How to get the haircut you want when you don't know how to ask for the haircut you want.

Have you ever walked into a Barbershop to get your haircut with a visual idea in your head of how you want to look but not the slightest clue on how to ask for it? Well I’m here to offer some helpful tips in hopes to end this dilemma for you.

First, the most common solution to this issue, try using that thing you own that we all seem to equally love and hate called a smartphone. On said smartphone, find a good photo of a haircut similar to the cut you want. There is absolutely nothing wrong with bringing a photo in to your barber, pictures are worth a thousand words as they say, so you are making it a whole lot easier on the barber when you can show an accurate depiction of the look you're after. Look for a reference photo that seems realistic for your lifestyle and your hair type. If you have thick wavy hair than maybe Brad Pitt from Fury is not the best reference for you. If you don’t want to style your hair regularly and even when you do style it you want to spend minimal time doing so, than maybe a pompadour like David Beckham is not the cut for you. And try and find a photo where the barber can actually see the hair well. A somewhat blurry selfie you took in bad lighting at the club is not the best of options. Something where the barber can see a little bit of both the top and the sides would be great. Or find 2 pictures, the first being in reference to how long on top or how you would like it to be styled and the 2nd being a reference to how long or short you would like the sides to be.

Next, If you absolutely cannot find a photo to refer to then you must do some thinking and answer some questions about your style preferences. Things like…

• How short is too short for you?
• Do you want to be able to see any skin on the sides?
• Would you prefer it a little longer on the sides and either touching the ear or coming over the ear?
• Are you wanting/willing to spend some time styling your hair? Or would you prefer something a bit more low maintenance where you could just wake up and go out the door?

These are all questions that you must be able to answer for yourself. There is no right or wrong answer as it is all based on personal preference. One person’s “short” may not be so short for the other. By being able to answer these questions going in to the appointment your barber will have much better insight into your lifestyle and can then help give you the best haircut and style to fit your lifestyle. 

Lastly, here is a disclaimer on behalf of all Barbers/hairstylists out there. If you are the guy who does not give his barber/stylist anything to work with in regards to what you want done or you can't answer any of the questions above and say something along the lines of “Whatever you want, you’re the artist.” If that is the case, the haircut that you get is the haircut that you get. You have signed away the option to ask to make any changes when you get the mirror such as “a little shorter on top” (sidenote: If you are facing the mirror when the barber goes to cut the top of your hair it is the perfect opportunity to tell them a little shorter on top, not at the end when we give you the mirror or after we have already styled and put product in your hair) or “can we go shorter on the sides?” Reason being is you said we are the artist and have the freedom to do as we please therefore we chose that haircut as the safe option to what we feel would work best for you. 

In conclusion and in all seriousness, I hope that this helps you better achieve the results you have envisioned for your next visit to the barbershop. And lastly, as surprising as this may be to some of you, no matter how good your photo is or how well you can answer the above questions the barber can only work so much magic. Hate to break it to ya but you’re still not going to look like Mr. Pitt, Mr. Beckham or Mr. Gosling. If we could pull that off then we would be in Vegas performing with David Copperfield or Mindfreaking with Criss Angel and not working at the barbershop. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the chair!