Today, the barbershop has ceased to be a 'men's territory' and among the masters, representatives of the fair half of humanity are increasingly common.
So, let's start with history. The barber profession has a centuries-old and very fascinating history. The first mention of barbers was in Ancient Egypt (around 3500 BC), where they were considered highly respected people. They were also very popular among tribes who believed that evil spirits entered a person through the hair.
In Ancient Greece, the barber profession was in high demand; they were located in markets and were called cureus (something like a barber of the time). They were especially in demand during the time of Alexander the Great – after his warriors were seized by their long hair and beards and stabbed with spears. In general, barbering became common in Ancient Rome, where going to the hairdresser was equivalent to going to the bathhouse. The barber profession was particularly interesting in the Middle Ages, when they were called barber-surgeons.
People went to barber-surgeons for many reasons, such as haircuts, shaving, surgical operations, dislocations, blood transfusions, tooth treatment. But their main occupation was bloodletting. People came to them with any illness of the time. Since the medicine of that time was, to put it mildly, not good – the only help at that time was precisely bloodletting. How did it work? A person was seated in a chair, a tight bandage was placed on their arm to prevent too much blood loss, and then veins were opened. It was believed that in this way all the 'sick' blood flowed out of the person. At that time, it was hard to find a barber (barber-surgeon), so they came up with something – they hung a stick with a bloody bandage wrapped around it in front of their establishments. That is how the well-known barber pole came about.
In the modern world, everything looks not so harsh. Now barbers only trim beards and do haircuts. If we look at the recent history of barbering, that is, starting from the twentieth century, barbershops were a place where women were not allowed, where men came not only to get a haircut but also to talk with people, discuss the latest news – that is, to spend time in male company. Previously, there were no disposable razors, so each client had their own razor in the salon. Spittoons were installed throughout the barbershop.
Now everything is a little different. Barbershops have become a unisex place and, probably, the former charm is gone. But, as you can see, many such establishments do not abandon former traditions and decorate their salons in a retro style, which cannot but please.
Today there are many schools for barbers, and to become a true 'barber-surgeon', one needs to obtain a license. But it's not all that simple. In different countries, licenses differ, so to work as a barber in another country, a person must take the barber courses required in that country. By the way, in America alone, almost every state has its own barber license. They also have to undergo retraining every two years to keep their skills sharp.
Originally, and to this day, some barbers cut hair without washing, styling, curling, or dyeing it. Everything, as they say, on dry hair. But the modern barbershop no longer follows these rules and brings its own fashion.
A real man should take care of himself, especially his head, because first of all, people look at the hairstyle. And barbershops help us with that!