BARBER CHRONICLES
It was time for that once-in-a-blue-moon shave. It was already overdue and my hair didn’t look good at all🤣 My barber is in the ‘diaspora’, and I had no time to spend traveling due to a crazy schedule that week. There was a new spot I wanted to…no, to be accurate, I decided to try out as an alternative.
Using a different barber is always a nightmare, perhaps men can relate. There is always comfort in just sitting in a chair and your barber already knows how you want your hair cut. Exploring with a new barber is always hard work, trying to guide him on how you want your hair trimmed -”Kata hapa”, “Sitaki hizo cuts za hapo nyuma za V”
There is always room to explore new styles but this starts by understanding what you are comfortable with. Back to the story, so I walk into the new barber shop on a Saturday evening after spending some time contemplating if I would actually try it out.
The 3 barbers present were busy with clients. One of the barbers welcomed me to wait as he finished up with his client. A mother sat in the waiting bay; made up of 3 chairs squeezed together, waiting for her second kid's haircut to be complete. Once done the happy kids had to be called back for a wash, they were all too eager to get to their next appointment😃
I was motioned to sit on the now vacant barber seat. Took off my coat and handed it to him to hang on the coat hanger. I briefly explained to him how I wanted my haircut. He prepared his instruments and repeated how I explained the haircut to confirm that's what I wanted and then said "ahhh, wacha nikutengeneze tu" ("let me just style you") in a rush and started shaving me. All my red alert sirens in my head had already gone off🤣🤣🤣 as I struggled to remain calm.
He engaged me in small talk. Apparently, his name is also Frank. What a coincidence! I let him do his work in silence till he was done. As I looked in the mirror, I noticed my beard cut did not match on both sides. I mentioned this and he insinuated the mirror image is not always accurate😆"Are you sure?" I asked in disbelief. "Check again" He still couldn't see it. I asked this almost 3 times. By this time my mind was doing some analysis of how the situation. This could be two-sided, I might be wrong and overthinking and should trust the barber. Or I could be right and leave the barber shop with unmatched beard sides. Hmm...decided to trust my instincts.
I looked around the room and the 2nd barber was already done with his client. I had noticed his well-kept beard and knew he could be able to notice the error. I asked Frank; the barber, to call him over for a second opinion. He was hesitant, I could see him avoiding this shameful approach and saw the questions spinning in his mind, he didn't want his credibility questioned. I was persistent and decided to call him over myself.
I put him to the test to see if he could notice what was wrong with the cut without me telling him. Immediately he saw the mismatch and explained to his fellow which side to trim. I was just watching them through the mirror. Frank didn't seem to have grasped where the error was yet. The reference to a blind man trying to work crossed my mind, how could he make a cut without sight of how the final result should be? At that point, I couldn't trust him to complete the cut.
I asked him to hand over the shaving tool to his colleague but he was insistent on making the cut. I sternly told him not to and moved my head away when he tried. Finally, he agreed to hand over the tool and watched keenly as the ‘expert’ aligned my beard. "Don't be too hard on yourself, accept the correction. You had already done a good job so far" I tell Frank.
After my wash, I paid and left grateful this had not turned out into a catastrophe. Will I try another new barber? Yes. I like exploring and love getting good service worth my money. Will I visit that barber shop again? Definitely no.
Sometime back, I got the @themandevu #StarterPack I love how unique each product is. Tailored for easy and long-term use. My favorite product is the Beard and Hair Wash which is infused with peppermint extract. It has a cooling effect and really smells good. Check out the photos from this product shoot: Mandevu random shoot
Thank you for reading my first blog post. If you liked this, drop an encouragement in the comments.✌🏾 I hope my stories entertain you while at the same time inspiring you to be better, to grow, to care, and to love.
