Been cutting hair for 15 years and I still can't believe how fast kids want to be in and out of the chair now

Had a 16 year old last Tuesday tell me to skip the hot towel and straight razor finish because he had to get to a Fortnite tournament in 20 minutes, and it hit me that 3 years ago I'd spend a whole 45 minutes on a skin fade with a dad who wanted to talk about his retirement plans.

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.troy1mo ago

Man, I feel that. Last week my nephew asked me to cut his hair real quick before his friend's birthday party, and I used the same clipper guard the whole time because he wouldn't sit still. Took maybe 10 minutes and he was out the door. Meanwhile I could set a watch to how long my dad used to take just talking about his lawn care routine while getting lined up. Kids these days treat a haircut like a pit stop in a video game.

pat_coleman24d ago

My uncle's barbershop back in 1989 had this old wooden chair with a ashtray bolted to the arm... guys would sit there for 45 minutes arguing about the Cowboys while getting the works. Now I see kids scrolling through TikTok with the clippers buzzing, one eye on the screen the whole time. Kinda makes me wonder if we lost something when we stopped having those slow conversations in the chair. The barber was like a therapist and a town crier rolled into one, and now it's just another transaction on the way to the next thing.

mia7481mo ago

The Fortnite tournament got me. Had this kid last week who literally timed me with his phone. 18 minutes for a full haircut. I asked if he wanted edge work and he looked at me like I was speaking another language. Makes you wonder when the whole ritual of getting a haircut just stopped mattering to people. That quiet time in the chair used to be the only peace some dads got all week.