Embarking on a barbering career in California starts with earning your certification, marking the first step towards a future filled with diverse opportunities. After earning your barber certification, you can practice barbering in California as a fully licensed professional.
There’s a wide array of jobs you can do as a barber, and many possibilities for putting your skills to work.
What are the Responsibilities of a Barber?
Understanding the full responsibilities of a barber is crucial, as they extend beyond haircuts to include comprehensive grooming services. Barbers are licensed to cut, color, perm, shampoo, and style hair, and provide shaves. They may use tools like scissors, clippers, razors, and combs. Barbers are licensed to color, bleach, give permanent waves, and add highlights to hair. Professional barbers can also shave, trim, and style facial hair, like beards and mustaches; give hot wax and lather treatments; and administer scalp treatments.
Below, we look at a just some of the ways your can use your barber’s license to have a lucrative and fulfilling career.
1. Professional Barber
Barbers cut and style men’s hair and facial hair. In California, they must complete a barber training program with at least 1000 hours of training and then pass a state board certification exam. Mapping out your barber career path involves mastering technical skills and excelling in customer service, paving the way for growth and success in the industry.
As a barber, you’ll need the technical skills to trim and style hair, beards, and mustaches, and customer service skills. While helping customers improve and maintain their appearance, you will also need to manage customer flow, and keep your workstation and equipment clean and sanitary. Most barbers work in salons or barbershops.
2. Barbershop Owner
Most barbershop owners started as barbers, and they may also have some training in business. They may manage the day-to-day business, or they may hire a manager to handle the daily responsibilities. Many barbershop owners still have a chair, and spend some time working alongside their colleagues.
3. Celebrity Barber
Some barbers are fortunate enough to build up a clientele of celebrities and well-known personalities. Celebrity barbers may be called on to travel to different stops to take care of their clients and keep their appearance sharp.
4. Platform Artist
A platform artist, or platform stylist, as they are sometimes called, performs at hair industry trade shows. They showcase hair styling techniques or promote specific tools or hair care products. A platform artist must be an exceptional barber, but also a great communicator, a teacher, and salesperson. If you are comfortable in the spotlight, and like interacting with people, this may be a career goal for you.
5. Hair Care Product Representative
After working in a barbershop, some people choose to work as sales representatives for hair care products. Their job is to ensure salons and barbershops are educated on their products and to help support product sales in a region or district.
6. Barber Instructor
A barber instructor teaches students how to cut men’s hair, shave facial hair, use clippers and shears, and style and color hair. The instructors primarily teach at cosmetology and barbering schools, community colleges, or vocational schools. These are usually seasoned veterans of barbering, with many years of hands-on experience.
How Does the Barbering Profession Adapt to Changing Trends?
The future of barbering is focused on advances in technology, styling techniques, and customer attitudes. A successful barbering career today demands adaptability to changing trends, from the latest in digital tools to evolving client expectations. State-of-the-art precision cutting tools and continuing education through training seminars helps barbers stay current. Using technology like augmented reality to visualize hairstyles, and e-commerce helps make the barbershop experience more convenient for clients. Customers are also more ecologically conscious and desiring of diverse environments.
What Can You Do to Have a Successful Career as a Barber?
To level up your barbering career, there are things you can do such as continually learning new techniques, providing excellent customer service, building up industry relationships, and setting up your own barber shop. Regularly updating your skills and understanding the evolving responsibilities of a barber are key strategies for those looking to advance their barber career path.
Become a Professional Barber in About 30 Weeks
If you want to become a professional barber, and work in a barbershop or salon, or even open your own barbershop, Campus can help you reach that goal. We have a world-class barber training program at our Sacramento campus. To learn more about the Paul Mitchell the School at Campus training program, or ask questions about financial aid, contact our Admissions team today to schedule a virtual tour.