Barbers, cosmetologists debate the right to wield a razor. Article in Austin American Statesman
Barbers & Cosmetologist in Texas Fighting Over the Razor
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And the barbers are correct. I was getting my hair cut last week by my lady barber and we were discussing the difference between barbers and hair stylists/cosmetologists licenses. It IS significant in the amount of hours in class and on the job as an apprentice. She was a bit hot that Ks. is considering enjoining the two licenses. She fears they will reduce qualifications and that traditional stuff like straight razor shaves will disappear. I concur. I can see it now. Insurance companies, fly by night cosmetology "schools", and a bunch of bad press could put a fast stop to traditional barber shop services. Consider this. Until VERY recently, using clippers and combs to layer hair was NOT even taught in hair dresser's schooling. Only barbers schools taught this. Shaving? Forget about it. It is hard enough to find a barber's school anymore, let alone one that will encourage these somewhat traditional aspects of the business. I don't want anyone screwing around with it. I don't want a $5 per hour dentist drillling on my teeth and I don't want a correspondence course "barber" cutting hair on my face or head. If anything the barbers of America should be pounding their state legislatures to have reciprocity between states so guys like Farrell don't wind up going through the circus he did when he went to Florida. The business is under enough pressure as it is.
Regards, Todd
I would add something here lest anyone think I am knocking "hair dressers". I don't care if the licnces are combined. As long as qualifications go up and NOT down. To me, "cosmetologist" is someone who does nails and applies makup. It implies cosmetics. Barbers cut hair. On the face as well as the head. It could actually be very good thing for the indsutry. As one of the barbers in the article mentioned, they have basically conceded the perms, colourings, curler sets, and a whole BUNCH of money to the ladies at the beauty salon. Pretty short sighted. I really hope there is a good solution to this. If they combine the licenses in Kansas I hope the state board mandates that cosmetologists have to obtain licensed training to wield the razor. Hopefully the stature and respect of the barber will be restored. I would really hate to see the traditional stuff slide away.
Regards, Todd
I would add something here lest anyone think I am knocking "hair dressers". I don't care if the licnces are combined. As long as qualifications go up and NOT down. To me, "cosmetologist" is someone who does nails and applies makup. It implies cosmetics. Barbers cut hair. On the face as well as the head. It could actually be very good thing for the indsutry. As one of the barbers in the article mentioned, they have basically conceded the perms, colourings, curler sets, and a whole BUNCH of money to the ladies at the beauty salon. Pretty short sighted. I really hope there is a good solution to this. If they combine the licenses in Kansas I hope the state board mandates that cosmetologists have to obtain licensed training to wield the razor. Hopefully the stature and respect of the barber will be restored. I would really hate to see the traditional stuff slide away.
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I can't even find a barber in VA that gives a straight razor shave...must be state law. I refuse to pay the Grooming Lounge a crazy amount of money for giving me a Mach 3/Fusion shave.
Let them fight it out. From the number of posts from people here who have gone in for shaves with disastrous results, it doesn't matter much.
They are both equally incompetent.
For me, it doesn't matter whether it is a barber or a cosmetologist that I don't go in to get a shave from.
They are both equally incompetent.
For me, it doesn't matter whether it is a barber or a cosmetologist that I don't go in to get a shave from.
I talk to my stylist about this a great deal. His dad is/was a barber. He says that the barber is truly a dying breed. A barber can practice as a stylist or a barber, but not vice versa because of the amount of schooling they endure.
Right Isasc. I was looking at schools here in Kansas and when you look at the curricula, it would appear that a cosmetologist puts in more time. However, you have to look deeper. The school in Wichita lists barber's school at 1500 hours, a cosmo at 1500 hours, and a cosm/hair stylist at 2000 hours. What gives? Look at the barber's class outline ONE THOUSAND HOURS of hair cutting, honing, stropping, shaving, perms, and a couple of other things. The cosmo is broken down into many fewer categories with less hours per each. The cosmo/stylist has to take an addtional 500 hours to get close to this and they still don't learn shaving. I would just require them all to learn it all. Period. And give people a BARBER'S license to do it. If all they want to do is apply cosmetics, powder wigs, and apply nail polish then call them a cosmetologist. It is odd how many people think a barber is not trained to cut and colour womens hair. Most just don't advertise or seek it out. It may be the death of the traditional barber as we know it.
Regards, Todd
Regards, Todd
I hope we keep the Razor with the Barber not no hairdresser!
The Article said $8.00 for a Haircut maybe at a Military base but no where in My county can you get a HC for 8 Bucks.
The Article said $8.00 for a Haircut maybe at a Military base but no where in My county can you get a HC for 8 Bucks.
Looks like the Texas Legislature is about to let cosmetologists do shaves with safety razors, and let them take 300 hours of barber school to become barbers and use the straight razor.
It's in Senate Bill SB1170, which found a favorable House Committee last week. And House Bill HB1793 has passed the House and is now in the Senate waiting for a hearing.
This will be great for franchise operations, but I doubt they'll want to bother much once they discover that their employees will fall under the provisions of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard.
I sympathize with the folks who can't find a barber to give them a decent straight razor shave. One of the big problems with the barber profession right now (at least here in Texas) is the large number of felons the gov't is sending to barber school. One of the reasons I closed my barber shop is because I couldn't find barbers to work in it. Well, let me qualify that -- I couldn't find sober barbers to work in it.
I had a couple of barbers that were really good, but one's in prison for dealing drugs, one died from cancer, and the other one gave in to addiction.
I had a dozen or so older guys (50-ish) who asked to apprentice in my shop, but we don't do that here in Texas anymore. Instead, the barber schools have a monopoly on the process that gets ya a barber license. 1500 hours in some of those schools is like 1500 years in Purgatory. Some of the guys who wanted to apprentice with me checked out the local schools, and came back shell-shocked saying, "I could never go through one of those schools!"
So, I attribute the sorry state of the barber profession to sloth and indifference on the part of most barbers, and the dumping of too many felons and drug addicts into the barber schools. And too much of the wrong sort of regulation, and not enough of the right kind.
Oh well . . . another 100 years or so, and things will probably get sorted out again. Meanwhile, you may as well learn how to hone and strop your own razors . . .
It's in Senate Bill SB1170, which found a favorable House Committee last week. And House Bill HB1793 has passed the House and is now in the Senate waiting for a hearing.
This will be great for franchise operations, but I doubt they'll want to bother much once they discover that their employees will fall under the provisions of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard.
I sympathize with the folks who can't find a barber to give them a decent straight razor shave. One of the big problems with the barber profession right now (at least here in Texas) is the large number of felons the gov't is sending to barber school. One of the reasons I closed my barber shop is because I couldn't find barbers to work in it. Well, let me qualify that -- I couldn't find sober barbers to work in it.
I had a couple of barbers that were really good, but one's in prison for dealing drugs, one died from cancer, and the other one gave in to addiction.
I had a dozen or so older guys (50-ish) who asked to apprentice in my shop, but we don't do that here in Texas anymore. Instead, the barber schools have a monopoly on the process that gets ya a barber license. 1500 hours in some of those schools is like 1500 years in Purgatory. Some of the guys who wanted to apprentice with me checked out the local schools, and came back shell-shocked saying, "I could never go through one of those schools!"
So, I attribute the sorry state of the barber profession to sloth and indifference on the part of most barbers, and the dumping of too many felons and drug addicts into the barber schools. And too much of the wrong sort of regulation, and not enough of the right kind.
Oh well . . . another 100 years or so, and things will probably get sorted out again. Meanwhile, you may as well learn how to hone and strop your own razors . . .
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