At the barbers
Going to the barbers for the black male community is almost a religious experience. The familiar tones of old school reggea, the warm welcoming atmosphere of humble acceptance and the promise that you will leave better than you came in. Have inspired a culture around barbering and the “skin fade”. ‘A man’s fade is his worth’, Far from just being a meme, the confidence and sacredness of a good fade cuts across communities and experience. For everyone with Afro hair, getting a trim is more than just a style option, it’s a commitment, to sharing in craft and gentle male vulnerability. Fear and pride are put aside, as conversations that question morality, pop culture and the value of black perspective unfold. The barbers is also a proving ground. nationality, culture, success with women, all sorts of challenges are presented to the forum like chamber, of the waiting room.
Sometimes the shop floor is silent, and only the gentle falling of hair and the warm buzz of clippers can be heard. In the tranquility black men, like precious sculptors finesse the hair line that will evolve first impressions for the men and women in their chairs for weeks to come. The barbers is an eco-system of give and take, and getting a haircut from the same barber builds up a report. Confidence in your barber, is almost equivalent to self confidence, knowing at your worst that no matter what you can get a trim and look and feel better, it’s paramount to many people’s existence. Many hair shops do not cater to Afro hair styles, male or female,
“Sorry, I don’t really know how to cut hair like your’s,” is a line many black people have come to fear, but at the Afro carribean barbershop, any hair and all styles are welcome, Afro to caucasian and eastern and middle eastern hair. Friends from numerous cultures and races have admitted, that no one cuts hair like the black barbers, like an immutable fact of life, the barbers remains untouched, unblemished even while religion and social structures crumble, dax hair cream and Clippers clippers remain unchallenged as the paramount tools of sophistication for a black man in modern life.
Anon. B
