I Found Magic at the Barber Shop

Every two months or so, I pull up a new tab on my browser, type in “Fellow Barber,” and book myself an appointment with Xavier – my go-to barber down in SoHo. He’s been cutting my hair for over three years – at one point even transitioning to a Brooklyn shop (which of course didn’t phase my dedication to his scissors). Getting a haircut is one of my favorite simple pleasures, but not for the stylistic reason you might expect.

The moment I step into the barber shop, hearing the little doorbell on the hinge welcome me back with a familiar “ding-a-ling,” I’m transported back to a slower, simpler time.

Here’s the thing: you can’t be in a rush when you come to get a haircut. Even as I type this, waiting for my time with Xavier, an anxious walk-in sits nervously beside me on the repurposed stadium seats, tapping his $500 chukka boots impatiently on the unfinished wood floor beneath us.

Growing up, the barber shop was always a safe place to forget about the world outside for a while and just sit and chit chat with the barber. As a boy, the conversation revolved around my latest baseball game, fledgling interest in the opposite sex, or maybe my coolest Lego creation I’d made. Nowadays, Xavier and I just shoot the shit about sports, random New Yorker experiences, or a handful of other topics.

It’s a cherished time when I gladly put my phone in my pocket, away from the latest Mueller news or latest Instagram posts. Pulling it out only every so often to show a photo of a past cut: “yeah, this one again is perfect.”

The true impetus for this post was the realization I had as I stepped through the barber threshold tonight that there are fewer and fewer public spaces that provide genuine resbit from the constant, and often overwhelming, noise of the world outside.

Now, when I leave the shop after a fresh cut, not only have I shed a few unwanted, unruly hairs, but also I’ve replenished my sense of calm and in a way reset myself for the busyness of daily life.

What spaces in your life act as charging stations for your pysche? I’m sure barber shops aren’t the only one – but it surely works for me.

By the way, shout-out to my main man, Xavier. 👊🏽