Hey, what’s going on Barbers, hairdressers, stylists, and anyone else that stands for long hours at their job.
I’ve been cutting hair for over 10 years now; in the first five years, I felt like I was Superman that nothing could affect my legs or my lower back or anything like that.
Until I turned 30 years old and realized standing all day really does wear out your body. That’s what I had to hang up the cape and look for other alternatives.
In fact, for those five years, I didn’t even have a mat underneath my barber chair; the only thing I ever added was those Dr. Scholls inserts I would put into the soles of my shoes to give my feet some extra comfort.
They worked for the time being. I can’t knock that.
But over time, I realized that after cutting many heads every day, my lower back was just not recovering as fast as I would like it to. I was constantly moving my body from left to right to adjust and relieve some of the pain I felt.
I practically did this dance after every haircut.
If this sounds like you, I totally understand, and I created a helpful guide to alleviate some of those pains so we can keep cutting hair and focus more on making money.
I use this every day now, and it’s honestly helped me out, and I hope that It can do the same for you!
A Back Brace.
The thing we’re gonna look into is a back brace; you’re gonna want to make sure that it’s high-quality because it needs to last for a very long time and unlike most people that use back braces, for example, people that go to the gym to lift heavy weights to prevent their back from shifting and causing damage or injury.
For us in the haircutting industry, we have to wear it for hours on end, not just a quick workout session, so it needs to be comfortable and still give us the support we so desperately need at the same time.
I am in no way a back brace aficionado; I’m just an average barber that suffers from back pain and wanted to list some of the ones that I know work.
Let’s continue reading.
What Does A Back Brace Do?
During the long hours working behind the chair and standing all day, our back muscles start building tension; a back brace helps alleviate some pressure by restricting the range of motion, such as twisting and bending over. As we’re cutting hair, We might not be realizing how much we’re using our backs until it’s too late.
Using a back brace can stall aggravation to your lower back and help you get through the day.
I’m not going to say the back brace is the golden egg or a cure-all for all of your back-related issues, but it’s definitely a great external tool that we should be using because they really do help.
At the end of my working day, I would unstrap my back brace sit down on my couch, and put my feet up. After I sat down for a few minutes, Id walked upstairs and took a hot shower, and tried to aim the hot water on my lower back. (Which is another great life hack to try if you haven’t already!)
It took me forever to find one that actually works because some of them are too loose-fitting, Don’t have enough support in the center of my spine, or weren’t durable enough for everyday use. So, that was a bummer, but thankfully we live and learn and discover new resources. Below is a shortlist of ones that could help you like they’ve done for me In the past.
1. Posture Correcting Back Brace
After dealing with this pain for such a long time, I put a lot of thought into the reasons why my back builds tension where it does. It always seems to be in the same area every day, so I was glad I had a spot I could focus my efforts on and take the proper steps to combat it before it gets too aggravated.
In my research, I found that I lacked a good posture, and I would get too relaxed during my haircutting services and start leaning forward.
After a few hours of that, I will try to straighten my back out, and it would hurt. So I found a corrective posture brace that works for both men and women that kept my back straight and had memory foam built in to support my lower back. (Two birds with one stone!)
This was a bit of a game-changer, but one of the things I didn’t like about it was that it was a bit hard to wear underneath my everyday barber uniform. Only because it doesn’t allow airflow so I would get hot and sweaty rather quickly.
But overall, this back brace, posture correcting combo Really worked wonders for how cheap it was. If you feel that your back pain stems from a bad posture, I highly recommend Checking This Out!
2. Sparthos Low Back Brace.
Next up is a back brace by a company called Sparthos; personally, over the past few years, I was really paying more attention to my posture, so in a way, being mindful of my posture helped me to graduate from the posture correcting brace, and gravitate towards one that was more centered around my area of pain.
Which, in my case, was my lower back. What I liked about this back brace are the three straps that come with it that make it worth its weight in gold; it was extremely good at giving my back support. The first strap wraps around the waist rather tightly, the second one builds on top of the first, and the last strap is smaller but helps tie in the other two using Velcro. Three times the level of support!
One of the unique features of this particular back brace is that it comes with a small upside-down triangular-shaped cushion that rests in the crevice of your lower back.
One of the reasons I like this better than the corrective posture brace Is that the material is breathable, And I find myself sweating like crazy while I’m cutting a lot of clients throughout the day.
So if you’re like me and know your lower back is the primary source of your pain, this brace is great for Isolating that area of your back, stopping the tension from building while working behind the chair.
Hands-down, this is the best back braces on the market, in my opinion. You can Check It Out For Yourself Here.
Conclusion
As a barber, I understand what it’s like to be standing on your feet all day, and I wanted to give you guys some options that have worked for me in preventing or stalling back pain. I’ve tried a lot of alternatives, even taking Epson Salt Baths in warm water. But I figured I needed to get something that could prevent the irritation at its source, so it doesn’t have to come to that point. For me and many others looking for options, the best investment you could make is getting a back brace.
