The barber trade is booming! Gents with style know that visiting a salon that specialises in barbering is the only way to look sharp and get the best out of their hair.  The barbering industry is innovative and diverse and, with trends coming and going, there is always an update to the way barbers cut hair and the styles that customers want.  

Using a hair salon that specialises in gent’s hair like David & David means that our stylists really concentrate on the finer details. Our gentlemen clients will receive a quality gents’ hair cut (when compared to most standard ‘buzz cut’ barbershops in Plymouth) and they leave the salon feeling a million dollars (which is just how it should be).

Wahl’s Barber of the Year James Beaumont visited David & David hair salon last month to further educate our stylists in the art of barbering to allow David & David to stay at the cutting edge (pardon the pun!) of gents’ hairdressing. James has been working in the hair industry for ten years and has a great passion styling and colour and, during the course of his career has undertaken many editorial challenges culminating in several awards, most notably reaching the finals in the British Master Barber award and the British Master Barber Association hall of Fame Winner. We loved our time with James and thought we’d share some barbering info with you. Enjoy!

Gents Hair Styling Products

Here at David & David we use what we believe are the best men’s hair products around. Steeped in history, built on dreams ; 1922 by J.M. Keune is a homage to a daring chemist from Amsterdam. Keune 1922 was devised and developed under one roof in The Netherlands for optimum quality control and remains one of the world’s leading maker of gents’ hair styling products today.

After a great cut, we reach for these uncomplicated styling and restyling staples that work hard to further enhance and define the hairstyle.

Gents Hair Cutting Techniques

Any barber worth their salt will be able to cut hair using either scissors or clippers. Here at David & David we use Wahl which make the industry’s best quality barbering equipment (and have done since 1919). There is no right or wrong way as both scissors and clippers give a different finish depending on the client’s wishes and their preferred look. Clippers will give a sharp, blunt finish and are essential for effects like fading  to give the sharpness that hairstyle needs, whilst scissors will create a softer, more natural finish.

Head shape is so important when cutting short men’s hairstyles. A common problem barbers and gents’ hair stylists have is knowing how far to go up the head with the clippers. A rule of thumb is that your barber should always follow your head shape to ensure that the clippers work with the occipital bone and never go past it. The outlines of haircuts are especially important in barbering and gent’s hair cutting and a sign of a good barbers. Framing a gent’s haircut with perfection is crucial when cutting outlines as they are easily noticed!

Neck Lines Explained

Tapered: A tapered hairline is probably the most popular type of neckline for our gent clients. It gradually transitions from the length of hair at the back of the head, fading into skin along the natural hairline and it grows out in a way that leaves the style looking neater for longer.

Squared: A squared neckline is cut straight across in a defined line and should follow the natural hairline as closely as possible. A squared hairline makes the neck appear wider which would benefit a thinner neck but wouldn’t be advised for a client with a wider neck.

Rounded: A rounded neckline is cut similarly to a square neckline, but the square corners are rounded off. A good gent’s hairdresser will ensure that the corners aren’t ‘rounded’ too much as this can make the haircut appear more feminine. A rounded neckline makes the neck appear thinner which would benefit a wider neck but wouldn’t be advised for a client with a thinner neck.

A Glossary of Gents Haircuts

The Art of the Fade

The fade haircut involves gradually cutting the hair on your back and sides shorter as it gets closer to your neck. This haircut is cut close to the scalp at the back and sides and progressively gets longer or ‘fades’ up to almost any length on top. There are many different versions of a fade, including low/mid/high fade, bald fade, razor fade.

Pompadour

This gent’s hair cut is similar to a short back and sides with the hair kept long on top and styled with volume to create a quiff. The difference between a Pompadour and a Quiff is that for a Pompadour all of the hair on top is styled backwards.

The Slick Back

This can essentially be any length of hair providing it is long enough to slick back. The term ‘Slick Back’ refers to the styling of the hair all going back and usually finished with a wet look.

Disconnection

A disconnected cut is where there is no blending between layers somewhere within the style. It can be done on long or short hair.

Asymmetric

An asymmetric cut is where the hair is cut without symmetry, meaning one side is cut or appears to be longer than the other.

Bowl Cut

It’s all in the name. This shape was often created by placing a bowl on the head and cutting around it, these days gents’ hairdressers do it freestyle with no bowl required!

Mullet

Hair is cut shorter at the top and sides with considerable length left at the back. The modern mullet is gaining popularity among hipster circles and can look really stylish when done properly.

Quiff

Similar to the Pompadour but with the Quiff only the front section is blow-dried backwards – the rest of the top section is brushed forward. There are many variations to this style. Generally, the hair would be shorter on the back and sides with length remaining on top to style upwards and backwards from the forehead.

Undercut

This is where the top is left longer and the underneath section is taken shorter resulting in an ‘overhang’ of hair.

If you’d like to book an appointment with one of our talented stylists who specialise in gent’s hair, then David & David is the best choice for barbering in Plymouth. Phoebe and Rebecca are our gent’s hair specialists so simply contact us or pick up the phone dialling 01752 669641 to make your gents’ hair appointment. You can view prices and services on the 2019 price list here. We very much look forward to welcoming you!