EddieRay Flores, a barber at Barbers Inc. in downtown San Jose, skillfully grazed his electric clipper across rapper Dmaejor’s head.
Noticing the waves on his client’s head, Flores, a San Jose native, moved his razor with his hair growth to avoid taking off too much hair. When he was done, Dmaejor walked out with a high taper around the crown of his head and a sharp edge up along his beard and hairline.
Dmaejor emphasized his satisfaction with his haircut: “I could be having a bad week, it just boosts up my confidence. I look in the mirror and I feel good about myself. It just amplifies the person who I am.”
While barber shops are historically significant in Black culture, the game now attracts more barbers from other backgrounds, including Asian and Latino haircutters. Those in the industry say that their jobs are about more than keeping up with the styles and techniques — they are working with clients across the age, race and gender spectrums, and figuring out how to stand out as a part of their communities.
“Barbershops are ‘places where local looks are created, nurtured and maintained – where personhood connects with a sense of community,’ ” Susan Kaiser, professor emerita in the Department of Design at UC Davis, said in an email to the Bay Area News Group.
Flores, whose client base consists of Latino and Black customers, said that he has seen local teenagers paving the way for what’s trendy for men’s haircuts, which includes a lot of crop cuts and “Edgar” cuts, easily identifiable for having sharp taper fades on the sides while keeping the hair on top and front of the head a little longer. An increase in barber shop content on social media means there are always new styles and techniques to discover.
Norman Clavio, center left, owner of Day One Barbershop, cuts Kyle Geenen’s hair at Day One Barbershop in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Norman Clavio, a Filipino barber and owner of Day One Barbershop in West San Jose, echoed Flores’ sentiment, saying that the influence of Korean TV shows and music has led to more of his Asian and white clients getting K-pop style cuts, like two-block haircuts, textured fringes and middle parts.
Nicohlas Lancaster-Slick, owner of Slick and Dapper in Oakland, said that he has seen a resurgence of early 90s and early 2000s styles with an uptick of mullets, bowl cuts and styles like those seen on “Boy Meets World,” a now-decades old television show. Garett Fujimura, a barber at Slick and Dapper, said messy fringes with Edgar cuts have been trending among younger customers.
Alonzo Grainger, the owner of the barbershop Headspace in San Jose, said that his Black clients have consistently been asking for fades, but more people have been growing their hair out and getting braids or locs.
Grainger acknowledged that the hairstyles that his clients ask for were influenced by their background — racial, ethnic, cultural — and often, what’s determined professional for …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
