HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR BARBER

2 August, 2021

Getting through to your barber is not always easy, as you’ll probably not know the technical jargon needed to emphasise precisely what you want. So we decided to put together a guide to help you let your barber know exactly what you want.

There are several easy steps you can take to communicate better, so here they are.

When was your hair last cut? This question is important and most decent barbers will always ask you this. Here they can get an idea of how short your hair was last time you had it cut. If they don’t ask, then make sure you tell them. Most peoples’ hair grows at roughly the same rate, so it will give them a good indication of how much hair should be taken off depending on what you want, and what you’re used to.

Always show a photo example to your barber, as there’s no better way to get the hairstyle you want than showing a photo of a cut that at least, looks similar.

It’s always best to choose a photo where the model in the picture has a similar hair texture to your own. No point turning up with a photo of Brad Pitt if your hair texture is closer to Justin Timberlake (he has much curlier hair).

The barber can then advise you on how you can get a look closest to the style you’ve shown him in the photo, and you can ask him to modify certain details, such as, keeping it slightly longer over the ears, or longer at the front, etc.

There are few key barbering words you can learn such as ‘tapered at the neck’, or ‘square neck’ (though we wouldn’t generally recommend a square neck). Nice and ‘textured’. This phrase will make sure you communicate with your barber that you would like to be able to rough up your hair and that you would like your barber to take out the weight from the ends.

‘Blended’ is a term you’ll probably be familiar with, and will distinguish whether or not you want something quite classic or not, or perhaps more extreme, through a disconnection.

Know your grades, as barbers can tell a lot by the clipper grades that a client previously has had. So, if you’re generally a grade 3 man, the barber will tell a lot by this.

Mention your profession. If you’re a high-flying barrister, then a rough cut on top that is disconnected from the sides, probably isn’t what you’re after. Whereas an art student is probably more at liberty to try new things and go more in the direction of extreme styles.

Chin up, son. Speak clear! Without being patronising, it really will be at your benefit to speak clearly and precisely to your barber. And don’t worry, we get it, it can be intimidating going to your barber and not really knowing how to get your point across.

Avoid using terms such as ‘sort of like this’, ‘sort of like that’. This is where classic miscommunication can occur. Rather than say ‘I want it left kind of long’, what you might want to say is that you want a mid length cut. Which brings us onto another good point.

Learn the length categories, which is pretty simple and breaks down into three:

Short, mid length, and long. You can mix up these terms pretty fluidly. So if we sum this up into a dialogue between barber and client, it should go something like this, from your part.

Example 1: “So, I last had my hair cut about six weeks ago. What I want this time is a nice short haircut, similar to last time, perhaps left a touch longer on top, nice and textured, tapered out at the neck.”

Example 2. “I had my hair cut last about 10 weeks ago as I’m trying to grow it. Here’s a picture of how I want it to be. [show picture]. Obviously no clippers as I want it to be short to mid-length and to grow this fringe out, so overall a natural finish using my natural hair texture so it’s easy to manage.”

Check that your barber understood – they’ll often reiterate what you’ve said – and bingo! No confusion, and you’ll leave with the cut and style that you were looking for.

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T's & C's

Our Returns Policy

We will only accept returns if the goods are unopened, unused and are in a resalable condition. By this we mean that all packaging and or cellophane wrapping and tamper resistant seals must be intact.

If this is not the case then the item cannot be returned. If the goods are faulty or damaged please contact us on customerservices@jacksoflondon.co.uk or 01428 717479 and we will advise you on the next step.

Customers would bear the full cost of returning the goods. Any damaged or defective items would be replaced without charge and the cost of return postage refunded. Please keep proof of postage. Jacks of London will replace any faulty items with the same product, however if the product is no longer available, will refund the original card used to make the purchase. Our returns policy is valid for 28 days from receipt of goods.

Credit card refunds would be to the card used for the original purchase. Allow at least 2 billing cycles for your credit to appear on your card statement.

Please wrap your return products in the same packaging in which you received it and enclose a brief explanatory note including your name, order no and reason for return. Return to: Returns Department, Jacks of London, Derwen, Star Hill, Churt, GU10 2HS United Kingdom

Shipping policy

We will dispatch your order on the day of receipt if we receive your order before our 2pm cut off time on weekdays, and if we have the order in stock. Weekend orders will ship on the following Monday unless it is a Bank Holiday.

If we do not have your order in stock, we will contact you by e-mail or telephone. We will inform you when we expect that part of the order to arrive and you will be given the opportunity to cancel that part of the order. Alternatively we may send your order in more than one package if some items are not in stock; however we will only charge you one postage fee.

Jacks of London uses Royal Mail as its shipping company. Please allow a total delivery time of 3-5 business days for UK addresses (although items are likely to arrive sooner) for all Royal Mail First Class packages.

For Next Day Delivery packages Jacks of London uses Royal Mail’s Next Day Service. Delivery is guaranteed next business day before 5:30PM. Your valid order must be with us before 2pm to guarantee dispatch on the day of your order.

At this time Jacks of London are only able to deliver to addresses within the UK and Ireland.

Getting in touch

If you have an issue with your order, a particular product, delivery or simply wish to get some advice on our product range then please get in touch with us in one of the following ways -

Post

Jacks of London
Derwen
Star Hill
Churt
Farnham
GU10 2HS

Email: customerservices@jacksoflondon.co.uk

Telephone: 01428 717 479

Our hours are 9am to 5pm

You can also visit our main Jacks of London website at www.jacksoflondon.co.uk which provides further information or our social media pages as per below -

Twitter - @jacksoflondonuk

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Aqua (Water), Ceteareth-25, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Cetyl Alcohol, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Tapioca Starch, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Pumice, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, VP/VA Copolymer, Glycerin, Lanolin, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Parfum (Fragrance), PEG-12 Allyl Ether, PEG-12, Disodium EDTA, Dehydroacetic Acid, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Citronellol, Galactoarabinan, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides).

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