Why Barbers are the Cornerstone in the Lives of Men
The Barber Shop Effect : Add Soul To The Mundane
When you close your eyes and get your scalp massaged, it is a form of intimacy that is lasting but non invasive. The sort that touches your soul. The edge of it at least. Just enough to make you remember and not too much to make you put up walls. A scalp massage done right sets your very thoughts straight. Like a calibration you never knew you needed. Add a dash of chit chat and friendly neighbourhood news and you have a winner.
We recently had a spirited debate with a friend who was wearing a scruff look and was adamant about changing barbers since his regular one was away. He recounted stories of the one time he attempted to switch barbers and his scalp was left burning and sore with uneven terrain to boot. There is something that happens when you cheat on your barber, he said. The universe frowns upon you as you have broken the ultimate man code.
Barber shops are to men what spas are to women. A retreat away from life where nothing is required of your besides your presence(and money of course). Conversations flow freely, sometimes without any contribution from you besides the occasion bout of laughter or smile at a snark remark. Hair is serious business. Revolutions are birthed and launched in the name of hair. No wonder it is known as a crown. People protect their crowns with their lives.
The power of barbershops has been around from the time men began to get haircuts in shops. From the rich history of black owned barber shops in pre-liberated America, to the present day barber shops in Urban Africa where men are more loyal to their barbers than they sometimes are to their girlfriends. While I cannot term it as a sub-culture in itself, it is a genesis of tons of subcultures who’s identity can be pegged on how they choose to do their hair. Barbers are the custodians of societal inclinations. They allow one to feel comfortable enough to ask for a style that expresses your individuality. The best of them understand your scalp and life more than you ever would.
Maybe if shrinks learnt to cut hair and fashioned their offices after barber shops, men would be less averse to therapy? We’ll never know until one tries. Or maybe the low buzz of the electric razor lulls men into a more agreeable state? Who knows. What I would like to know is how men choose and find the perfect barber shop for them. Oh yee men of the world, how do you do it?
On the matter of hair cuts, I stumbled upon the above virtual haircut that had me at the edge my seat the whole time. Before you proceed any further, plug in your earphones(a good quality pair) and close your eyes. Then play the video and listen until the end. The very end. Tell me what you think. For me, it crosses all the lines that I had earlier alluded to and I wanted to run. Do haircuts feel like this?
When you observe societies and human groupings, they are usually thronged around a seemingly mundane activity that is done with a lot of soul. Take football for instance (soccer for Americans reading this). Some see a bunch of grown men kicking around a ball in shorts while other people rise and fall by the seasons of this game. Brazilians have it in their very DNA, the English identify themselves by their favorite club and Kenyans bet on their favorite teams without flinching.
Or take the above sport that the internet laid across my path. It’s called hobby horsing. I’ll never understand it and why it caught on, but it is life to some girls in Finland. They win medals and stuff for this… I cannot comprehend. However, I don’t need to. I respect that. Everyone likes what they like.
We are not called to understand each other but to love, for love breeds understanding.
Anything done with soul and confidence will always have it’s fans. The barber shop effect is turning seemingly mundane things into life pillars.
This is the very principle behind the rise of the ultra famous influencers on social media. Their contagious way of living or thinking pulls you towards them.
Tapping into culture creates influence. Influence is the secret sauce to success in business and life.
Do you recognize this concept around your own ecosystems? Exploring cultures and subcultures both on and offline excites me so I would be really glad to hear what you think.
