As of today, Monday 1st of June, at 3pm, Barber Blades is moving back to an online service! This means they will be dispatching all online orders and will be doing their very best to turn them around as soon as they can.
Phone lines are still closed for now, but you can still contact the team via their live chat on barberblades.co.uk or through Facebook and Instagram.
Anyone ordering online should allow 2-3 working days for deliveries and, althought product returns cannot be accepted until after 15th June, Barber Blades have extended the warranty on all products by three months to cover this delay.
Keep an eye out on the site over the coming weeks as PPE products will be available soon!
After becoming a sponsor of the Hair and Beauty Charity and donating to their COVID-19 Relief Fund, Andis Company has launched a new social media campaign called #AndisNationCares.
From now until the end of June, Andis Company is sending £100 gift cards to barbers and stylists that have done something exceptional to help others during the coronavirus pandemic. This can be anything from providing free education and tutorials, creating coping strategies and advice to keep peers motivated, to charity work or fundraising for the NHS.
To nominate yourself or someone you know, head over to @andiscouk on Instagram and tell them who you would like to nominate and why, by commenting on the launch post or sending them a DM. The team will be selecting people every few days, so you can continue nominating as many people as you like from now and throughout June.
This is Andis’ way of recognising and appreciating the efforts of barbers and stylists, so the card will be a pre-loaded MasterCard or Visa Card for them to spend on whatever they want. Head to Instagram now to find out more or to nominate someone you think deserves some recognition.
Classic cars, thumping rhythms, the girls and of course the hair. Each were integral to the nineties rockabilly scene that birthed one of the industry’s most well known products, Layrite. The brand’s enigmatic owner, much like the brand itself, oozes Californian charm.
The barbershop, for many gents, is a rite of passage and a first glimpse into manhood. “l thought it was really special, you know,” says Donnie Hawley from behind his rose-tinted shades “Back then they had the Playboys in the drawer and l would see the older guys pull them out, and, you know, the old coke machines, I’d throw a dime in , pull the bottle and pop the top and kind of feel like a big boy when I was young.”
Donnie would have his first cutting experience at age thirteen, etching Mohawks for his cousin’s football team before the charmingly dubbed “hell week.” He went to train as a barber after being hurt in a factory incident but later dropped out to make some money. While in Barber College, however, he heard of a guy called “Bricks that was in the same school in a different city.
I heard about this guy who had Elvis tattooed on his whole back and I wanted to meet this guy because he was into rockabilly and I thought I was the only rockabilly cat around. He was going to Rosston in Anaheim, I was in Long Beach and I ended up meeting him at the Palomino, this honky-tonk club in North Hollywood and I met him and told him I wanted to be a barber too and I’m real good. The rockabilly scene was so small at the time and he was like, I’m already opening a shop’ and totally discouraged me.
Donnie, however, saw that the craft of barbering was dying out and knew he had to act. Much like in the UK, everything was unisex and the classic styles were in danger of being lost in the annals of history
“You’d drive around and barbering was vanishing. We’d see old guys sitting in the barber chairs by themselves reading the newspaper and something just clicked. I’ve got to save it man. I’ve got to do my part. I need to be the guy, the voice, the person that brings barbering back”.
To do so, he returned to school to get his barbering license and opened Hawleywood’s Barber Shop in 1999. Keen to buck the unisex trend, Donnie created a male-only space that Al Capone would have been at home in. Rich woods, cream walls. Of course, there was no social media at the time so Donnie returned to his beloved seen to get the word out.
I had to set up at shows to get myself out there and my first card and combs had my pager number on them, and I’d hand the combs out at shows, rockabilly, punk rock shows and people would start paging me at tattoo shops and there would be like twenty guys there. I started cutting hair in the back of Bert Grimm’s Shop at the Pike in Long Beach, the oldest tattoo shop in the United States. I was in car clubs so I’d cut their hair. I was cutting hair in the back of Classic Tattoo with Eric Maaske and he was a traditional tattooist who had a lot of famous guys come through his shop. Guys in Rancid, Social Distortion and Stray Cats, so I got to cut a lot of those guys hair and started making a name for myself.
All these experiences are key to understanding the Layrite brand. The product, much like Donnie’s barbering career came from necessity, only this time he needed the right product to style the slick backs and flat tops with fenders he was looking to save.
Layrite started because I was messing around making my own pomades, coming out of the rockabilly greaser scene. I had really curly hair, super curly hair, so I couldn’t find anything that I could get that big pomp with that would wash out. The stuff we had available was Butch Wax and petroleum-based products. It seemed like it would never wash out. If you didn’t style your hair right the first go around you weren’t able to wash it out and start over, you know what I mean?
Unfortunately, his first concoction wasn’t as practical as it was authentic. Not only were classic cars part of the scene but quite literally a part of his solution. When changing the rear main seal on an old Packard, Donnie thought the oil residue that may well have been there for thirty/forty years – had the consistency of a potential product.
I grabbed a mason jar and scooped as much as I could into it with some Vaseline and some Old Spice and some other things and rocked up to the show with it in. It worked but the only problem was my friends and I thought we were so cool because we were wearing grease that was actually from a car, but the girls were like, ‘dude you guys smell way too much like a garage. Way too much. It’s cool you’re greasers but you smell’. That was my first go at messing with pomade because of my curly hair.
Unperturbed, Donnie went back to the drawing board and continued his ad hoc approach to achieving the slick styles of the times. He eventually found the perfect mixture, that would later be christened by one, a similarly curly-haired client.
I started mixing ingredients that I thought would work and wash out. And I had a customer with similar hair to mine and I would have to use hairspray, round brush roll the curl out and I would put my own product in his hair and he was like, ‘man you’re the only person in my whole life that’s been able to get my hair to lay right.
The year was 1999, a good few years before social media came along. Layrite quickly gained a loyal following and people would drive for hours to pick up the product from the shop; at this point Donnie wasn’t shipping it. He was, however, pedaling the wildly popular at festivals and shows within the scene.
“You know, I started putting it in my own cans and taking it to shows, backpacking it in, sneaking it through with my band friends so they could get it backstage and throw it to the crowd. I would set up in coat closets, I would go to music festivals and set up at punk rock shows, rockabilly events. I would be asked by musicians to style their hair before they went on stage at shows. I brought my products along everywhere I went and gave it away. I started making my own shirts and gave those away”
Other than his tireless self-promotion, Donnie attributes the product’s success to just one simple attribute: it works. He had found a problem through experience and created a solution. They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but the Layrite founder explains that many have tried and failed.
“I just had to make sure it performed. All these years later, there have been a lot of people that love Layrite and they take it and they try to copy it and they’re not even barbers. They’re four booths down at a show that I’ve been doing for fifteen years or more, and it looks like my product – same bottles, same packaging and it doesn’t work. It’s not made to perform because it was not made by a person that knows hair, knows barbering, knows products, knows what works and what doesn’t.”
He continues to reflect on the manner in which he stumbled across the best-selling formula “It took a long time. I accidently made Layrite. The ingredients in it allow you to wear it and wash it out. It was out of necessity because my friends would come in and they had grease in their hair. I’m not going to name names, but petroleum based products were all we had and I couldn’t get my clippers through it. I wanted to do the best haircut possible and it was preventing me from doing that. I remember when the right mix came around and I was able to wash it out, cut through the haircut perfectly and put the pomade back in. I never dreamed Layrite would be what it is.”
Donnie is now a bona-fide star in the barbering community. He’s travelled the world with both his brands – Layrite and Hawleywood’s Barber Shop, opened a shop in Australia and even had a film made about him. All this work, however, has been underpinned by a genuine love of the craft and wanting to preserve the art for future generations.
“It’s all traditional. I don’t use the word fade. It’s three outlines; everything is shaved with a razor. It’s very important for me to keep this trade of real barbering and to distinguish the difference between a barber and a stylist, because there is a difference. I feel blessed to have inspired so many. It’s been a wild ride, man.”
We were delighted to be joined on Monday 25th May on EVOLive by Keith Conniford of the Hair and Barber Council UK, and by Adam Sloan of the MHFED & City and Guilds.
We discussed in great detail the new back to work plan for UK Barbers, the issue of PPE and much more.
We were joined on Friday 22nd May by the one and only CEO of Schedulicity, Jerry Nettuno.
We discussed the impact Jerry and his colleagues have made on the hairdressing and barbering industry since their inception, and their plans to continue to support and facilitate opportunities for professionals across the globe.
Don’t worry if you missed it – watch below in full!
Scotland have published that “retail services including hairdressers” will be allowed to open in ‘Phase 3’ alongside pubs and restaurants as part of their ‘COVID-19 – Framework for Decision Making’ although no dates have been announced alongside these phases.
Full details of the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy can be found here.
The Government will determine the date you may return to work. Do not be influenced in anyway by fake news!
Currently the return to work date for all sectors of our industry, including mobiles and freelancers, in England is 4 July, but is conditional on the ‘R’ number remaining below 1 in the period to the 4 July.
In the continued absence of any formal Government guidance regarding what the industry must have in place for health, safety and hygiene purposes for returning to work, this Back to Work Plan will help you plan for re-opening, in a way that will give your staff and customers the confidence they need to know that you have taken all the precautions you can to protect them whilst on your premises. If the Government, in the meantime, gives the industry formal guidance on what they require of us, that will take priority in the parts they mention over this plan.
Prior to Re-Opening Checklist Producing a Risk Assessment would be an excellent start to preparing for the Re-opening your business. These are simple to prepare; outlining the potential risks and hazards to the premises, the staff and customers of Covid-19, what the risks are, at what level and what you can do to reduce the level of risks to the best of your ability to anyone entering the premises.
Hygiene
Employees must wash their hands thoroughly before and after each customer service, in addition to other general hand washing duties/times.
Thorough cleaning of all equipment (salon owned or personally owned) before and after each treatment and a plan for general cleaning and disinfecting of equipment should be in place. (Barbicide or another industry-approved product can be used).
Thorough cleaning of surfaces such as handles, handrails, light switches, tables, computers that are touched by many.
Laundry, such as towels and gowns (although disposable towels and gowns would be a good option), to be washed on a hot temperature following each usage. If using washable gowns, they should only be used once, with disposable capes over the top of those gowns.
Premises Whilst we await any firm guidance from Government, it is fairly safe to assume that social distancing will be necessary to have in place to ensure staff and customer’s health, safety and peace of mind.
There should be at least 2m distance between customers’ locations. (However, the exact distance required to be disclosed/advised by Government guidelines)
Any waiting areas should be closed or arranged so that it is possible to keep a minimum of 2m distance if space is available. If not, forming a line outside the salon/shop could be an alternative, together with possibly asking customers to wait in their cars if they have one, and customers are then called to advise when they can come into the salon/barber shop.
Magazines, toys etc. must be removed from the premises.
Hot water and soap must be available to customers and employees. In addition, hand sanitiser should be available if possible as well.
Staggered or extended opening and appointment times could be used, to prevent too many employees from working at the same time and to reduce the amount of customers to ensure distancing between workstations.
In addition, asking customers to attend their appointments alone would help the overall safe and smooth running of the salon/barber shop.
Reception and retail Area
Discard old magazines and other non-essential items in the waiting area that cannot be disinfected.
Clean and disinfect all hard, non-porous surfaces such as the reception counter, computer keyboard, phones, door handles, light switches and point of sale equipment – make sure to follow contact time for all surfaces (Barbicide or similar industry-approved products can be used).
Consider online scheduling in place of written appointment cards.
Clean and disinfect all shelving, glass and display cases; keep product containers and perspex partitions clean and dust free.
Ensure you communicate to your customers and staff that you have taken all possible precautions to look after their health and safety whilst on your premises. This can be done by placing a sign in your window, via social media and on your salon/barber shop website. (See draft example letter of reassurance at the end of this plan which could be used/implemented/adapted).
Use card transactions rather than cash whenever possible.
Consider taking payment in advance for hair or barber services.
Place a hand sanitiser on reception desk for clients to use when entering the salon and barbershop.
Work stations
Clean and disinfect all non-porous implements used in your salon and services, as required by Government and to support your own diligence in supporting health, safety and hygienic premises (immersion, spray or wipe).
Store properly disinfected implements in closed containers if possible, that have also been disinfected (wipe or spray).
Clean and disinfect all electrical implements used in your services.
Prior to initial re-opening, clean your chairs – consider barrier methods on chairs such as disposable paper drapes or similar.
Clean and disinfect each work station, trolleys, drawers and any containers used for storage.
Bathroom
Clean and disinfect all surfaces.
Replace any soft goods (toilet paper, paper towels etc).
Consider upgrading to touchless soap dispensers, if you are unable to do this ensure liquid bacterial/soap is available and paper towels where possible.
Consider adding touchless, automatic hand sanitiser dispensers.
Ensure there is a rubbish container in the room.
Remove any products that do not belong in the bathroom – nothing should be stored in a bathroom that isn’t needed.
Staff Room
To be thoroughly cleaned prior to re-opening, with all surfaces cleaned and disinfected throughout the day. Amount of times dependent on level of usage.
Only allow one staff member at a time in the staff room, only allow more if the room is big enough and they can be at least 2m apart conforming to social distancing.
Staff members to be encouraged to bring their own cups/mugs for their own personal use, or better still to use disposable cups or bring in bottled water and/or soft drinks etc.
Practical changes
In the short term, consider staggering appointments so that waiting areas have minimal congestion.
Staggering of appointments also gives adequate time to properly clean and disinfect in between customer visits (this could take approximately 10-15 minutes).
Even if you haven’t used an appointment system before, now may be the time to implement one. If you continue to take walk-ins, be conscious of how many people are in your waiting area (dependent on the size of the salon/barber shop) and be responsible about keeping those numbers low. It may be necessary to ask customers to line up and wait outside, dependent on the size of the premises whilst ensuring a practical distance is maintained between salon chairs.
Consider not doing ‘dry cuts’, only cutting hair once it has been thoroughly washed and cleansed.
Consider how to make your point of sales terminals safer: If you are using an iPad type system, asking the customer to read you their card number means that you are the only one touching that screen.
Encourage contactless payments and only take cash as a last resort.
Encourage the use of applications like Apple Pay that do not require any interaction between your consumer and your surfaces. If you must touch any type of pad, this should be disinfected frequently.
In the short term, do not re-introduce things like magazines, self-serve refreshments (coffee and tea etc) or sweets in containers. Either use disposable paper cups for in-salon beverages or suggest that customers bring in their own drink containers/bottles.
Disinfect reception counter, door handles, phones and writing implements at the beginning of the day and every 1-2 hours, based on traffic through the salon/barber shop.
Discontinue the practice of shaking hands or any unnecessary contact between customers and staff.
Decline services for any customer that exhibits signs of illness and make customers aware of this before they attend for their appointment by asking them not to attend if they are showing any symptoms/signs of illness. This also applies if anyone in his or her family household has been ill or is displaying symptoms of illness.
Consider holding consultations prior to the appointment.
Laundry
Any linens that may have been left in the salon prior to lockdown (clean or dirty) should be washed on a hot temperature with detergent and dry until “hot to the touch”
There should be no moisture or dampness in any linen.
Launder all towels and capes.
All linens should be stored in closed, covered cabinets if possible until used.
Shampooing stations Clean and disinfect where possible all bowls, handles, hoses, spray nozzles and shampoo chairs after every client.
On-Going Safety ALL health, safety and hygiene precautions MUST be followed at all times. The steps below are best practice and may go above and beyond what is officially required.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
Ensure any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used is single use wherever possible and must be changed after each client ie gloves, masks, aprons etc.
Use face protection ie a facemask, or a visor (depending on Government guidelines and your own business requirements).
Use gloves and aprons (disposable if possible) wherever possible and certainly whilst washing hair.
Hands must be washed after removing gloves following every service.
Hand Hygiene
Wash hands with soap/water for 20-30 seconds before/after eating, smoking and using the bathroom.
Wash hands immediately before and after providing a customer service, and in between the service where necessary (keep hand sanitiser available as well where possible).
If possible, provide hand sanitiser at reception desk and all stations for customers to use.
Cleaning and Disinfecting
All implements (non-porous) being used on more than one customer must be cleaned and disinfected for the full contact time advised on the disinfectant label before being used again.
Stations, chairs, trolleys and any other storage containers disinfected throughout the day to ensure vigilance.
Freelancers/mobiles
When visiting customers in their own homes, it is imperative that the hairdresser/barber follows the same rigorous hygiene regime with regards to equipment, gowns, and towels and in accordance and with the commitment and co-operation of the customer.
It would be sensible to contact the customer prior to their appointment to outline what you expect of them to protect you and them.
It would be prudent to put together whilst preparing for coming out of lockdown, a ‘Risk Assessment’ based upon the risks you perceive to both parties with you visiting their homes, and sharing this with them prior to your visit.
Asking them to tell you if they or anybody else in their household has been ill in the last 7-14 days.
Requesting that during your visit, there are not any other family members, children or animals in the same room as you and your customer whilst carrying out the hair service.
Asking that all surfaces prior to your arrival are cleaned and disinfected. In addition, to inform them that you will call them when you arrive outside their home, to then be asked to enter once all the necessary hygiene, health and safety aspects of your visit have been properly taken care of.
This is somewhat of a partnership between you and the customer, both looking after each other’s health, safety and well-being.
Consider taking payment in advance of the appointment.
Consider holding consultations prior to the appointment.
Consumer Responsibility This plan has been about looking at what you can do to protect both your staff and customers, once we are allowed to go back to business, in whatever guise that might be in the future.
However, the customer too has a role to play in this and should consider your health and safety requirements when entering your premises.
CO-FOUNDERS AND OWNERS OF ONE OF THE UK’S BEST BARBERSHOPS, RUGER BARBER, ALAN AND REECE BEAK HAVE MADE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES IN THE INDUSTRY AS AN INCREDIBLY SKILLED AND TALENTED DUO
Alan created Ruger Barber in 2015 with his brother Reece – the two of them boasting over 18 years combined experience in the hair industry. Despite only being open a few short years, their presence in the barbering world is undeniably one of the biggest in the UK. Now a Booksy ambassador, Alan is looking forward to a busy Festive period and making plans for the year ahead.
Alan was just eight years old when he first noticed his interest in barbering, intrigued and curious about the atmosphere and the environment of the barbershop. At just 12 years old, he bagged himself a job working in his local barbershop on the weekends, working there until he was 21.
“When I turned 21 I went headfirst into the industry, I gave it my everything,” says Alan. “I studied online, I studied old books, I raided the hairdressing department in the library, I did hairdressing courses, barbering courses, teaching courses, I became an assessor and a tutor in college… there was no stopping me!”
When he first started cutting hair, Alan was determined to become the best version of what he wanted to be that he never stopped. Constantly training himself and learning from others, Alan was incredibly focused, something he thinks he gets from his hard-working parents.
“I would never just settle, I would always have to make sure that I was the best I could be,” says Alan. “I worked hard for everything that I have now, but it has still gone further than I ever could have dreamed. I’ve met a lot of the goals I set for myself but the only problem with that is, I just keep setting myself new ones.”
Reece began his career at 16, working on ladies hair before transitioning to barbering at the age of 23 after some encouragement from his older brother. “We’ve always been really close, we’ve always had a similar vision and we knew we’d work well together,” says Reece.
When Alan and Reece first started Ruger Barbers, it was the beginning of an incredible journey. Since opening the first shop, the brothers have grown and developed the Ruger brand to be more than just a barbershop: “We didn’t want to be known just as the brothers who owned the barbershop, we wanted to do other things and there are other people involved, we all work for the brand, we all work under the Ruger name.”
“We wanted to create a family-led environment and we balance each other out so well we knew it would work,” adds Reece. “We’ve never been competitive with each other, it’s always been about supporting each other.”
Opening that first shop remains, for Alan, his biggest achievement to date, realising a dream he and his brother had chased for so long. Having to walk away from the barbers they had learned from to open their own shop was difficult, but Alan being the ambitious, focused person he is, he knew it was time. Alan still believes that everything that he has been able to do over the past few years, from travelling the world to gaining high-profile clients, all stems from and is because of that barbershop. One of the biggest challenges barbershops can face is managing busy periods. Summertime, back to school and Christmas are all notoriously busy for barbers, particularly for walk-in shops. At Ruger however, Alan and Reece use Booksy.
“Our appointments are always scheduled, so everything is organised – Booksy eliminates the Christmas rush,” says Alan. “Yes, we get more messages in December with people trying to get squeezed in, but now there is a waitlist on the Booksy app. We don’t need to use the ‘rush’ word in our shop anymore because Booksy schedules everything for us.”
The Booksy app also allows them to add bonuses, special offers and discounts and, more importantly, send out email blasts and reminders to clients. Like most appointment-based shops, Ruger suffers occasionally from no-shows and lateness, so to encourage clients to turn up on time, Alan can use Booksy to send emails or texts to remind clients to take extra time and care at Christmas.
Alan first became involved with Booksy after being introduced to them through Lee Resnick. At the time, Alan was working with Luke Dolan on an event called the UK Barber Lab at Luke’s shop in London. The event was non-profit, so when Booksy asked to come along, Alan said yes, choosing not to charge them to exhibit.
“Myself an Luke are advocates for the evolution of the industry and we work really hard trying to progress this industry, so bringing appointments to the UK, particularly to barbershops rather than just salons, was something we were very keen to be involved in,” says Alan.
“I’m a firm believer in trusting your intuition and I got such a strong feeling from the Booksy guys when I met them. I had that gut feeling that this was going to be a good thing and a benefit to the business, so I just went for it. The guys never acted like a sales team, they were never pushy, and when I saw how easy and user-friendly the app was, I just knew it would make life so much easier for us and our clients.”
Looking to the year ahead, Alan and Reece have a long list of plans in place for 2020, but their main focus is to keep on working hard and standing by their mission statement. It is something that Alan reads a lot and goes back to in order to keep him focused. That statement is to become a globally identifiable brand recognised for the positive growth and development of others.
“We want to create unity between cultures worldwide,” says Alan. “It’s something we are doing with our products, we’ve spent so much time working on them and we now have stockists all around the world. It’s something that we strongly believe in – we don’t get a huge monetary return from them but internally it just feels great to see our brand on a shelf in Tenerife, in Jakarta, in Sao Paolo… it makes us incredibly proud.”
It is through pride and ambition that Alan has become the man and the barber he is today, and with his brother beside him, we don’t doubt they will continue to stay at the forefront of this industry for what we expect will be many years to come.
We were joined by both Eddie Lopez and Jeff Cruz of Scalp Artist International on Wednesday 20th May on EVOLive.
We discussed the amazing business opportunity for barbers that comes from Scalp Micropigmentation – and the ability to teach and provide this amazing service for balding clients.
Don’t worry if you missed it – you can watch the full discussion below!
