I'm closing out a pretty amazing week three of 2026. Just keeping to barbering, I did my first 90º cut on a mannequin and my first 45º cut and styling for a client. I also caught my first fade for a client and picked up a new outliner.
With last Monday being MLK-day, kids were off of school which effectively had me off for the day. Tuesday rolled in and I took my time doing some lining work for a client when my outliner fell out of my hands to the ground. That has to stop service because I have to clean and sanitize the outliner before I can use it again, except when it fell to the ground, it chipped off a corner of the blade, rendering it unsafe. So... I picked up a backup with the Wahl Hi-Viz Trimmer because after borrowing Ari's to finish up my client... it's just so much sharper and usable than the Andis trimmer that came in my student kit.
Thursday, after barber school, I headed over to see my friends, Kelli and Jason. Jason wanted to keep most of the hair that was on his head and he usually does a "5" clippers... which means his barber normally takes their Master clippers (the clippers that have a lever to open/close the guard to the blade) opened all the way up, and then add a 4-guard, which is as big a guard as they make... and that is the longest that ppl can clip their hair. I did a little bit of fading down to help make his hair look less like a box, but with all the winter weather, keeping hair on his head was really important. Jason wanted nothing taken off the top, so I did a little bit of point-cutting to help blend some wild hair patterns a little better.
When we brunched last weekend, Kelli expressed that she wanted to have more volume in her hair and wanted her curls to come back. It had been several months since her last styling and there'd been some health concerns in that time, so we were dealing with a combination of very curly but damaged hair, that was also very fine with some thinning. I thought about doing a blunt (0º) cut for her but as I had her in the chair, I realized her hair was too fine to do a lot of layering; and that's when I proposed doing a 45º cut to remove some weight from her hair to help the curls pop again while also graduating the cut with a few layers to give her hair some volume. Kelli was my first-ever styling client, so I was just happy that it went to plan and she's happy with the end result. Everyone knows I'm beginning and there's significant risk with having a noob cut your hair. I am glad I exceeded expectations, including my own.
Kelli, before and the day after styling
Because of the arctic polar vortex we have going on, class was cancelled on Friday so it was a pretty short week barbering-wise but all these new cuts and new experiences... was a heck of a way to grow.
Keep Doing
I'm three weeks into following the rituals I put out here with regard to writing, using my notebook, ceremonies to open and close a week's work. Slowing myself down, focusing on process, finishing with a section before moving on to other parts of a client service... all this is good and I need to keep up the mindfulness. This last week I could see and feel the payoff.
Less Of
I am avoiding paperwork when there are so many other things that are more interesting to be doing... and I need to steer into making sure taxes, budget... all the lame parts of adulting and starting a business need as much if not more focus and intentionality so I need to avoid that stuff less and steer in more.
More Of
I hardly hit the gym last week with the weather and my hips and legs feel it. This week I need to at least be regular about getting to the gym and getting some dedicated stretch work in.
Stop Doing
I don't know that I need to make any big deal about stuff but I should stop denying the impact I'm making around me. With one of my classmates now going for her barbering instructor's license as she's finishing up her barbering license, and another student-instructor joining, I have better access to one-on-one mentoring on how to perform cuts and client services while also reverse-mentoring/coaching (depending on what's needed) on how to instruct (or more usually, how to manage a classroom of high schoolers). I've been uncertain in the past about how, or even if, to integrate all this instructional know-how I have into this new context, but it seems that's exactly what the universe wants, otherwise it wouldn't give me all these opportunities to help such ppl figure out their thing.
Start Doing
I was on a solid streak at the start of this month with doing daily videos on Instagram (and Facebook); "morning meditations." Then about a week and a half ago, I encountered my first experience with online trolls when I dared speak about how to deal with the demands of the day when all the shit happening in Minnesota is taking up so much space in our (or my, at least) head. That same evening, completely unrelated, a fellow 19yo student was shot and killed and it took the police and EMS 30-minutes to respond. So, there's been a bit to process and then with it being my birthday last week, that took extra effort to glide through.
I need to restart the videos. Ppl seemed to really be responding to them and especially because of all the terribleness, I feel almost duty-bound to be helping as I can. Helping people find some ease... that's something I can be doing.
