Every Barber Knows That

How to order a haircut? I believe it’s very important issue for people living in foreign countries. Since I came to the US, I've got haircuts for three times so far. The first two experiences in barbers were just disaster. Guess whom I found in the mirror in front of me just after the barber handed me my glasses at my first visit to a barber’s. Answer: Asian Mr. Spock with glasses. Certainly, some male here don’t have their sideburns, but it’s not common in Japan. My basic principle to live in the US is “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” but I just cannot accept this American way of sideburns. The problem is that I cannot see the process of haircut because I have to take off my glasses during the haircut. My friend, who listened to my compliment, told me that when I make an order, I should put both index fingers on my sideburns and clearly ask the barber to keep them.

So, at the next time, I visited a different barber’s on the same street and made an order as my friend instructed. I also asked the barber to show me hair sample photos and selected one of them to make sure my order. Guess whom I found in the mirror in front of me just after she handed me my glasses. Answer: Asian Mr. Spock with glasses and sideburns. I was so surprised to see slightly upgraded Mr. Spock again in a different barber's that I lost my words to claim her that mine was totally different from the sample. Instead, I was impressed by the fact that American barber industry shares such a standardized technique to cut front hair so shortly and neatly to make the bizarre horizontal border line between front hair and forehead.

Finally I got an important lesson: I should not use barbers because for them sideburns and long and unordered front hair are the deadly enemies to be eliminated from this earth. So at the third time, I visited a hair salon in a shopping mall. The price was higher, but I was satisfied with the result. Actually, more important is that I was prepared because I checked the vocabulary for haircut order through the Internet like this: “Today, I just want you to trim and thin out my hair because it’s too thick. Please cut my side and back hair a little bit, but don’t cut the front hair. Also, I don’t want to clean up my sideburns, OK?”

Today I’m going to cut my hair for the first time after two months. I’ll visit a hair salon again instead of a barber’s just because I’m not sure a barber will listen to my request. I just hope this time will be successful. If you know the better way to order, just tell me immediately.