What's the difference between hair salon and barber?

Is it true that BARBER only refers to male hair cut shop?


And HAIR SALON / BEAUTY SALON styles your hair?


Is there a different name to call a normal hair cutting shop?What's the difference between hair salon and barber?
There really is a world of difference between a hair salon and a barber shop but sadly corruption has taken place and the edges have become blurred. A barber shoo was an entirely male preserve, whereas a hair salon was where the ladies went in private to beautify themselves behind net curtains.


No self respecting male would ever have dared venture in to the latter, not even to book an appointment for grannies shampoo and set, or wife's blue grey rinse'; Then came the Rolling Stones and the Beetles which prompted UNISEX (that awful made up word). Many barbers went bankrupt during the period when nearly all men had long trendy hair - look at Bobby Ewing's fantastic locks on Dallas!


Now it is all change again and with wet shaving and men's grooming being the latest rage in America, barber shops for men are making a huge come back. Google, American franchises such as ';Knockouts'; or ';Sports Clips'; to get a taste of what is coming soon to UK. Try Tim The Barber Shop, Philadelphia, also. It is happening in UK but more slowly and real barber shops will be with us again. In America, they used the word barber shop for a family salon which is a nonsense - real barber shops are men only places except that female barbers are swarming like bees! The only problem here is that the cutting skills are not the same and to do wet shaving or scissor over comb (a gents technique and a hard one to learn!) requires proper and traditional barber training. Even this is becoming available at Colleges once again so having blurred the margins we are about to see a revival of barbering. Everything comes full circle in the end and that is what is happening here.What's the difference between hair salon and barber?
There's not really much of a difference. Traditionally barbers deal with a very small variety of men's hair cuts as well as professional shaving (face). Salons on the other hand tend to cater to women, doing colours, updos, fancy styles, perms and aesthetic work (nails, minimal waxing, etc...).





However, a lot of these are crossing over and more women go to barbers because they have the same set of skills but are either cheaper or located closer and men are going to salons for colours, cuts and facial waxing.





In general, most hair cutting shops are just called salons or hair salons. 'Beauty' tends to imply that there's an aesthetician on hand for nails, waxing and the like.
Nothing, They both serve the same purpose.


BARBER does refer to mens that would be the only difference.





hair and beauty salons are the same they both cut and style hair.





Just a normal hair cutting shop can be called anything such as ';Mirror Image'; and ';Floating on Clouds';





Anything really
barbers only do men and boy haircuts





hair salon/beauty salon does everything from haircuts of both sexes to waxing, etc.