Working in a private salons as an assistant I saw maybe a 1-5 ratio of men to women. When the rent and cost of maintenance of a private salon can sometimes be 3-5X of a business like the Hair Cuttery, the goal of the stylist becomes to have the highest ticket price for the fewest number of clients. This is a reasonable response. However, over time you realize the best way to do this is to build a large clientele for color and foil-work. These services can be anywhere from one to several hundred dollars in a matter of hours. In the shadow of high-paying clients like these, men can become unimportant or at best, second in priority.
Men, I think, flock to the Hair Cuttery and similar salons for one or more of the following reasons:
Convenience - there is always a stylist available for a walk in and most men don't think it necessary to see the same person all the time. Also a large portion of my male clientele does not have the most structured schedule and likes being able to just come when they think they need a hair cut, rather than when they've been scheduled to come back.
Comfort - the Hair Cuttery is a simple design and lay out with a low price and none of the frills and flowers of a private salon, which, in most cases, caters to women first, men second.
Brand Power - Since most men don't spend their time with other men discussing where they had their hair cut and why they liked it, there is much less word-of-mouth between men, so they're less likely to be referred to a private salon. The Hair Cuttery however has been around for years, has always offered a cheap clipper-cut and is known to do a lot of men's haircuts. This, for most guys, perfect. I'm sure there's a lot more to it. There are millions of ins & outs of the successful marketing of the Hair Cuttery but that's where I'll start.
I think I should also mention, that a large portion of our male clients are looking for a short even cut on the sides (done normally and pretty reliably with clippers) and "finger-length" on top. In reality an average men's hairstyle is distinguished mostly by the product used and the shape formed. I think for myself and other men, we just know there's not too much that can be messed up in that short hair cut, and its easier to trust a stylist you've never seen before when you're thinking like that.
I came from a salon where almost every part of a male's hair cut was done with scissors. In my first couple weeks at the Hair Cuttery I realized not only was this more time-consuming than expected for the client, but also didn't give the solid, clearly defined silhouette of clippers. I quickly learned that my talent as a hair stylist would mostly be shown in the 12 or so square inches of hair left at the top of the head, or by the style I suggested based off the clients face.
Most men won't tell you that they would like to accentuate their cheek bones and neck, while drawing attention away from their receding hairline. I decided early on that your success in doing mens' hair will rely in a large way on your ability to assume what they want. There are many variables that most male clients are not used to being asked about. Such as:
Texture - does the client want to see a broken shape in their hair, do they want chunky or solid, do they want movement or a stiff style.
Hairline - square or round mean nothing, do they want a natural hairline, a blunt edge, a fade or undercut
Length - the front of the head curves down into the forehead. does the client want one inch of hair from the back to the front, or do they want the front of their hair cut to stand as tall as the inch cut in the back and top-center of their haircut.
Profile - does the client seem to like their face shape? do they want their profile accentuated with fading and tapering where its needed.
In my world, I have the 3 minutes of consultation to assume enough about my male client that I can give him a hair cut fitting for his personality and routine. Everything from the way they greet me, they way they sit, the way they're dressed, the way the talk about their hair (are they being extremely casual or somewhere on a scale of specific?) and also what they seem to think of my own hair when looking at me in the mirror. There is a lot of customer service training and my own unavoidable stereo-typing that gets done in these few moments. Please don't let stereo-typing have a negative connotation with you, because when it comes to business some thorough research of your client and being able to somewhat categorize them is what makes you successful.
REMEMBER: Most men NEVER see themselves from the side and have no concept of their profile and its up to the stylist to bring their attention to things that ruin their profile, like tight fades on the back of lumpy heads, or not suggesting a taper for someone who would look good with one.
THE OPTIMUM FACE SHAPE FOR A MAN IS SQUARE. That's the most complimentary and no matter what hair cut they're asking for if it sqaures off their face they will like it more than if not. Its not necessary to bring this to their attention unless you think they are interested. Most are not.
There are so many more parts of this I could elaborate on. I plan on doing separate posts on fades and longer mens' hair cuts...
I'm hoping I've at least sparked an interest in men grooming and can get you to come back for more.
Gunnar
RIGHT: Notice the straight line along the top of the hair cut, created with a slightly longer length at the very front. And the taper at the neck accentuationg this mans head shape and neck.
ABOVE: See that even tho the haircut is a round shape, its slightly heavier around the temples and the straight up and down on the sides of the head. This man has a square face already and has no need for tapering (gradually getting shorter towards the bottom) because his silhouette is complimentary.
