The best haircuts by Snipped sam

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Type your stLads of today have far more options with regard to their length of hair, back in 1974 when I was 15, the pressure from one’s peers was to have your hair as long as you possibly could get away with. I can remember that at school only a very small fraction of boys had their hair short. Two years before, my hair had been cut reasonably short on a monthly basis, but because everyone else was growing their hair longer, my hair was now considerably over my collar and my ears were covered and also a long fringe.
Whilst I felt more comfortable with my hair this length, another part of me longed for the short haircuts that I used to go and have, and I now always went to places that were more modern with younger hairdressers or stylists as they called themselves.
One day whilst out walking I came across a more traditional looking barber’s shop which I did not know existed until then, I walked past but could not see very much as it was completely curtained There was a painted sign which said “
J.W YOUNG ESQ
GENTS HAIRDRESSERS
SINCE 1945

I kept on walking although deep down I so wanted to go in and have a haircut and continued to think about going there .I was not so much interested in going in and asking the barber to cut my hair short, I really wanted to be in a situation where I had no choice but have a short haircut. After a little further thought I came up with an idea to take any input into my haircut out of my hands. I found some writing paper and sat down and wrote a letter,

Dear Mr Young, the Barber,
I have asked Simon to give you this letter as due to a busy workload I am unable to take him to the barbers myself. Like most boys he hates to be told that he needs to have his haircut, but he does admit that he is long overdue to have one. You have been recommended to me, which is why I have sent Simon to you, recently he has come back from haircuts with very little hair cut off, I am sure that a more experienced barber like yourself will know exactly what needs to be done which is why I think it better if you have a free hand when it comes to cutting Simon’s hair.
Simon has been told about this and knows that he must behave himself and cooperate fully.
I look forward to seeing that Simon has been to the barbers,
Yours sincerely
JP Anderson

I placed the letter in an envelope, and set off to Mr Young’s my heart was racing when I reached there, I nearly turned back but no I had come all the way here, all I had to do was hand him the letter. I opened the door and nervously went in, there was an older man in the chair having his haircut, Mr Young was very smartly dressed wearing a white shirt and a plain dark tie and long barbers coat he had short, dark hair which was slightly greying, probably in his mid to late 50’s, he looked up from what he was doing and smiled and said a warm hello to me,
“Take a seat lad, Mr Smart is nearly finished and I’ll be doing you straight after him so good timing”
I sat down on a highly polished wooden chair, everything was as I had expected, traditional and rather old fashioned, there was a definite barber’s shop smell of hair cream and dusting powder, the newspapers and magazines were in a very neat pile, he had a display of antique shaving mugs, there was defiantly a very masculine feel to the place and I felt that I had also stepped back a little in time.
Eventually Mr Smart was finished, I sat and waited quietly whilst they chatted for a moment and then he left, he looked at me a smiled, I stood up and he pointed for me to sit in the barber’s chair, when I got there I handed him the letter, he opened it and put on a pair of spectacles to read it, I was now sitting in the barber’s chair and thinking that I could not believe what I was doing.
He folded the letter and put it on the side then prepared me to have my haircut with a white nylon barbers cape and a thin cotton towel tucked in the back. He smoothed the cape on my shoulders gown on
“So young Simon looks like I have to decide what’s to be done with your hair”
He said taking a comb and starting to comb my hair
“Yes, Mr Young”
“Yes it’s certainly is in need of cutting isn’t it “
“Yes, I suppose it is”
He lifted up the hair that covered one of my ears then the other one,
“Your ears are a perfect shape why do you hide them?
“It’s the fashion Mr Young
“Is that so?”
He then combed the hair back behind my ears and then he smiled,
“I am sure Simon you like the length and style your hair currently is, but I have an important job to do, which is to give you the best haircut possible, so young Simon that means that you must have it short”
“I had a feeling you might say that so there any chance of just a trim Mr Young”
“No Simon, it’s going to be short, your hair has to come off your ears”
He took some steel scissors from the shelf in front of me and cut the hair off my ears; he then bent my head forward and cut the hair at the back up to my hairline. He then carried on cutting my hair all over and very soon there was lots of hair on the floor and far less on my head, he combed my hair firmly and held the hair tightly and cut very firmly and with determination with the scissors. This was defiantly a man on a mission; whilst he appeared friendly and was not stern with me there was no doubt that he was in complete control of this haircut. There was not any conversation whilst this was happening, just the sound of the scissors, I sat very still almost to attention. Eventually he finished with those scissors and put them back and then brushed away all the loose hairs.
“You have a very good shaped head Simon; your hair should always be cut short because it suits you far better”
“Yes Mr Young, I always used to have it short though”
“How long was it the length you had it when you came here2
“A few months the length it was but I have been having it longer for the last two years or so”
He then started to powder dust the back of my head and above my ears, he certainly was being very generous with the powder too, it had a really sweet barbers shop smell, he then adjusted the cape at the back, then took a small strip of tissue and placed in into the back of my collar.
“I dare say it’s been a while then since you had a barber make the back and sides very short with his clippers then”
“I can’t remember how long it was Mr Young, well over two and a half years I would say”
“That’s not very good is it”
“I suppose not Mr Young”
“No suppose about it Simon, but I am about to put that right” he said reaching over a taking a pair of electric clipper from a hook, he then selected a comb from the side.
“Head right down there’s a good lad”
I did as he said
“I’m sure you can do better than that, now bend your head right down....that’s better”
He lifted my hair with the comb and started to clip, the clippers purred as they removed the hair, it seemed to be going on for ever, he was making his way right up the back of my head, and he then tilted my head to the side and gave above each ear his full expert attention. After certainly quite a few minutes clipping he lifted my head and removed all loose hairs, this was followed by shaving my neck with a cut throat razor.
He then applied some hair oil to my hair and combed what was left on the top into a very precise parting.
I was then shown the back with a mirror
“The perfect haircut Simon”
“Yes Mr Young “
I was taken off the chair and then I paid him for my haircut,”
“Well I hope you will come and see me again Simon “
“I expect that I will, but not too soon I hope as I won’t have any hair left Sir”
“Well I didn’t mean next week Simon, but not too long either It’s better if you get used
to having your hair short”
It was exactly four weeks later, I returned, the start of a new regime, he always thought that I was sent to him under protest, and he once told a customer, Simon and I have an understanding, he has to come to me because I give him the best haircuts and now he doesn’t question it. I started to call him sir much more and Mr Young far less.

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