barber

Hairdresser, Hair Stylist

Nikolaos Gyzis, "The Barber"
Occupation
Names	Barber, hairdresser
Description

A barber (from the Latin barba, "beard") is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop or a barber's.

In previous times, barbers also performed surgery and dentistry. Today, with the development of safety razors and the decreasing prevalence of beards, in American and Commonwealth culture most barbers specialize in cutting men's hair. Many barbers may still deal with facial hair if requested.

Terminology

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

A street barber in Shiraz

In modern times, the term "barber" is used both as a professional title and to refer to hairdressers who specialize in men's hair. Historically, all hairdressers were considered barbers. In the 20th century, the profession of cosmetology branched off from barbering, and today hairdressers may be licensed as either barbers or cosmetologists. Barbers differ with respect to where they work, which services they are licensed to provide, and what name they use to refer to themselves. Part of this terminology difference depends on the regulations in a given location.

Different states in the US vary on their labor and licensing laws. For example, in Maryland, a cosmetologist cannot use a straight razor, strictly reserved for barbers. In contrast, in New Jersey both are regulated by the State Board of Cosmetology and there is no longer a legal difference in barbers and cosmetologists, as they are issued the same license and can practice both the art of straight razor shaving, colouring, other chemical work and haircutting if they choose.

In Australia, the official term for a barber is hairdresser; barber is only a popular title for men's hairdressers, although not as popular now as it was in the middle of the 20th century. Most would work in a hairdressing salon.

History

Barbershop in Bucharest around 1842. Woodcut. As shown in this image, the barbershop also provides an opportunity for social contacts.

The barber's trade has a long history; razors have been found among relics of the Bronze Age (circa 3500 BC) in Egypt. In ancient Egyptian culture, barbers were highly respected individuals. Priests and men of medicine are the earliest recorded examples of barbers. In early tribes, a barber was one of the most important members, as it was believed that certain evil spirits were able to enter a person's body through their hair, and that cutting it was a way to drive them out. Due to their spiritual and religious beliefs, barbers even performed religious ceremonies, such as marriages and baptizing children. During these ceremonies, they would leave the person/people's hair hanging down until after dancing; they would then cut the hair and tie it back tightly so that no evil spirits could enter and no good spirits could escape.

Men in Ancient Greece would have their beards, hair, and fingernails trimmed and styled by the κουρεύς (cureus), in an agora, which also served as a social gathering for debates and gossip.

Humayun's Tomb, built 1562 CE, with his Barber's Tomb (Nai-ka-Gumbad) in the foreground, Delhi, the only other structure in the royal enclosure. 1858 photograph.

Barbering was introduced to Rome by the Greek colonies in Sicily in 296 B.C., and barber shops quickly became very popular centres for daily news and gossip. A morning visit to the tonsor became a part of the daily routine, as important as the visit to the public baths, and a young man's first shave (tonsura) was considered an essential part of his coming of age ceremony.

A few Roman tonsores became wealthy and influential, running shops that were favourite public locations of high society; however, most were simple tradesmen, who owned small storefronts or worked in the streets for low prices.

The barbershop in Fluvanna, Texas, has been restored as part of a pioneer village in Snyder in Scurry County in West Texas.

Interior of a barber's shop, circa 1920

Barbers in the Middle Ages often served as surgeons and dentists. In addition to haircutting, hairdressing, and shaving, barbers performed surgery, bloodletting and leeching, fire cupping, enemas, and the extraction of teeth; earning them the name "barber surgeons". The barber pole, featuring red and white spiralling stripes, indicated the two crafts (surgery in red and barbering in white). Barbers received higher pay than surgeons until surgeons were entered into British war ships during naval wars. Some of the duties of the barber included neck manipulation, cleansing of ears and scalp, draining of boils, fistula and lancing of cysts with wicks.
In the early 1900s an alternative word for barber came into use, "chirotonsor". Chirotonsor is an alternate title for a barber.

Recent trends

The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2012)

The barber Sam Mature, whose interview with Studs Terkel was published in Terkel's 1974 book Working, says "A man used to get a haircut every couple weeks. Now he waits a month or two, some of ‘em even longer than that. A lot of people would get manicured and fixed up every week. Most of these people retired, moved away, or passed away. It’s all on account of long hair. You take old-timers, they wanted to look neat, to be presentable. Now people don’t seem to care too much."

Late in the nineteenth century there were several noteworthy events in the barber profession that gave it an upward trend, and the effects are still carrying onward and upward. ^[1]In 1893, A. B. Moler of Chicago, established a school for barbers. This was the first institution of its kind in the world, and its success was apparent from its very start. It stood for higher education in the ranks, and the parent school was rapidly followed by branches in nearly every principal city of the United States. In the beginning of schools, simply the practical work of shaving, haircutting, facial treatments, etc., was taught as neither the public nor the profession were ready to accept scientific treatments of hair, skin and scalp. Not until about 1920 was much effort made to professionalize the work.

Animals

The term "barbering" when applied to laboratory mice is a behaviour where a dominant mouse will use her teeth to pluck out hairs from the face of a passive mouse when they groom each other (barbering is practised mostly by female mice). If moved to a cage with other mice, the "barber" will continue to practise her job and pull out hairs from her new cage-mates.^[2]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Barbers

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Barber.

• Barber's pole
• Barber paradox
• Barber surgeon
• Beauty salon
• Hairstyle
• Cosmetology
• Facial hair
• DOVO Solingen
• Thiers Issard
• The Barber of Seville
• Sweeney Todd
• Barber chair
• Barbershop music
• Birds Barbershop
• Straight razor

Further reading

• Andrews, William. (Cottingham, Yorkshire: J.R. Tutin, 1904) At the sign of the barber's pole: studies in hirsute history. 118 pages. Google books. and here for Project Gutenberg.
• Andrews, William, The Sign of the Barber's Pole: Studies in Hirsute History (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press) William Andrews (Dodo Press, 2009) 90 pages. Lethe Press Paperback 108 pages ISBN 978-1-59021-081-9
• Rothman, Irving N., ed. The Barber in Modern Jewish Culture. A Genre of People, Places, and Things, with Illustrations. Foreword: Maximillian E. Novak. Lewiston, NY: The Edward Mellen Press, 2008. 714 pp.
• Rothman, Irving N.“The Reliable Barber Supply Co.: An Annotated Chronological Bibliography of the Barber—Second Delivery.” Bulletin of Bibliography 55.2 (1998): 101-21 [186 items.] ISSN 0190-745X
• Rothman, Irving N. “The Reliable Barber Supply Co.: An Annotated Bibliography of the Barber in World Culture.” Bulletin of Bibliography. 51.4 (December 1994): 325-39. [147 items] ISSN 0190-745X

References

Barbers- State of California, Employment Development, Labor Market Information Division, Information Services Group, (916) 262-2162. http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/occguide/barber.htm

The Art of Barbering Through the Ages "Barber Shop" http://www.barberpole.com/artof.htm

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Barbers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Barber shops

• Barba: entry in William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities