Hi! It’s time once again for an exciting, fascinating barbershop and haircut information article! Okay maybe just informational. You can never have too much barber shop information!
Today I want to explain why do barbers wet your hair before giving you a haircut using scissors? Do they enjoy making you look funny with hair sticking straight up? Do all barbers have a wet hair fetish?
No, it’s actually a very practical, boring reason. Whenever I get a haircut my barber leaves my hair dry and starts to use the electric barber clippers on the sides and back of my head. I always think “maybe this time she will not wet my hair down and let it run down my neck”!
But sure enough, after she finishes the sides of my head with the clippers, suddenly I feel that spray mist from her water bottle hitting the back and top of my head! Then she starts pulling my hair and cutting the ends of it with her barber scissors.
I always wondered what the reason was that hairdressers and barbers always spray water and wet your hair down after they used the electric razor on my dry hair?
Well it turns out there is a very practical reason why. Dry hair, especially longer hair, tends to poof out all over, not staying together. It is harder to comb and keep all the hair strands together and uniformly even.
Wet hair tends to relax and lay flat, making for less hair movement while cutting. It is easier to part and see different layers and hold different lengths of your hair together.
That way when your barber grabs a section of your wet hair and pulls it straight, it is easier to give the ends a nice, clean, uniform cut across with the barber scissors. It helps them make sure you get a good, uniform cut all over.
That is especially true when your barber cuts the very front of your hair; the part that hangs over your eyes. Wet hair makes it all hang down straight and even while they cut it across in a nice, straight line.
Electric razors work better on dry hair, which is why you may notice they clip the sides and back first before wetting your hair. After your barber has cut your wet hair the way they want it, often they will then blow dry it and comb it into the style you have.
This way they can see it in it’s normal state and do some finishing touches with the electric razor and barber scissors. Every once in a while they may spray a little more water on a spot and cut it again. That is because they saw an uneven spot or mistake they made and are fixing it.
So now you know why do hairdressers and barbers wet your hair before cutting it when you get a haircut! It’s to make your hair manageable and hang down evenly so they can cut the ends in a clean, straight line. Not to make you look funny! 😀
