The Haircut

Today I got a haircut. I realize this unto itself is not a big deal. I have always kept my hair short and I probably always will. I went a bit over two months without getting it cut. I also know this is also no big deal. Some people go years without cutting their hair. 

As I was sitting in the barber's chair, I started thinking about the whole experience. Not so much why we get a haircut, that part is obvious, but how it all goes down.

Someone decides they need a haircut so they do one of two things. Either they make an appointment or just walk into a barber shop and sit down. Now many people know their barber very well but this is not always the case. They may be a total stranger and after a thirty second conversation they take some very sharp instruments and start waving them around your head and face.

Let's think about this for a moment. To cut hair, scissors must be sharp. From the corner of your eye to your hairline on the side of year head it usually isn't much more than an inch. So if the barber, who you may not have known for more than a couple of minutes, is clumsy, you could end up with scissors in the eye. Let's be honest here, nobody likes it in the eye.

All this being said, we take this whole thing to be quite normal. Nobody really thinks twice about walking into a barber shop, sitting down, and getting a haircut. We are much more concerned about if it is going to look good than if it is safe. If we want to take it one step further, as men get older, they often start to get their eyebrows trimmed. That's even closer to the eye.

I know barbers know how to safely cut hair and considering the frequency that they complete the task I'm sure their skills are maintained to a high level. However, who has really ever questioned the safety of a haircut? My ear did get cut once, not bad but I sure flinched and there was blood. This was a long time before most of the feeling left my ears. I've heard of people getting nicked while getting a shave but we all do that to ourselves from time to time. However, when you sit in the chair, you are pretty much at the mercy of the barber's skill and have you really done your research?

I don't think this is going to change the world and I don't want it to. It's just an idea that popped into my head as a stranger cut the hair on my head to a much better looking length.