The barber profession in the U.S. is as old as America itself, and is steeped in tradition. Many of today’s barbers, which are both male and female, use the same equipment, practice the same techniques, and retain the atmosphere of barber shops of long ago. In fact, not much has changed in barbering, as this profession is considered an art form that requires skill, training, a steady hand, and a sharp eye.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 52,100 barbers employed in the U.S. in 2012. By 2022, the BLS projects an increase to 57,900, or an 11 percent change. Unlike barbers of past generations, today’s barbers must be licensed to practice in the state in which they work as to ensure they are skilled in everything from sanitary practices and safety precautions to hair and scalp physiology.
Today’s barbers execute precise haircuts as well as perform any number of techniques to the face, scalp, beard, and mustache. Barbers trim, cut, shape, and taper hair using scissors, razors, clippers, and combs. They also often provide facial hair maintenance, custom shaves, and a number of grooming services, such as shampooing, styling, coloring, scalp, neck, and facial massages, and apply hot towels to the face to open pores.
Did you know the facts below about barbering?
·
A
barber’s razor was mentioned in the Old Testament. God instructs the prophet
Ezekiel in Ezekiel 5:1(GNT): “The
Lord
said, “Mortal man, take a sharp sword and use it to shave off your beard and
all your hair. Then weigh the hair on scales and divide it into three parts.”
·
According
to the Oxford Dictionary, “lotium” was a word for “stale urine used by
barbers”. They used it as a kind of shampoo.
·
Barber
chairs in engravings from the Civil War era share many features with modern
chairs, including high seating, upholstery, and a footrest. The first
factory-manufactured chairs date to around 1850. The first one-piece reclining
barber chair with an attached footrest was patented in 1878 by the Archer
Company of St. Louis, MO.
·
Barbers
administered enemas.
·
Barbers
did nails and teeth at their shops.
·
Barbers
preformed castrations.
·
In
Egypt and other ancient cultures (as early as 3500 BC), barbers were often
priests whose main job was to keep evil spirits from possessing people. They
did this by trimming, styling and shaving off the hair through which demons
liked to enter the body. Archeologists have found remnants of ancient combs
from cavemen and razors made by Egyptians.
·
In
the Middle Ages, barbers treated wounds and performed surgery, they created
ointments, and could give you a bath or crack your neck. Barbers competed with
surgeons for their jobs until the 1800’s when science caught up and more
complex surgeries needed expert knowledge of biology. The “Father of Modern
Surgery”, Ambroise Pare, started his career in the medical field as a
barber/surgeon.
·
In
the past, some places required regular grooming as both an unwritten/written
law.
·
It
was in Greece during its Golden Age (500-300 BC) that barbering became a highly
developed art.
·
Surgery
was a banned practice in many places so barbers were a needed service.
·
The
community-building effect of barbershops dates back to ancient Rome, where they
have first been documented as places where news and rumors were spread. The
barbershop and public bath were the two favorite places where people went to
unwind.
·
The
oldest surviving barber shop in the world is Truefitt and Hill in London
established in 1805. It now operates in 8 countries, Azerbaijan, South Korea,
Canada, India, Thailand, U.S., Singapore, and Malaysia offering professional
haircuts and other grooming services.
·
The
symbolic barber pole evolved from bloodletting. Some say the white represents
the bandages, the red the blood, and the blue the veins. The classic striped
barber pole that you always see outside real barber shops derived from the
barber’s second job as a surgeon. This represents when barbers hung bloody
bandages out to dry on a pole.
·
The
word barber comes from the Latin word “barba,” meaning beard. In early ages,
beards signified wisdom, strength, and manhood.
·
There
are tomb paintings from ancient Egypt that show a barber cutting hair along
with relics of razors nearly 6,000 years old.
“This is a
barbershop not a hair salon. You come in here not trying to impress anyone.
It's a place just to talk, to hang out with the fellows, talk about sports,
women, relationships.” (Joe Davis)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“13 most interesting facts about barbers” by Booksy
·
“Some Interesting Facts about Barbers” by Richard’s
Barber Shop
· “What is a Barber?” by Barber License
This post is dedicated to my late father, Robert E. Kinker.
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