None of the girls at the local beauty solons know how to do a tradtional men’s tapered haircut. They will slap a guard on the clippers and cut the hair one length all the way up and block it straight across the back. When they use scissors they cut the hair in a similar shape, though not quite as short.

It seems that men’s haircutting is becomming a lost art. Many people cut men’s hair, but few do it well. Beauticians don’t know how and most barbers are either incompetent or careless. Instead of gambling on another new barber I think I am going to make an appointment and go back to my old barber. She is over an hour away, but it will be worth the drive once a month just to get a decent haircut.

The best haircuts I have ever gotten were from barber-stylists who work by appointment only. They will have a half hour or so scheduled for your haircut which allows them to take the necessary time to do a good job. In my experience, many barbers at walk-in shops are in the habit of working fast because they have other customers waiting and they want to help everyone as soon a possible.

When I left town and moved in with the gf she recommended I go to the salon she frequented- very pretentious, very pricey ($60), the haircut would look good the day I left the salon but I didn’t have 30 minutes every morning to “do my hair”.

Then I landed a new job and was walking around the block by my office and found Thee Barbershop- I hadn’t shaved in over 10 days, and probably hadn’t had a haircut in 4 or 5 months. Pete Lira, the owner, cleaned me up in no time. My first shave with a straight razor and a damn good haircut. Twenty bucks for the cut. The gf didn’t like it as much as the salon, but every where I went the next week I was asked, “Where do you get your hair cut?”

The barbershop is key- there’s jazz playing on the radio, the choice of reading material is either the paper, Guns & Ammo, or Penthouse (no f’ing People magazine, thank you). And the jokes are good.