Successful Female Barbers: Top Challenges and How to Crush Them
As barbering can often be considered something that men specialize in as the work is often haircuts, beard cuts and colours for men, women may face a variety of challenges when working as a barber. However, no challenge is too much for a determined woman, and here at CADMEN we have many top senior female barbers with years of experience and happy clients under their belt. Some of the amazing female barbers at CADMEN are our senior barber and colourist Justine and our senior barber Thao, both of them do some amazing work including fresh fades, crazy colours and sharp beards. As successful female barbers, they can understand the struggle that up-and-coming female barbers in the space might face, at the end of the day remember that it doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks, if you put your consistent effort into your work you can achieve great things. Haters are gonna hate no matter what, just shake it off and keep moving forward, nothing is gonna break your stride.
Examples of some of the fine work by our talented female barbers at CADMEN Barbershop
Navigating Others Misconceptions
Unfortunately, as is the case in many male-dominated industries, there are occasions when women are misunderstood, or treated with ignorance or disrespect. When it comes to times like these it is important to remember who you are, why you are and what you stand for, never tolerate abuse from others but when responding to out of line or seemingly rude comments, keep in mind that you are the bigger person and no matter what the citation is you are greater than it, rise above those who choose to try and look down upon you. Anyone who undervalues your skills is not worth the time or energy to have a commotion, instead correct them, and show them why as a female barber you are just as good as, if not better, than any male barber. At the end of the day, you'll never regret keeping your cool, maintaining your composure and being a better person, taking the chance to dispel and disprove any unwarranted beliefs, opinions, remarks or comments from others. Some of our top female barbers have had clients ask her if she can direct them to the barber, meanwhile, she is standing right there in front of them, this is a chance to change this person's view on barbering and teach them a lesson about having some respect for the very skilled, talented and hardworking women in barbering. You’ll never be embarrassed about being the bigger person in a situation like that, it shows how professional and how confident in your own skills you are.
Male-Dominated Industry
Barbering tends to be a male-dominated industry and that can come with a host of different situations and scenarios a woman in this field may face. Female barbers often find themselves greatly outnumbered when working at barbershops, often there are only one or two female barbers and significantly more male barbers like 15, for example. This can be intimidating at first and it may feel uneasy to be in that type of environment, but remember that you have every right to be there just as much as they do and try to be on good terms with all your co-workers if you can be. Honey attracts more flies than vinegar as they say, and being polite whilst not wavering in your convictions can get you far. We are all human beings, we are the same on the inside and whether you are a woman or a man does not affect your ability to gain skills in any trade or craft including barbering. You may be faced with people who do not like or want to accept that you are working as a barber as a woman, some clients may even refuse service or walkout, as has happened on occasion. But that is of no fault of your own, and each experience makes you stronger, and wiser, giving you the first to showcase your skills to all your clients. Anyone who walks out on your or refuses service is losing out, make no mistake that they are in the wrong, but you will have more respectful clients in the future who will be very thankful for your work.
Dealing With Internet Trolls
Don’t let the words of internet trolls devalue your skills as a barber.
As well as encountering challenging situations face to face or in real life, there are almost always more “trolls” or “haters” on the internet and social media who make unwarranted comments. As a barber, having a social media platform is often important as it provides an opportunity to connect with clients online, as well as to showcase your work in pictures for others to see. However, as it is with doing anything online, there will be people who come out of the woodwork to make unneeded comments about female barbers working in the industry, questioning their skills, abilities and choices as a woman in that role. In fact, our own senior barber Thao had an experience when someone commented asking how she could possibly be able to do beards when she did not have one herself, without being offensive Thao clapped back at this commenter and asked how can a doctor diagnose or treat an illness they have never experienced? When confronted with a statement of fact such as that they are confronted with their own ridiculous notion. There are men who work in traditionally female-dominated industries and women who work in traditionally male-dominated industries and that has no bearing on their ability to do their job, Just as surgeons can perform operations that haven't been done on themselves, or treat conditions for body parts they do not possess. Someone’s gender has absolutely no bearing on their ability to do a job well, and it is okay to let them know that! Try not to be offensive as that is never a good look, but by all means, make sure to clap back at online trolls who question your skills.
To learn more about our female barbers check out our other blog post here.