[ChromaKelly]

Do you take him to an AA barber shop? Do it yourself? Or just the neighborhood Hair Cuttery type of place? Caleb doesn't quite need a hair cut yet, but maybe in a few months. I'm thinking it would be a good idea to take him to an AA barber shop, especially since we're not in the most diverse area. When I said that to my mom, she was like "Why can't you just take him to the town barber shop? I'm sure they can cut his hair too." She didn't really "get" it.

[CubanaYogini]

I take mine to an AA barbershop. I live in Los Angeles, a very diverse city, but the non AA places just don't get it. They don't get the edges right.

Most places you just walk in. Just ask if there is someone who is good with children.

I tried to do it myself at first, but is was like a wrestling match.

[SupaModel]

We are not there yet but if I decide to have it cut I will take him to an AA barber shop.

[OakShannon]

I take David to an AA barber shop. There's a good place in our neighborhood that we can walk to. Which is nice, since he needs it cut every two weeks. They do a great job and are good with kids. They always fuss over David.

[DianeS]

Originally Posted by OakShannon

I take David to an AA barber shop. There's a good place in our neighborhood that we can walk to. Which is nice, since he needs it cut every two weeks. They do a great job and are good with kids. They always fuss over David.

Every two weeks - wow. Is that just to maintain the exact style you've chosen, or does his hair really grow out that quickly?

[arkansas parent]

I do T's hair myself. He needs his hair cut every couple weeks (to mantain the lengh he likes). It is easier and cheaper for me to just cut it. For T's hair I just use the 1/4 or 1/2 in guard on the clippers. If he starts wanting more complicated cuts I will try to find an AA barber.

[BethanyB]

I take my son to an AA barber shop for two reasons. For one, since we are a transracial family, I feel it is good for him to go to a black barber shop where he sees other men/boys who look like him. The AA barber shops have a certain feel that I want my son to experience.

And two, they do a much better job. They know how to line it up and make the edges look nice. One day the barber shop was closed and I needed my DS to get a hair cut for an event that night. I took him to a regular barber shop and tried to explain how to shape it up but they did not know what I meant. I really like how it looks when the AA barber does it.

[ChromaKelly]

See, that's what I thought. Thanks! I doubt a barber around here cuts much black hair.

[oceanica]

Going slightly off topic for a minute, did any of you see "Coming to America" with Eddy Murphy and Arsenio Hall? Now they had a barber shop! It was totally hillarious.

[OakShannon]

Originally Posted by DianeS

Every two weeks - wow. Is that just to maintain the exact style you've chosen, or does his hair really grow out that quickly?

His hair is shaved quite short - just a shade longer on the top than on the sides. It's the most common style for AA boys here. When it starts to curl, it's time for a cut. So the cut lasts about 2 weeks.

I take him to the barber for the exact reasons Bethany stated.

[SupaModel]

Originally Posted by BethanyB

I take my son to an AA barber shop for two reasons. For one, since we are a transracial family, I feel it is good for him to go to a black barber shop where he sees other men/boys who look like him. The AA barber shops have a certain feel that I want my son to experience.

.

I remember going to the barber shop with my daddy to get his haircut and it was definitely more that just a place for him. It was like a men's social thing. KWIM?? We're letting DS hair grow out wild but when/if we cut it i'll take him to that type of baber shop for those experiences.

ps - I also do want to add that a good CC person could do just as good as a job too. I'm AA and a hairstylist who worked in NYC in a VERY highend salon where my clients were 99% CC. I would hate for them to see a black girl and say I dont want her doing my hair but she not use to it. I also have a CC friend that's a barber and he's amaing with AA hair so I just wanted to throw that out there

[sugarandspice697]

Originally Posted by SupaModel

ps - I also do want to add that a good CC person could do just as good as a job too. I'm AA and a hairstylist who worked in NYC in a VERY highend salon where my clients were 99% CC. I would hate for them to see a black girl and say I dont want her doing my hair but she not use to it. I also have a CC friend that's a barber and he's amaing with AA hair so I just wanted to throw that out there

Wow, this was my exact thought when I read this thread. I go to a salon in my neighborhood where the clients are about 80-90% Caucasian and they do a VERY good job at straightening my hair. In fact, my mother was shocked when she found out that my hair isn't permed. Plus, they made sure that my hair wasn't damage by the heat from their straighters by conditioning it. I have been going their for years and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

So, although I understand that you want your child to see other AAs in Black barber shops, I think its unfair to imply that Caucasian people don't know how to do Black hair. Its just not fair to put over 200 million people into one stereotype. Look beyond the color of the barber's skin and pick a shop that is clean, quality and has good customer service.

[sbaglio]

Jumping in here as a black male who gets his hair cut every two weeks in a barber shop that does all hair types:

From MY experience, you need to take your AA child to get his hair cut in an AA/black barber shop, or at least a shop where AA hair is cut (which is usually a black barber shop). My barber for 5 years in Boston was from Jamaica, and for the next 2 years, I had a Ghanian barber. Here in MD, I had another Ghanian barber for 3 years, and now my barber is Palestinian. While I'm sure there are barbers who are not black who do cut black hair (my present barber is one of them), they are not the majority. I don't think it's disparaging to anyone to say that.

Let me tell you about some of my travails trying to find a barber. When I moved to Boston years ago, a new friend at med school told me to go to a barber at the Mass Ave "T" (metro) stop, then take a right and I'd find the shop on the corner. Suffice to say, there were 2 exits, and I chose the wrong one. I walk to the corner, and see this hair salon with pics of women with long flowing hair in the window, and men who were well-coiffed - all white. Against my better judgment, I walk in. The CC woman at the desk looks at me strangely, but I proceed to ask if I can get a haircut. Looking confused, she motions to an Asian woman who beckons me to a chair. The whole time, I have this foreboding feeling within me. After I sit down, I ask her twice if she has cut "my type of hair" before. She nods yes. She picks up the electric clippers, and runs the thing from one side of my head to the other, ear to ear. Anyone who has cut black hair knows that you don't cut in that direction. So I had to have her cut it all off.

I've called barbers before and asked, "Do you cut black hair?" I try to hear if the voice sounds like that of an AA, but that's a really accurate measure, right? Once I got the answer: "Of course we cut black hair! And red hair, and blond hair, and brown hair..." With my present barber shop: it opened about 5 minutes from my home several months ago, and I thought it would be cool not to have to travel half an hour to my old place. When I looked in from afar, I saw CC people, Latinos and black people waiting, and the barbers were not black. After weeks of humming and hawing, I finally walked in and sat down for a cut from my present barber Matt, who is Palestinian. I always go to him now. The rest of the barbers are Asian, and they cut black hair just as well as he does.

Your best bet (and most economical, because I really do need to get a haircut every 2 weeks) is to buy some clippers and cut the hair yourself. I bought some when I was in uni and would do it myself. Back then I didn't really care how I looked LOL!

[nickchris]

Sblagio is right. It is not a disparaging comment at all. Where is the prejudice in the previous poster's statement? Of course there are other races who can cut kinky/textured hair.
I have a family member who was a barber, (30 years) and AA. He knew how to cut all hair types, but the prevalence is not all CC barbers can cut certain textured hair. If they get a few classes in trade school, do they have the hours built in experience wise?
Then there is the line up, or edge. If it is not done properly by one of any race.. it can damage the kiddos hairline. That's something the retired barber in my family always warned me about.
One cannot just go into any shop and let the barber go at it. Ask questions, watch them cut a few AA men/boys' hair.
The other aspect that was mentioned before, there is a certain cultural air in a Black barbershop. Yes there can be a cultural difference. I sat in one as a kid, and sit in one now, as I wait for my boys to get their hair cut. Women will also go to a good AA barber to get their hair shaped up for their natural style.
So two things can be gleaned from a Black barbershop, and if one is particular, I see nothing wrong with patronizing one.

When I relaxed my hair, for sure I didn't just go to anyone. It had to be someone who knew about Black hair, and had experience. Then it was to only wash and set my hair.. no relaxing until I eyeballed them relaxing a few heads of hair. Yes, I am very particular. However, I did allow one CC hairstylist to relax my hair, (she took the course in beauty school) and bless her heart. That was the last time for her. lol

[SupaModel]

I am AA woman so trust me I know EXACTLY what you guys are saying. I'm not going to any salon even if they say they do black hair without seeing some of there work to judge for myself.

I just wanted to point out that there are SOME CC ppl that can do AA hair really well. Also like I said in PP I am/was an AA hairstylist and 99.9% of my clients were CC and I would hate for someone to take a look at me and say I dont want that black girl doig my hair because she black. KWIM??

Just FYI... I still go to NYC to get my hair realxed (and a rew tracks ) and that's at a AA salon. Afterwards I go downtown to my old job and let my friend cut my hair and he's CC. It's the best haircut I have EVER had!!!!

Again Fadzi & Nick I really do get what your saying and totally agree. You know how black women are with their hair so trust me I don't take it lightly but I just didnt wanna completely generalize