Barbers are more than just people who went to school for a few months to learn how to use a pair of scissors. A real barber is a man or woman of history and one who takes pride in their work.
It’s not just a job for a barber, it’s a means of expression and providing an invaluable service that will always have its place for as long as we grow hair.
Here are some interesting facts about barbers that will make you appreciate them more for than just their ability to cut hair.
• Barber is derived from “Barba” in Latin, which means beard.
• Barbers were once surgeons, pre-1800’s, cutting hair and flesh.
• Surgery was a banned practice in many places, so barbers were a hot commodity.
• Barbers also did nails and teeth at their salons.
• Barbers performed castrations.
• Barbers used a urine-based formula for early shampoos. Uh, no wash for me.
• Archaeologists have found remnants of ancient combs from cavemen and razors made by Egyptians.
• The community-building effect of barbershops dates back to ancient Rome, where they have first been documented as places where news, rumours, and etc. were spread. The barbershop and public bath were the two favourite places where people went to unwind.
• The classic striped barber pole that you always see outside real barbershops derived from the barber’s second job as a surgeon. This represents when barbers hung bloody bandages out to dry on a pole.
• Barbers administered enemas. This doesn’t sound sanitary at all.
• In the past, some places required regular grooming as an unwritten/written law.
• Barbers competed with surgeons for their jobs, until the 1800’s when science caught up and more complex surgeries needed expert knowledge of biology.
This is just a sample of how deep and complex the history of what being a barber looks like. Maybe now you’ll look at those old barbershops a little differently and with newfound respect. Don’t be afraid to stop in one and try out their service fist-hand.
If you happen to be in Surry Hills right now, don’t forget to visit House of Handsome and get yourself the best haircut and/or beard grooming.
Source: richardsbarbers
