How To Talk Barber

Want to climb out of the chair contented? You need to work on your barber talk. Because “a little off the top” won’t cut it

How many times have you left the barber shop with a haircut you hate and thought to yourself, What the hell went wrong? Was that guy an apprentice? Did he think you’d been drafted? Did you subconsciously ask for it?

Truth is, it was probably due to poor communication. Because as much as we assume they can, barbers can’t read minds. If you don’t tell them exactly what you want, they’re probably going to go with whatever they feel most comfortable giving you. To avoid getting a cut that makes a month as a hermit seem tempting, you need to brush up on how you instruct the man with the scissors.

We asked Dan Dixon, from Mister Chop Shop in Sydney, for his best tips on what to say to your barber to get exactly the haircut you imagined.

1 SHOW UP WITH A PHOTO

Try describing Zac Efron’s hair. You can’t, right? So instead of giving some insanely vague directions to your barber, bring a picture to show him what you want (this is where all those hours of scrolling on Instagram come in handy). “The more info and direction given ensures a better result,” says Dixon. Feel weird about pulling out a celebrity pic? You can also show a picture of a haircut you once had and really liked – and let your barber take you back to that moment.