Six weeks ago, I walked into Erskine Reeves Barber Academy with nothing but a notebook. In the last two weeks, I began doing haircuts and shampoos for people. So far the haircuts I've done are understandably basic. If someone comes to the shop to be shaved bald, or to have it taken down almost-bald but even, I get them, and there's at least one person a day coming to the shop looking to be cleaned up simply.
There are senior ladies who come to the shop as we learn how to cut women's hair (cosmetology is core to barbering so... just like code, there's inheritance). I shampoo, condition, scalp massage. My client last Thursday was chatting with me as I prepped for her shampooing,
"You're taking care of me today?"
"I'm going to wash and condition your hair, Bobbi, before Tay cuts your hair."
"You're not cutting my hair?"
"Oh no, ma'am. I only started barber school five weeks ago. I'm not nearly qualified to cut your hair yet."
"You look like you're started school a little late ;)"
"Well, I was working as a Fed before the President and Elon Musk had other ideas in February."
"Oh my... well it's clear the Lord has a plan for you. You're here and you look happy."
"I am very happy to be taking care of you today."
"Aaron, have you ever worked with Black hair?"
"Bobbi, that's the only hair I've worked with. :)"
Learning how to handle one's hair takes practice, which is why I get to use a mannequin, which I have named "Scarlet" because I know no Scarlets nor do I have any ill-will towards any Scarlets so even though this mannequin looks... well, off-putting... no one needs to read into the name, ok? Scarlet is putting in the hours with me.
Pretty much every day I do a shampoo, conditioner and dry on Scarlet. I'll section in 9-parts for rollers. To-date, I've had two real clients for shampoo and blow dry. I'll section her hair in 4 parts for a blow dry and/or (finally) a flat-iron.
Learning about styling hair isn't much of a struggle but it the learning cycle takes three days for me to achieve some level of independent competency with each new skill. The first afternoon of independent practice is always frustrating. The second day I get some guidance in the morning and make some forward progress. I try again in the afternoon and seem to miss something key, which is also frustrating. The third day I get another demonstration and I tend to identify differences in practice compared to what I've been attempting. Often it's working with smaller sections of hair at a time. Slowing down the process. Remembering that parts and sections can be cleaned up and moved around if they need to be. There's always time.
At least some skills seem to be stackable/transferrable. Today, I worked with old-school hair tools called Marcels, which use an oven to heat up the implements (a marcel roller, a hot comb and a flat iron). They are hot as hell... like dangerous-will-absolutely-give-a-second-degree-burn fidget spinners. I loved working with them today, and I seemed to instantly have a knack for them.
I was told today that after I pass my test on this chapter, I start cutting hair with shears and I'll begin to learn how to do proper fades. I am psyched to learn every single thing there is to learn about this trade.
My 18yo classmates are winning awards at barbering competitions with seriously advanced edge work, fades, and shaped designs. I've have two classmates who are maintaining very crisp dreadlocks. I'm excited to ask questions and take notes on how it works whenever that's happening in the shop. I want to learn it all. I want to be able to do it all, well.
Anyone who's played disc golf with me recognizes my Zuca cart. At the outset of the pandemic, when I realized that disc golf was a special interest of mine, I picked up a cart for playing disc golf that kinda made me the Rodney-Dangerfield-in-Caddyshack of every disc golf outing.
Well, I'm not playing disc golf much these days as I preserve my elbow for barbering, but the Zuca cart has a new life as my tool locker. The last two weeks as I started to do haircuts, I organized it into my mobile kit and that saved me from carrying three different kits separately.
Until next time, I'll keep working on leaving the crispiest of lines. Why not drop a line and say hi or share this with someone who's stuck and trying to figure out what their next thing is... maybe they're more ready for a pivot than you know!
