it, the styles are often different but men can have long coloured hair if they want. The biggest difference is the barber tends to do facial hair too while the hair salon tends to have the dryers and hair wash stuff for that sort of stuff if you want. Ultimately though, this depends on clientale in the area, I would imagine it is different where afro's and dreadlocks are common hairstyles for men.
@@stever3658 Not only that. But in some states, a Barbers License is separate from a Cosmetology license. They are 2 different certifications. The girl who cuts my hair can't legally use a straight razor without the separate barber's license.
I am a woman and I always go to a lady barber. She's great and has been cutting my hair for several years now. She is the one that told me that hairdressers do have different training, like for hair coloring, and that barbers focus just on cutting and some very minor styling (which is what I want - I hate fussing with my hair).
About year and a half ago, I had my first haircut from a professional as opposed to my mom. Dude had so many conversation tidbits, little stories and anecdotes, even a prop or two. I'm 50-50 on whether or not he was playing a character. Who just has a decades old ID in their workplace?
As a hairstylist I was trained that we don't force clients into conversations. Not everyone likes to talk and not all stylist like to talk either. However learning to be a hairstylist taught me how to be less shy and talk to people ( I just couldn't bring myself to do so). So I talk to those who want to and those who don't I just ask them what is that they would like me to do and if I did everything to their liking. I also apologize for be so in everyones personal space, I'm only 4'10" and really can not help it. On the other end I actually knew most of the differences for some weird reason. Either I am actually knowledgable (and can't spell) or just have useless information floating around in me head like my dad always told me I did.
I guess I must be one of those four. I woke my wife up laughing so loud. That is a line I will be stealing.
We might even have 5 of us! 😂
KBK turning on Marty Jannetty during the "Barber Shop" interview with the superkick heard around the world..... That reference brought a smile to my face! 😄👍🔥🔥🔥🔥
My mother's generation went to the beauty shop or the hairdresser's. Mom went to beauty school in 1940 and became a hairdresser.
My last haircut by a professional in the trade was in 1974 before my last trip to see my aging, but oh, so proper grandfather before he passed away. That particular cut was from an friend who happened to be a hairdresser and at that time in the U.S. Unisex hair cutting establishments going by various appellations were just getting started. But I digress.
I started cutting my own hair years before that, after a barber took it upon himself to give me a Marine Corps style close cut since my hair had become too shaggy for his tastes. I had asked only for a trim.
My sister has the same experience with hair stylists! We tried cutting her hair at home over the pandemic lockdown, but she didn’t like how it turned out. Thankfully she’s found a hair dresser who listens and works with her!
When I was a teenager I got into a fistfight with a barber for similar reasons. I went in with hair to the middle of my back to get the sides shaved for glory spikes.
That dried up old fart had me looking like Travis Bickle, then demanded $25.
He tried to grab me when I started to walk out. That place was a mess when we got done, and HE was the one that got to spend a night in a cell
We use both Ginger and Redhead in America. For some reason, I would call someone a ginger if the color seemed to stand out more. But that’s not an American or British thing. I think that’s just a me thing 😂😂😂
Also in America, when we joke about someone’s hair color, it’s usually the blondes, not the gingers
I've gone to a barber for years. When I lost my job, she offered me free haircuts until I started working again. That's something you'll never get from Great Clips.
I loved the fact that during my first dozen or so years in the US military (served from Jan 1989 - Jun 2014), you could get a haircut on a military installation for less than $5…and leave a dollar tip.
The barber that I go to (northern suburb of Detroit) charges $17 and senior citizens get their hair cut for $14. Barbers have a different license (or at least different training) than the people who cut your hair at Great Clips. From what I have heard, becoming a barber is a more difficult undertaking.
Not really more difficult, but very different focus. Cosmetology license training depends on the State. Some states are close to 2 years. The cosmetology license is focused on chemicals. They are licensed for hair cutting, coloring, waxing, nails and facials. But, think they’d cover Clipper and razor sanitation seeing cosmetologists often do barber work these days… 😂 but I’ve seen gross sanitation violations in both types of workers & more so in shorter training states without continuing education.
It is different training. Actually every state has different training and laws and set amount of hours. Barbers learn everything a hair stylist learns then you can go into cosmetology which is what most do because it includes everything but not barbering. Or you can just specialize if you like. You can always still do an apprenticeship
@@kathygolonka6944 Most states barbers can not give manicures, apply artificial nails or do pedicures.
@@jant4741 I know that and its actually all states thats what makes someone choose cosmetology or barber. But its also that finding local barber schools are getting harder and harder to find.
@@jant4741California combined the barbers and cosmetologist into one agency about 30 years ago
From an Oregonian, thank you for not butchering the word, lol. I lived in Ohio from 2009-2011 and 2020-2022. In those 4 years, I had to correct *everyone* who said it, even if I had just said it to them first.
@3:31 - Nailed it. That was actually a quite impressive phonetical explanation of something lost in the pond!
My haircuts consist of putting my hair up with a _pony tail_ (I've never called it a hair tie) and cutting off the end. $30 is ridiculous! Also I don't enjoy talking to strangers all that much, so I avoid it by cutting my own hair.
I used to say "ponytail holder" (grew up in MD) but "hair tie" is much shorter so that's all I say now.
And I also find $30 quite steep, but I've cut my own hair for several years now, so I really dunno. 🤷♀️
I began cutting my own hair when I was a teenager, and except for a few years when it was curly permed, have continued cutting it myself. A lot of money saved, as well as my introverted sanity. I do not do small talk.
I have never in my life never "pony tail" for the hair tie / ponytail holder / scunci. A ponytail is the hair style, just like a bun is. I mean, would you really say, "I need to buy some pony tails from the store," or, "I have a drawer full of neon pony tails"? If I heard either of those, I would think you were talking about a ponytail extension.
@blackrosenuk yep! I buy ponytails from the store. Good morning from the Midwest US! Also, I like to sit on the porch with my _soda_ and watch the _lightning bugs_ ! 😊
A timely video, I've been putting off my visit to the barber for weeks. 99.9999999999% because of the "small talk" involved. I've often said, if I were a barber, I'd open a barber shop equivalent of the Diogenes Club.
I've heard barbers say that one can ask for a "silent chair." I'm not sure when I would ask, when calling ahead maybe? Supposedly the person performing the service knows not to chit chat that way, beyond what's necessary.
I am curious who, besides me, caught your reference?
@@edwardbirdsall6580 I did. Have the complete ACD set!
My hairdresser is not a chatter, and I love that. We have known each other for decades, but our talk is minimal. Although, her grandson is now two years old, so she shares pictures of him. This is what happens when you become a grandparent.
I live in Greensboro NC, a city of about 300,000 residents. I go to a old local barber shop. I first went there because the interior reminded me of the sort of barber shop my Dad used and took me to as a child. The standard cost for a haircut is $15 and includes a razor cut along the back and sides hairline and (as you mentioned, Lawrence,) the electric massager on the neck and shoulders. I enjoy the ‘down home’ jocularity amongst the barbers and customers. Thanks for covering this topic that takes me down memory lane.
Cheapskate tip: if you have a local beautician school they often have salons for the public for students to practice at very reduced prices. Also sir, if you do another linguistics video would you consider explaining why British folks don't use an article when talking about going to a hospital, i.e. "He was taken to hospital."
Connecting the dots, when I lived in Chicago during college, I went to a specialty training place for a specific hairstylist shop and on Mondays the haircuts, etc. were free. You just paid a tip and for supplies if you got color. Had some weird experiences!
I did this when my neighbor’s son was in beauty school and he was so grateful to have a real head to work on. Paid off for me during Covid shutdown because he happily gave me haircuts in his mom’s driveway, masks all around of course.
I, too, hate the small talk at the barber's. I also haven't been to one since before the pandemic began. That's mostly because I have such a hard time finding one I like. My old barber retired and his assistant took over. She was about as great as he was, but she also retired with some health issues and the replacement was awful, so I started going to a chain place that thinks itself super. They weren't bad but I didn't really feel like they were worth the cost... I have cut my own hair a few times with a beard trimmer and scissors, so when the pandemic hit I ordered some Remington clippers with a vacuum built in, figured it would get me through the 3 or 4 months of pandemic (*nervous laughter*). It actually worked really great and after a couple of self haircuts I got the hang of it and can trim my own hair in less time than I could drive to a local barber. Helps that I'm not super concerned with my looks and wear a flat cap 99% of the time.
My favorite thing is when I take off my glasses for the haircut and they set them on the counter, then at the end give me a mirror and ask how it looks and I have to ask for my glasses back because I can't even see myself clearly in a mirror a foot from my head without them! 😁
Same about the glasses lol 😂
I sometimes wear contacts as it's easier & I can see myself in the mirror while they cut the back.
For those of you that hate going to the barber be grateful you still have a reason to go to the barber.
My barber charges $12 in Acworth Georgia. I think the shop has been in operation since the 1950s. God bless barber Tim. It’s always a pleasant experience like stepping back in time. And the conversation at Tim’s is the only “highlight” you’ll get (pun intended). It’s men’s only shave and cut. If you were to request some modern hairstyle I think you’d probably get laughed at and sent somewhere else.
The barber shops I went to as a kid had men's magazines laying all over. The boys were expected to not look at them but we always did. Grandpa would cut our hair occasionally and he used hand clippers and they pulled your hair hard. He got some electric clippers and if you weren't the first kid they burned your neck.
I go to an old fashion barber shop with 2 chairs. a senior haircut is $12. Normal price is $15
saw one some years back that advertised a "doughnut cut" for $8.00. for those men with only a doughnut of hair.
When I was a kid they still used straight Razers for the back of the head and side burns, to this day I still shake a little after being nicked several times and bleeding.Then they would splash on tonic.
Had the same experience back in Detroit many moons ago.
I suspect that the number of Irish with red hair in the US kind of changed the dynamic here. I have seen barber poles in the UK and noted the difference, but what the shop was was kind of obvious to me. Finding a good barber can be tricky, but once you find one it's wise to stick with them. I've cut hair (in the Army), and it isn't as easy as it seems! Keep up the good work Lawrence!
Actually, the Irish hair color is black, the Viking hair color is red.
@@gratefulforabundance9043 We have lots of those too - including my own family. The Norse picked up that hair color from raiding Ireland and Scotland (and to a lesser degree Slavic countries).
Ireland has the most gingers per capita in the world though (+/-10%).
It's as simple as this. Redhead women are considered attractive. Redheaded men are not.
Same all over the world, with a few exceptions of course.
I forget who said it, and I can't seem to find it on the Internet, but I certainly agreed with the quote:
"How do you want your hair cut?" "In complete silence."
I recently had a shave and haircut in San Diego, and it was $75. You need a special license to use a single blade (different from the other licensing hairstylists need) so proper barbers are harder to find. And? Yow, it was a cold blade and my skin got so irritated that several of the painful kinds of pimples formed.
You got your hair cut yesterday, I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow.... we're practically twins from this one insignificant detail of our lives that doesn't even actually line up. :D
I have to get a haircut every 6 or so weeks. My hair is so think and wavy and unmanageable, and I have to go to a guy who knows what he’s doing. It costs like $30 but it’s so much better than any chain barbershop. My guy is a professional stylist at a nice salon, and I like how it comes out
Thanks for pointing out the differences between Britain and America's barber experiences the last time I visited a Barber shop is over 10 years ago since I am bald.
Laurence, years ago at university, the discussion turned to ancestry, with me being from Yorkshire that had more Viking place names. My friend declared he was adopted, so did not know his ancestry. I realised he had red hair and brown eyes, which was unlike the kids I had known with ginger hair and blue eyes.
It turned out he was born in an English holiday resort. I realised he must have been conceived during summer, so in my head he was forever "Scottish Week" due to his obviously Celtic appearance.
One advantage of unknown heritage, he was able to play for Wales at amateur Rugby League, having played for a team there, so he seemed to have chosen to go for the Celtic theme.
Red hair and blue eyes is actually the most rare genetic combination! The red/brown mix he had is more common.
@@angiebee2225 What I had known as ginger was not a true red. I assume it had something to do with those Vikings and the blue eyes?
@@alansmithee8831 Can't say for sure, but I have red hair and blue eyes and have a Norwegian grandparent, so... could be!
@@angiebee2225 My mother was very fair skinned, hence the idea of Viking ancestry. Yorkshire has many Viking place names. Someone on another channel calls me "King of Danelaw" due to my interest in history. The picture I have elsewhere is of me as a teenager staring out to sea like a mirror image of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. Somehow it felt like going home there.
I've been cutting my own hair for the past 3+ years. Before the pandemic, my stylist of 8+ years was forced to find another line of work after developing carpal tunnel in both wrists. The doctor told her, "If you don't stop cutting/styling hair, your hands will be so sore or numb that you won't be able to pick up a penny." I tried a couple of other stylists at the same salon, but they didn't measure up. There are plenty of beauty salons, but very few stylists who really know how to give a good haircut. Then the pandemic hit and the salons closed, so I watched CZcams videos and tried cutting it myself. I won't pretend that my haircuts are as good as a professional stylists, but I look okay. My question: Do professional hairstylists in the UK need to be licensed like they do here in the US?
Sarah: As far as I know, no licence is required to cut hair here in UK - I have never heard of such a thing and I am old ‼️ 🇬🇧💯✔
Remarkably, I went into a Great Clips today, having gone roughly six months since my last haircut because my last barber retired. Making me Lawrence in reverse, both in my barbering experience and the fact that I'm not a CZcams sensation.
The trouble with barbers is they retire and finding a new one you like is such a pain!
Around here the hair tie is called a scrunchie or elastic. I used to go to a barbershop called Louie's. His sign said $7.00 since 1976. That way he was always assured at least a 3 dollar tip. He cut hair until he died at 90 years of age.
Just got my hair cut this past Sun. Price checks out if we're including tip, not only the other day but as long as I can remember.
Back when I was in middle school I insisted to only go to this tiny barber shop downtown. No appointments, just got dropped off and had to wait like 1-2 hours to get a cut but it was fire... we moved to a different area in high school and it took awhile to find someone that could do a good job. I think it was soph. year someone had started in the local strip mall salon that could cut hair very well, finally. I've stuck with her for over 20 years now.
She continued to cut my hair at that place forever, until several years ago. The owners of said business pulled some shady shit & shut the entire thing down abruptly, fired everyone. She wound up starting her own salon a few towns over shortly after, and I've been going there ever since. I'm in & out in about 20 minutes, almost never anyone else there aside from just leaving or just arriving for the next appointment. And she partakes in the thc, got a few edibles she baked, once so far. Literally the perfect scenario for a relaxing haircut.
I've always wondered about the barber pole. There's a train of thought that the reason the poles were red and white was due to the blood-soaked rags being wrapped around a white pole in order to dry out. I have no idea if this has any validity, but I have found this an interesting theory.
This is what I have always heard also
It is true. They did surgical work. Taught in trade books.
Blood spiraling to the drain in a white ceramic sink.?
I heard they would wash towels, bandages and hang them to dry so the pattern stuck. Sounds right to me. It's not like they had neon signs to announce their business.
I have been told that the barber pole dates back to the days when "bleeding" was considered a medical cure for many ailments. You would grasp the pole with a firm grip while being bled. The blue advertised that the barber/surgeon was also the tattooist.
I used to go to the barber for haircuts but often times it took to long (really long wait times). Since the pandemic where my wife learned how to cut hair, I haven't gone back since. I can get a haircut in as little as 10 minutes in my kitchen! :-D
I was glad when the barbershops started to re-open after the worst of the pandemic. The wife can do a credible job with the barber tools, but the gal who usually cuts my hair is much better.
I'm the same way with small talk, I don't care for it. However, once in awhile, I get someone who is able to direct the conversation into more interesting waters. The last haircut I had, a couple months ago, we had a wonderful conversation about all kinds of interesting things. It was a lot of fun.
Side note: While redhead might be the most common term in America, we do have terms like auburn haired, strawberry blonde, and ginger, but ginger isn't so commonly used. Carrot top also rarely appears. For cats, they are usually described as orange or maybe red or maybe ginger, but ginger r red for cats feels less common. However, cats may be named Ginger if they are orange.I've also heard. hello or god, but oddly, not copper. The pale version usually gets called cream, occasionally cameo if fancy. How this compares to England and the rest of the UK, or to Australia, I don't know.
One of my orange cats when I was younger was named Kopper Kitty because of his fur being copper colored.
I've been a redhead most my life and I wouldn't call any of those expressions rare. Carrot-top, Carrots, Ginger, Red--I've been called all of them and more.
I remember years ago when I was working in a store and two of my high school classmates walked in. I hadn't seen them in years and we were having a chat, and my coworkers assumed they were my siblings because we all had red hair. None of us were related!
Cost tidbits: in Berkeley CA, at the nice Chinese lady's shop, it's $18 to trim my long hair across the bottom. But boyfriend had the nice Chinese lady do his more-complicated cut and... long story short, he's now booked with a "real" stylist at a "real" salon. That's more like $80-$130. 🤷🏼♀️ 🤞🏼
Years ago, my mother’s friend was a beautician, as they used to call them. She only knew how to do one style, her own! It was a Grace Kelly look, and she gave that style to my mom when she cut and curled her hair. It wouldn’t have looked bad on my mom if her friend had taken into consideration that my mom looked much better in bangs.
Me? You ask? She cut my hair to look like a female version of Moe on Three Stooges.
I just got mine cut in Albany for 16 bucks, threw in 4 for a tip.
@@bonzey1171 where? I doubt I can convince my boyfriend to try it, after the Chinese-lady cut, but I'm game!
@@Anelisa8520 corner of Washington and San Pablo, little hair place there by the gas station
@@bonzey1171 I'll try it next time I need a trim on my haircutter's days off : )
I, for one, enjoy your “Schlick,” Laurence. Your comparison videos follow a pattern and that’s not a bad thing at all. One of the things I pay attention to is your lighting choices. The Portrait lighting in front of the brown interior window in your basement (or a background photo thereof) is warm and wonderful. I like you even more after several years of watching. Cheers!
"Schlick"?
Schtick
I believe that was AI long-haired Laurence, as he disclosed!
if that was a shaving product joke, full marks
@@bradseeker Shhh…it was auto fill but I didn’t catch it! We’ll call it brilliant wordplay. 😂
Just had to leave a quick note, as someone who grew up in Forest Grove, Oregon. Not only does it have the pole, one nickname for the town was Ballad Town, due to the fact that they have a yearly barbershop quartet competition.
When I was a kid, the barber poles in (at least my little corner of) the US were red and white - no blue. This does reflect the connection going back of course to Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber.
I'm 54 and haven't been to a barber since I was 17. I've always just buzzcut my own hair off with a pair of clippers, Oster years ago and Remington for about the last ten. Fortunately I have a good head for shaving even though I seldom ever actually shave, when I do it looks good. I gave up on gillette when they went to 4 blades and then 5 and went back to using an old fashioned double edged razor as I got 100 blades for 10 bucks and no more often than I shave I should bea ble to pass about half the blades along to whomever it is left after I'm gone, lol.
I like going to Great Clips, and I have not paid more than $15 for a haircut (without extra services). Back in the day....I even would frequent barber schools to get hair cut or a color. I only paid $30 for a color. My theory was, "they have to learn somehow". If it was messed up (which it rarely ever was)....my hair will grow back....lol. When the barber school closed, I did visit a different one to get my hair colored. That school had a different procedure....which ebded up costing me $70-80. Needless to say, I decided to stop getting my hair colored. Lol
Only your barber knows for sure----
Haircut costs have gone up a lot since Covid, at least in my area. Before Covid, I could get a haircut for $12 at the low-cost local independent barber, or for $18-$20 at one of the less expensive franchise shops (like Great Clips or Super Clips or Super Cuts or Sport Cuts or whatever they're called). But now, the independent barber charges $17, and the "cheap" franchises charge $25 and up.
I’m American and we use the term hair dresser but typically it refers to the person not a place. We also say beauty shop or beauty parlor for the place women go along with salon. Some people call cosmetology school as beauty school.
I can't even remember the last time I've been to a barber, as I just let my wife buzz my hair every 2 to 3 weeks as needed, and that's good enough for us as it saves a ton of money. My wife goes, and gets her hair done maybe every 6 weeks, or so, unless it's a special occasion.
Same for me, (almost, but I do my own buzz cut) for probably 5 or 6 years now. I usually do it once a month, some time farther apart in the winter, so a $30 pair of clippers as opposed to maybe somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 at the barbers.
@@rwill156 I'd do it myself, but she offered after we were dating for a couple of months as she knew I was born with bad vision in my right eye, and it's only getting worse as I get older, and said I was missing a few spots, and that's when I knew she was a keeper😅
This reminds me of when my dad, at an advanced age, decided to stop driving. The barber was one of many places where I would have to drive him but I bought clippers instead and took over his haircuts. It worked out great and saved him a lot of money.
@@judyyavello9666 My mother did the same for my grandfather back in the day several years before he died when we made him stop driving due to eyesight, as going to the only barber he liked in our area was just such a hassle, and a quick buzz cut for him one a month did the trick as he wore a ball cap most of the time if he was not in church.
I buzz my hair off too but I get my wife to clean it up especially in back.
Question: do barbers or hairdressers expect a tip in England? Because it’s customary in the US.
Nope- all included in the price
@@TheMutantPig another big difference!
Wait, what? Since when do people tip at a barber shop? I have *never* seen that happen, and I've been to dozens of barber shops all over the Midwest for the last five decades.
Unless you're talking about the fancy places women go to get their hair "done", which is less focused on cutting (though that does happen there as well) and more on styling and the application of assorted hair-care products, some of which men don't even have a word for. That's altogether different from a barbershop.
@@jonadabtheunsightly My husband has always tipped his barber (in cash).
@@jonadabtheunsightly I figure If they spent 20 minutes or less on my hair and are going to charge me 20$ I don't leave a tip. No complaints from Great Clips small town Midwest.
Most barbers didn't want to be barbers in the first place. They wanted to be lumberjacks.
Something for the weekend sir? Back in the day when Barbers sold gentleman's protectives.
I last went to a hairdresser in 2008, before that, 1991, before that 1981 and before that I was compelled by school rules to go 3 x a year minimum- an imposition on my personal freedom I clearly have never got over
I insist my husband get his hair cut at a barber shop as the cheap places cut it too short. Also as a woman the last time I got my haircut the small talk got awkward as the stylist started talking about her divorce and other issues. I sat there and smiled since as a SAHM married to a lawyer I didn't know what to say.
Ok, the Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty got me. Well done, sir.
Ha! Shawn Michaels & Marty Janetti! Haven't heard those names in 30 years! My mom watched studio wrestling religiously since the 60's until she got sick & passed in '94. That was her comedy relief.