Travelogue of Haircuts

My brother, for many years, was a frequent business traveler. He could find himself living in a place for weeks, months, and occasionally a year or more at a time. Often these places were also a launch point for leisure travel. Getting a haircut, originally born of necessity, ultimately evolved into an essential practice of his travels.

Having his hair cut, a simple, practical necessity, took on a larger meaning for him and became his way to experience the community. He quickly discovered that a haircut was a wonderful opportunity to connect one-to-one with local residents. He would leave the tourist areas and head into the neighborhoods. Embracing the unknown, he would enter an unfamiliar place and greet the experience with an open mind. “You are likely to come out the door looking better than you did when you went in,” he said. Plus, of course, having his hair washed, neck shaved, and sideburns trimmed just felt good. His hair has been trimmed in Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, China, Canada, and many cities in the United States.

“I don’t consider myself to have truly traveled to a place until I’ve had my hair cut there.”

A favorite haircut took place in Bangkok, the day before he was married in a traditional Thai Buddhist wedding ceremony. This experience included our dad, nephew, and brother-in-law, who had traveled to Bangkok for the wedding. The three men filed into the Thai barber shop, where each had a relaxing 45-minute procedure of a thrice-repeated shampoo and a shave, and our dad also received a beard trim. When I asked my brother what—beyond anticipating his wedding the next day—made the experience special, he replied, “Well, Dad got the greatest haircut I’d ever seen.” Our dad, bearded for as long as we can remember and always sporting great hair, must have looked pretty amazing!

My brother recalls remarkably specific details of his haircuts: the crinkle of a wrapper being removed from a new blade for the straight razor, the pop music playing in the background, the soft slopping of the shaving soap being mixed with the brush, the fragrance of shaving creams and shampoos, the sweep of the brush on his neck or the pleasant pressure of a scalp massage.

In India, an older, businesslike, and reserved gentleman cut his hair. In Thailand, the haircuts were slow and methodical, and in Cambodia, a novice apprehensively cut his hair. In Canada, the barber ran a comb through cotton and then combed through my brother’s hair to collect the bits of hair trimmings—“a little trick,” the barber said. He remembers the heated shaving cream dispenser in St. Louis. Sometimes he would circle back on his travels and be recognized by the barber.

Getting his haircut in the places he traveled was a self-created opportunity to immerse himself in a life-long practice that is rich in local customs. He was doing something familiar in an unfamiliar place. Communication, when accomplished through gestures, smiles, and often laughter, created an experience that felt significant and meaningful.

Do you have a practice when you travel that helps you connect with the local community ? We’d love to hear!