Wearing a hat immediately after getting your haircut is considered insulting to your barber. Barbers take pride in their craft, and depending on how elaborate the haircut is they may spend a lot of time working on the details. However if the haircut is simplistic such as a head shave or crew cut, then its appropriate to wear a hat after the haircut.
Is it rude to wear a hat after a haircut?
A barber spends a lot of their time cutting your hair to ensure it lays right and looks presentable. Many people don’t think about hair the same way somebody in the haircutting profession would, which is understandable. Some don’t even give it a second thought after the service is done.
Which is why I wanted to shine some light on this matter because, to be fair, how could you know if you are not in the hair industry?
Let’s answer this question.
So, is it okay to just put a hat over the haircut immediately after getting it done?
Well, there are actually a few answers to this question; allow me to explain; If the person comes in wearing a hat and sits in the barber chair and takes it off and has no hair, to begin with, whether or not he puts the hat back on isn’t really a big deal.
On the other hand, if the person actually has hair and plans on getting a full haircut, such as; a skin fade, gentlemen’s cut (regular business cut), or something that takes a level of artistic ability from the barber, it would be insulting to put a hat on. But why is that?
Looking through the eyes of the barber, this is what you don’t see.
There’s a time when the client gets up and walks down the aisle to either make a payment for the hair or leave them shop and head out the front door. At this exact moment, all the barbers look up to see if that haircut is good. After the client leaves, barbers will turn to the barber that just cut the hair and give a nod of approval or a look of disappointment.
We do this to check each other work and respect the barber for his mastery of their craft if they did a good job.
If the person sits up after getting their haircut and puts a hat on immediately after, the moment never comes for that particular barber, and the world never sees the haircut at its best.
If you want to wear a hat, that’s fine, but make sure you walk the aisle and out the door before putting the hat on.
In some cases, if the haircut is incredible, barbers will look out the window as your walk to your car. If you feel this is happening, make sure to put your hat on when you get in your car first.
Conclusion
Because of these reasons wearing a hat is rude after getting a haircut, but it depends on the client’s hair. If the haircut is something like a head shave or something basic and short, wearing a hat is acceptable. Suppose the haircut is photography worthy, then putting the hat on needs to wait until you are out of sight. This isn’t a rule you MUST follow; more so, it has everything to do with respecting the craft and your barber.
