The State of The Barber Culture

High fades, drop fades, temp fades, and none of them mid fades. Such a simple explanation of the variety of different haircuts you may see if you were to stumble through the doors of a shop in 2024, yet so important to the culture. In the age of social media, you now have barbers who are top-tier rappers, artists, actors, and comedians. The state of the Barber Culture has truly eclipsed that of what our founding fathers in 1919 may have ever expected when Wahl created their first hair-trimming machine.

There may have always been a spotlight on the Barbershops in our communities due to Barbers being known for fashion, flashing, and being some of the best sports trash-talkers. However, not only did the Pandemic change the scope of how deep we would examine and value our health as a nation, but it also changed the scope of how we valued our Barbers. During a time when the only reasonable excuse to leave the house or have "outsiders" come in, we quickly realized who the essential workers were.

Interestingly enough, at the same time America was realizing why the price of haircuts was raising from 25 and a handshake to "50 and up, bro," Barbers were also being introduced to a set of brand new manufacturers that would hit their industry by storm. Similar to the many tattoo cover-ups of names of ex-es that lovers never thought wouldn't be the twinkle of their eye, many Andis lovers would soon be shocked that their beloved master would have stiff competition. Similar to the chokehold Jordans had on teens in the mid to late nineties and early two-thousands, for years Wahl and Andis dominated the game with the Wahl Seniors and Andis Master & T Outliner.

At a certain point, you couldn't go to a barbershop in Harlem, Chicago, or Houston, TX without seeing a local artist painted corded master on the walls. And if you did and they didn't have one, somewhere in the shop there was an Andis T-Outliner with the cord waiting to be put to work. Fast forward 4 years later, and a Chinese-owned company, JRL, little known in 2019, is dominating the industry. StyleCraft is dropping new heat like Future during his 2016 epic album run, and Babyliss has been head and shoulders over the competitors in terms of innovation and originality since its inception.

The diversity from a machine standpoint and creativity on social media has propelled the price of haircuts and influencer appearance fees to an all-time high. Who would have thought that Barbers would have their own dedicated show where influencers such as 360 Jeezy and Los cut it, giving their opinion on the newest clippers in the industry, and over 100k barbers would be tuned in? The culture has changed, and it has changed for the better. Now it's time for the rest of the world to catch up or get left behind. Barbers are essential, and so is their time, their services, and the price they demand you pay.