Mzansi men and women like to look good and this means every other weekend they take time to visit their favourite salon for that perfect hairdo. But is it just a good hairstyle that they get from their weekly visit to the Hair Salon?
A survey by Booksy found that 43% of barbers act like personal psychotherapists. What does this mean really? Not only are these men and women working in these Hair Salons are they providing hair service or nails, they are also providing emotional support services. How you may ask? They listen and most of the times give advice to all their clients.
Hairstylists listen to your deepest thoughts and secrets
The introduction of the first Lockdown in South Africa saw a lot of people and couples spending more than enough time together for the first time in their lives. This means that people got tired of sitting around their homes doing nothing and as soon as Hair Salons got opened with Lockdown Alert level 3, they needed to vent.
This means there are many people who don’t have someone in life to talk to about what’s bothering them so they go get it out with their hairstylist instead. Even couples who felt friends are not the best to share some info with would freely share their secrets with their Barber. Nothing gets a conversation going better than, “so what hair colour do you want this time around?”, “I thought your girlfriend like the last cut I gave you…”
Get Free Advice and Help from your Hairstylist
A Hairstylist often knows you better than your therapist. In the Booksy survey, 43% of stylists said they have been tapped for advice on personal problems like love, relationships or even career choices. It’s a job not many are qualified to do but these professionals are trained in their craft so it makes sense that they’re stepping up when someone is just out of options. Hairdressers see clients every day who need emotional support or guidance and they provide all this for a haircut or for a new weave. The fact that they listen to a lot of people talk about their problems makes them more qualified to give you help when you need it. Next time you visit your barber, don’t hold back.
These are the most common topics discussed with barbers
Rightfully so, the recent Covid-19 pandemic is the most popular thing to discuss with the stylist. Now it’s not just the Covid-19 we are worried about, most folks in South Africa want to know about the Vaccine. Followed by work and family, it’s no wonder that such an event had a tremendous impact on the psyche of society. Further down the list are personal relationships, physical and mental health, with intercourse being the least popular topic. As you can see, these are all incredibly important issues in our day to day lives, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise that modern hairstylists have another role to fill.
Another thing is that, according to that same survey, barbers are the most trustworthy, with 37% of people listening to their advice. They are followed by personal trainers (34%), and bartenders (29%). Perhaps it’s the atmosphere of a barbershop that makes people more trustful. Each customer can feel like they are home even though they have just met their barber. The more haircuts they get the more they will open up forming a bond that no one will ever understand.
There is nothing therapeutic about sports particularly soccer, but that’s one of the topics Barbers and their clients spend lots of time talking about. While men argue which is the best team in EPL, ladies will be getting ideas on the best Netflix movie to watch.
