Do I need to go to barber school?

Barber school, just like anything else, is what we make of it. We get out of it what we put into it. Too often in life we are looking for shortcuts and end up feeling unfulfilled due to there being no real sacrifice. The best things in life require a sacrifice of some sort.

Barber school is a great investment in yourself. After we are done with school, we will be better prepared to take on our career. Which will give us a better chance at being successful, but will not guarantee it. We should not waste our time, but actually put forth our best effort so that we may give ourselves the best opportunity at being successful.

Once we learn how and why it works, it is easier to execute. Whether it be decoloring hair, perming hair, or cutting hair. There is more to it than what we see on youtube. Too often we make the mistake of watching X amount of videos and try to apply all techniques into one haircut and we end up with poor results. What we forget is that while said technique worked for the texture and/or color of hair (in said video) it may not work for the hair we are working with or the look we are trying to achieve. Furthermore it is hard to capture all the steps of a 30 minute service (haircut) and edit it into a 1-3 minute video for youtube. While at school, your instructor will teach you about the process of blending and/or cutting hair. Whether you fade from the bottom up or from the top down. Some haircuts may require us to use a with and/or against the grain technique and may even require us to do some freehand clipper cutting with maybe a bit of freehand shear cutting to polish up the look.

We will also learn about our tools and when it will be best to use them and what their intended use is. Too often we reach for a tool to use because we saw someone in a video using it, while it may be of use it does not mean that it would be the best tool for what we are trying to achieve. You see it far too often nowadays on social media people using fire, axes, etcetera to cut hair. While we may be able to cut the hair with it, it does not mean that it is the best option.

In Texas, we are required to pass a 2 step Class A Barber Exam (written and practical) to be able to obtain our license after we have been through a 1,000 hour barber course in an accredited School. We do not have the option of apprenticeship in Texas.

So when it comes to barber school we must look at it for what it is, it is a place to learn our trade. We must then take that acquired training and put it into use while we are still in school and have our instructors there to help us. We need to take advantage of the situation and truly apply ourselves and challenge ourselves. Too often we worry more about what friends and/or family are going to say. Do not waste your time thinking about that, for that is out of our control. We must work diligently day after day so that we may hone our craft. We need to remember that barbering is a customer service oriented field. We are here to serve the general public, not ourselves.

Barber school is an undervalued part of barbering. Much of it comes from peoples personal experiences. Much like how we all remember high school differently, so do us barbers remember barber school.