I was working on this kid's cut yesterday, kept seeing this weird line on the left side of his head. Must have gone over it with my trimmer 5 times, fading it out more each time. Finally my coworker came over and pointed out it was just the fluorescent bulb casting a shadow off his ear. Felt like an idiot standing there for 45 minutes fighting something that wasn't even real. Anyone else have a lighting setup in their shop that plays tricks on you like that?
I was struggling with blending on my last three cuts until I swapped blades on a whim, and now I'm wondering how many hours I wasted using that old 15-degree blade, anyone else have a simple switch that fixed a nagging problem?
I was doing a fade on a regular at my chair in Austin when my Wahl Senior started sounding weird. Halfway through the left side the blade just fell off completely. Customer looked at me in the mirror and said "is that supposed to happen." I just grabbed my backup clippers, finished the cut for free, and spent the next 20 minutes finding the right screw size at a hardware store down the street. Any other barbers keep spare screws in their drawer or am I the only one who learned this the hard way?
My old barber mentor in Austin told me to always spray oil on my clipper blades before a haircut and let them sit for 10 minutes. I used to just oil them and start cutting right away. After I tried his way, my blades ran way cooler and didn't get dull as fast through a busy 8 hour shift. Has anyone else noticed a big difference with waiting a little bit before firing up the clippers?
I've been using the same brand of clipper blades for 5 years, and last month I tried a cheaper set from a different brand because my regular ones were backordered. First cut, the blade started pulling on dry hair and left a choppy fade line near the temple on a regular client. Switched back to my old brand halfway through the next haircut, and it was smooth as butter with no snagging at all. The difference was the blade gap out of the box - the cheap ones were almost 1/8th too tight and I didn't catch it until it was too late. Has anyone else had a bad run with an off-brand blade that messed up your schedule?
Bought one of those handheld sharpeners from a trade show in Atlanta thinking it'd save me trips to the sharpener guy. After 3 blades, it ruined the edge on two of them and now I'm out money and blades. Anyone else had better luck with a different brand?
Last Tuesday this guy in his 50s sat down and told me my zero gaps were leaving a hard line right above the occipital. He used to cut hair in the Army back in the 80s. I changed my approach that same day, started using the corner of my clipper instead of the full blade for blending. Man, it smoothed out everything. Any other barbers here ever get humbled by a random customer like that?
I was wondering why my fades kept looking uneven on the back of the head, especially on rounder skull shapes. Then a customer asked me why I was lifting my wrist so high and it clicked that I was tilting the blade too much. Anyone else have a basic thing like grip or angle that took way too long to fix?
Had a client come in last Thursday with tight 3C curls and I reached for my thinning shears out of habit to take down bulk. Normally I swear by them for texture blending but this time the curls popped up all choppy and uneven. It was a mess and I had to cut off almost 2 inches to fix it. The client was patient thank goodness but I felt awful. Now I only use point cutting or my straight shears for curly hair. Has anyone else ruined a curl pattern with thinning shears?
I was struggling with getting that smooth transition on really dark coarse hair for months, then I tried using the corner of my clipper blade with zero pressure instead of a trimmer. It took the harsh line out completely in about 2 minutes and left a much softer finish. Has anyone else tried this technique or found another way to skip the foil shaver?
I bought the Wahl Magic Clip because every barber on here talks about it like it's the holy grail. Figured I'd upgrade from my old cordless Andis. Hated it from day one. The motor is weak and it bogs down on thick hair, especially around the crown. I do a lot of fades and the blade adjustment kept slipping mid-cut. Used it for two weeks then went back to my old clipper. That's $200 down the drain plus the time I wasted messing with it. Has anyone else tried the Magic Clip and just couldn't make it work? What clipper did you switch to instead?
I was bitching about how my Oster 76s keep pulling on thick hair and this guy named Bill who's been cutting since the 80s told me I been oiling them wrong. He said I should heat the oil up a little before applying it, like 20 seconds in the microwave, so it seeps into the pivot joint better. Tried it on my clippers last night and it ran way smoother this morning. Anyone else ever hear of doing that or am I just late to the party?
Had a customer last Thursday say he prefers no taper at all because it looks cleaner as it grows out, but my mentor always told me a slight taper is the only way to avoid the 'helmet head' look. Which side do you guys lean toward for a simple #2 guard all over?
Had a Wahl Senior come in with a blade that kept chattering. Thought it was tension. Nope. Took the whole blade assembly apart. Cleaned it twice. Still wobbled. Then I realized the drive pin was worn down by like 2 millimeters. New pin cost me four bucks. Three hours of my life gone over a tiny piece of plastic. Anyone else got a repair that should have taken 10 minutes but ate up your whole afternoon?
I kept messing up on the chin area for months (you know, that spot where hair grows in like 3 directions). Turns out I was going too fast and not paying attention to the light. A buddy at the shop told me to slow down and tilt the head different angles, and now I get way less irritation. Has anyone else found a weird trick for tricky grain?
I kept noticing my fine tooth combs getting brittle and cracking after a few months... turns out barbicide will eat through plastic if you leave it in too long. I switched to a 2 minute dip and then rinse with warm water, and my combs are lasting way longer now. The bottle says 10 minutes for sanitation but that's for metal tools mostly, not the acetate combs we use every day. I figured this out after my third $12 comb snapped mid-cut on a regular client last spring. Anyone else notice their combs getting rough or those little cracks forming after a while?
I was at my chair in Austin last Friday, rushing through a hot towel shave. I didn't shake the towel out enough before putting it on the guy's neck, and he jumped up yelling. I had to apologize, give him a free haircut, and now I always let towels cool for 10 extra seconds. Anyone else had a close call like that with hot towels?
Used to always freehand with clippers but kept getting uneven lines on the neck. Now I do a rough trim with shears first and it cuts my cleanup time in half. Anybody else find shears easier for bulk removal on beards?
The kid was squirming the whole time and the barber just held his head still with one hand while moving that blade right behind his ear, has anyone else seen folks doing hot shaves on little ones or am I the only one who thinks that's pushing it?
I was at a trade show in Atlanta last month and got to talking with this guy named Ray who has been cutting hair since the 70s. He told me I was overthinking my straight razor work and that I needed to slow down and feel the hair instead of just rushing through. He said "you're treating it like a race when it's really a conversation with the head." That hit me hard because I realized I been trying to be fast and efficient but losing the quality. I went home and practiced his method of lighter passes and more angle control on my next 3 clients. The results were smoother and my regulars noticed a difference. Has anyone else had an older barber drop wisdom that changed how you do something simple? I'm curious if it's just me or if this is common.
Been fighting with hot clippers on thick hair for 3 years, finally tried a ceramic blade from a shop in Portland and it cut through a whole head without a single snag, anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference?
I oiled my chair's pivot joint with Andis clipper oil last Tuesday and the squeak stopped right after. It was annoying me and my customers for half a year. Anyone else use their barber supplies on other stuff around the shop?
I was working last Saturday during the State Fair in Dallas and got slammed with 12 walk-ins in under an hour. My system fell apart fast and I ended up rushing cuts I shouldn't have. How do you guys manage the clock when it gets that crazy without sacrificing quality?
I used to do all my fading and blending with clipper over comb for years. Thought that was the only real way to get a crisp taper. Then about 3 months ago, I sat in with a guy named Marcus on the South Side. He grabbed his shears and worked the top of a fade in like 4 minutes flat. The texture was way smoother, less harsh lines to clean up. Now I use my shears for the bulk of the blending, only touch the clippers for the very bottom. Anyone else make that switch or still sticking with clippers?
My Andis Master kept making this buzzing rattle noise for 2 weeks straight, drove me crazy until I realized a tiny hair had jammed under the blade spring plate thing (not the actual name, you know what I mean). Has anyone else had a random piece of hair cause a problem that took way longer than it should have to figure out?