Based out of the most populous city in Minnesota, Dutch is yet another skilled barber we took notice of on Instagram. Many of us are familiar with the Minnesota Vikings and the mall of Americas, but it seems like there’s plenty of talent within the state in regards to the Barber industry. In comes Dutch, below are a few examples of his work:
Rated a 5 Star Barber, it’s easy to notice why clients would be satisfied with his service. Ranging from creative designs, crisp tape-ups, and the ability to cut just about any type of hair, this is one barber you’d want to book with. Be sure to give him a follow on Instagram @Ductch_Cuts.
For those who plan on visiting Minneapolis in the future and are looking for a certified cut, make sure to check him out.
Tampa has been the city of Champions in recent years. The Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Rowdies have all either won Championships or have gone to the big game. The city is making a big splash not only in sports but in tourism and tech. Tampa Bay was ranked #4 in the US for inflow of new residents. As more people are becoming aware of the cities’ beaches, lifestyle and culture, the more we’ll see Tampa grow into a major metropolitan.
New residents will need new Barbers. The city is filled with talented Barbers but there’s one in particular that’s not only skilled, but cuts with style. Brandon Slickwitdaclips813 stands out as one of Tampa’s freshest barbers. If you follow Brandon on social media, you’ll see he takes his profession extremely serious, a any professional should. His haircuts are always on point and the extra professionalism and attention to detail he provides is well worth making the trip to his shop.
Brandon represents Tampa, a growing city with a new age style and flare. Whoever decides to make the move to the city of champions, be sure to get a cut from one of the best in the game.
This week’s Barber Spotlight goes to Naple’s own @Sirobarber. Siro is a versatile Barber who can create unique designs and bring something as simple as a haircut to life. His sharp as a tack edges and symmetrical beard trims are one of the many skills we noticed while exploring his Instagram page. I have a close friend who recently moved to Naples and he mentioned how it was nearly impossible to find good barbers around his community. Automatically, I referred him to check out Siro’s page and unsurprisingly he stated he would set an appointment with him.
Every Barber has different a different set of skills or a special signature that sets them apart from the rest. I believe Siro has his own style and is pretty consistent with his work. If you’re in the Naples area, I recommend you checking him out and get that guaranteed fresh cut! Be sure to give him a follow on Instagram: @sirobarber
Hailing from Gonzales Louisiana, The Prvnce is one of the first barbers we took notice of on our journey to establishing Trmster on social media. He is a co-owner of MVP Barbers, which was established in 2014. Navigating through his instagram page tells a story of an artist who is committed to the perfection of each portrait on his canvas. The haircuts Prvnce provides is a work of art. Barbers can transform a person within 30 mins and give them a new sense of confidence and self pride. This pandemic has shown how important barbers are because a lot of us guys couldn’t regularly get haircuts, and we were constantly reminded of our caveman appearance by our significant others or family members. Barbers like The Prvnce are usually go to barbers that each and every one of us have in our perspective cities. The Prvnce’s work show proof of skills, consistency and thoroughness. Check out some of his pictures below and be sure to give him a follow on Instagram @theprvnce
Below The Prvnce goes through a step by step tutorial of his haircut process:
Keywords/Key phrases: Hip Hop Hairstyles, Black Hairstyles, Hip Hop Hair
Since the 1970s, Hip Hop Music has set the tone for elements of Black culture, fashion, and, yes, memorable Black hairstyles. Throughout history, female Hip Hop artists have demonstrated their ability to emote their male counterparts’ talent by spitting comparable rhymes and freestyling response lyrics to pesky diss tracks designed to minimize their place in the Hip Hop world while still managing to give us memorable looks.
Hip Hop’s women have managed to influence Black hair fashion, taking us through what can only be described as a catalog of fabulous Hip Hop hairstyles.
In this article, we will take a journey across a few decades to immerse ourselves in the hairstyles of Hip Hop.
Salt N Pepa
1980’s Hip Hop Hairstyles
If you have no insight into what Hip Hop Music was all about during the 1980s, you should think of it as the early stages of Hip Hop music. Laced with beatboxing, rhymes, diss tracks, and a dash of comedic timing, Hip Hop music was about establishing who ruled the Kingdom of rap lyrics. Leather, athletic wear, Kangos, shades, and an occasional jheri curl dominated the rap music’s male fashion.
For women, finding their signature hairstyle was an essential part of their brand in the 80s.
Asymmetrical Hairstyles
Famous female Hip Hop Hairstyles and the 1980s most likely conjures vivid images of Salt N Pepa’s asymmetrical hairdos. Though the product of a perm mishap, Salt N Pepa blazed the trail with their asymmetrical bob showing us all how to make lemonade out of bad perm lemons. Pepa’s (Sandra Denton) honey blonde tresses added a bit of flair to a trendy do’ while Salt’s (Cheryl James) and Spinderella’s (Deidra Roper) penchant for dark hair showed us how to keep it simple but still turn heads.
Big Hair
Whoever thought that big hair was reserved for metal bands or pop stars in the 1980s missed the mark. Female Hip Hop stars were not afraid to tease their hair and bring exceptional fullness to the forefront of their appearance. Big hair was all the rage during the 1980s, and Supersonic’s J.J. Fad member Juana Burns showed us that you could still spit lyrics and enjoy the big hair.
There were many ways to get big hair back then, including wigs, jheri curls, and yes, the use of a fine-tooth comb in which you stroked chunks of your hair in the opposite direction of growth to help it stand on its ends. Of course, this action ultimately made for a detangling nightmare for a generation of women with kinks and coils or chemically treated hair who wore hairstyles that mirrored their European counterparts.
The 80s Modified Shag
MC Lyte’s signature look of the ’80s was this modified shag. With layers of hair that adorn the crown and length on the lower half, women everywhere in the 80s wore this do. The Cha-Cha artist gave us thickness, length, and healthy hair envy for days back in the 80s.
It would eventually be referred to as a mullet for men, but for women, this shag hairstyle was winning across all genres of music, and Hip Hop music was no exception.
MC Lyte
1990s Hip Hop Hairstyles
The 90s ushered in a new style of Hip Hop music and hairstyles. With many queens came the arrival of Black hair evolution.
Finger Waves
Who can forget the fantastical eruption of finger wave styles that dominated the Hip Hop scene for a few seasons during the ’90s? Artists like Missy Misdemeanor Elliott, Cheryl “Salt” James, and Mary J. Blige took a hairstyle of the 1920s and revived it as a must-have look of the 1990s.
Missy Elliott – Salt
Natural Hair Twists, Locs, and Braids
Natural hair has lived with women of color for centuries, and so, it is no wonder that even in the 90’s natural hairstyles like braids, twists, and locs were just as relevant in making a statement then as they do today. Artists like Lauryn Hill wore natural styles that only gave further testimony to their all so real perspectives on life.
Lauren Hill
Color
Another Hip Hop hair fashion statement of the 90s was color. Hip Hop artists like Eve and Lil’ Kim not only caught our attention with their music but their natural penchant for vibrant hair colors. They laid the groundwork for future artists who would later bring forth their nostalgic appearance.
Eve – Lil Kim
The Millennium thru Today
The Millennium gave us echos of the 90s, but with those vibrations of familiarity in stylings like natural hair, color, and an occasional finger wave came the addition of toppers, lace fronts, and hair extensions.
In today’s Hip Hop landscape, lace fronts and hair extensions reign supreme. On occasion, Hip Hop artists may take a moment to share what their natural tresses really look like beneath all of that costly fabulosity on Instagram Live, but make no mistake that their hair extensions and lace fronts are a part of the full package.
Megan Thee Stallion
Where do you think Hip Hop hair is heading? Where will the next hair evolution take us? Will it encourage us to shave it all off, or will we continue to see lace fronts and hair extensions dominate the industry?
A few weeks ago I came across the Culturally Byus Facebook page and was instantly impressed by their Boys, Books & Barbers program. It is an objective designed to inspire young minority boys to read while at the barbershop. This was fascinating to me. Growing up as a child, I remember having to wait for what could be up to an hour or so before being seen by a barber. During that wait period, I would either read uninteresting magazines, twiddle my thumbs, or just stare at blank space while waiting my turn with two or three customers in front of me. As I continued browsing the page, it mentioned how the program strives to promote literacy and encourages barbers to motivate young boys into picking up a book during their stay at the shop.
Chardae Duffy is the owner of Culturally Byus, which is the parent company of the Boys, Books, & Barbers program. I interviewed her to get some additional details about her program and what factors motivated her to start it. Chardae herself is an educator who has years of experience teaching and is now a media specialist for Hillsborough County Public Schools. Her current position is what prompted the idea of increasing the literacy rate of young minority boys. “A lack of representation” she says, as one of the main factors that impacts the interest of young boys to want to read.
However, it wasn’t just representation in books, but also a lack of representation in professional fields that would encourage them to read more. A media specialist, librarian, teacher, tutor, a reading coach, these all are professional fields that need more people who young minority children can connect with. Chardae is spot on, I myself having a 5 year old son, finds that he connects more with books whose main characters looks just like him. Having relatable characters and story plots could make the biggest difference in keeping minority children engaged in the story.
Chardae does not want to only focus on their current internal struggles, but wants to get them prepared to succeed in the future. I posed a question about the barbers pertaining to the level of engagement they provided upon being introduced to this program. In her response, she stated “The barbers are usually very excited once I break down the details of my program”. She also mentions how the barbers are very helpful in helping spread the word and making sure the kids who are waiting their turn, could do so by picking up one of her books they haven’t read before.
A barbershop is a safe haven for men and young boys, it is not only a place to get a haircut, but it can easily transform into ESPN Headquarters. People also suddenly become movie experts, politicians and comedians. It a place where as a child and even currently, I frequent on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. The Barber client relationship is often built when we’re young, and as unorthodox as it may seem, what better place or person can take part in motivating young boys to read to help improve their proficiency in literacy.
The great thing about the Boys, Books & Barbers program is that it also offers an incentive for young boys to keep reading. Chardae has developed a mechanism that rewards the readers once they pass a quiz after reading her books. She is partnering with the shops to offer a free haircut to readers who have finished their books and successfully passes her quiz (which she provides in a tablet or a link for).
Chardae plans to expand her program throughout the city of Tampa, and hopefully build from that in the future. The Boys, Books & Barbers program can greatly impact the literacy rate of these young boys. It can also spread a desire to want to read more and encourage friends and siblings to do the same. I enjoyed my interview with Chardae and I am rooting for her all the way. To support her program either through book or monetary donations, you can do so in the links provided below:
In the spirit of Halloween, lets take a look into some of our favorite Halloween costumes thus far this year. It seems as if the level of creativity goes up every single year, and this year has not disappointed. Let’s get right into it:
Laurin Hill remake
The Proud Family
Russell Wilson and Ciara recreate the infamous Busta and Janet “What’s It Gonna Be” video
So far we can see that a lot of time and effort has been placed into capturing the exact look they wanted. But of course, there were a few that were on the money, but more on the hillarious side. Let’s take a look:
Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot
Vigilante St Louis Couple
Young Thug
There are plenty more creative costumes, but so far, these were exceptional. We’ll be on the lookout to see who ends up with the best
Keywords/keyphrases: tender-headed children, how to style children’s hair, Buzzersblog
If your little one has kinky, curly, or coily hair, you probably know that trying to style your child’s hair can be like stepping into the ring with a prizefighter. Kinky, curly, and coily textures sometimes translate to having a “tender-headed” child with hair riddled with tangles. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you may have a kid who simply loathes having to endure anyone touching their precious locks, despite not being tender-headed at all.
How many of you have kiddos who possess ninja-like reflexes that allow them to dip and dive in the water and on land like nothing you have ever seen? Let’s face it; these cat-like reflexes can cause even the most-skilled parent to question how to navigate each experience. If you believe that you are the only parent who cannot seem to figure out how to wash, condition, or simply style your child’s hair –think again! Parents everywhere, at some point in time, will have to struggle with finding the best path to styling their child’s hair without having to turn the experience into a painless contortion act.
Here are seven tips for how to style your child’s hair.
Create Hair Care Habits Early
Establishing a consistent hair care regimen for your little one from an early age will go a long way to help them understand the process and enable them to build habits that indirectly teaches them how to sit still for lengthy periods. If you are a fan of protective styles, pick a day or two each week to refresh or care for your child’s hair. As long as there are no apparent hazards, get them involved with the event by having your little one hold the brush, hair accessory, or comb.
Be Kind, Be Gentle, Be Patient
The next tip is to be kind, be gentle, and be patient with your child’s hair and scalp. You have to associate hair care with positivity. Take care not to berate the quality of your child’s hair in front of her. Also, do not allow your frustration with their tangles to be known to the child. Hold your tongue and get through it. They will pick up on your vibes, and it will fuel their anxiety further about the styling process.
Use a Detangling Brush and Comb
Ditch the standard kiddie comb and brush. Invest in a good detangling brush or wide-tooth detangling comb. The combination of tangled hair and tender-headed children are a nightmare to contend with as a parent. Taking advantage of a detangling hairbrush or detangling comb designed to rid kinky, curly, or coily hair of those pesky tangles can help make the preparation or styling process more tolerable than using a cheap comb or inappropriate brush. These products can be used in or out of the bathtub or shower.
Creating a distraction for your little one, such as putting on their favorite movie or allowing them to play on your cell phone or tablet while you are styling their hair, will go a long way to help them not to focus on what you are physically trying to do. Unfortunately, when children have nothing to do but focus on the fact that you are combing their hair or trying to install a twist or a braid, it can make the process lengthy and complicated for both of you.
Toys are another favorite way to distract them and slow down the incessant fidgeting and squirms that can disrupt your best-laid plans.
Keep those Hairstyles Simple
Your little one is likely not to be a fan of sitting still for too long, nor may they be receptive to angling their tiny heads so that you are allowed to create some elaborate design. By now, you have probably seen your child’s mood fluctuate from being cooperative to staging a protest during haircare time. Use their mood to alternate, simple hairstyle selections with those elaborate “works of art” you like to create. If your child is indeed tender-head, you may want to avoid choosing hairstyles in which you find yourself tugging on your little one’s hair or scalp.
It may feel odd to think about trimming your little one’s hair, but it is a part of the process for maintaining hair that is healthy, and most importantly, free of tangles. Split-ends can trigger a nasty round of knots and tangles that make the grooming process painfully frustrating for you and traumatizing for the kiddo. You may want to consider trimming your child’s hair every six to twelve weeks, depending on what you are seeing.
In Closing
Caring for your child’s hair will improve over time. Their hair will grow thicker and longer with proper care, and the actions you take today to care for your child’s hair will evolve into something more significant and better for both of you. Styling your child’s hair will require you to be flexible, patient, and a mood whisperer. It will also require you to become comfortable with trial and error. Some days, simple styles will be quick and easy, and some days, your child will be willing to commit to a full hour for you to make a bit of magic. Whatever happens during this process, do not lose patience with your little one or their glorious curls, kinks, and coils. In time, the two of you will figure it all out, and those ninja-like moves by your child will fade into laughable and teachable moments.
Stylist uses a protective face shield for covid-19 safety measures
Barbershops and Salons across the US faced uncertainty during the early months of 2020. A nationwide lockdown was put in place to control the outbreak of COVID-19, which devastated multiple metropolitan areas. Small business owners grew increasingly concerned as their weekly traffic came to a halt and they were forced to temporarily close shop. Owners found themselves on the outside looking in of businesses that were deemed to be essential. Lobbying efforts in Washington attempted to define what would qualify as an essential business, but due to the nature of grooming services (close proximity), shops and salons were forced to remain closed during the lockdown.
On April 15th, USA Today released an article on the struggles barbershops and salons faced. In this article, shop owner Robert Koske explained how he had to piece together loans and dig into his own savings just to make ends meet. Small business owners applied for Covid-19 related grants and additional loans, but not everyone was approved. For those who were approved, many did not receive the necessary amount needed to keep their business afloat.
Robert Koske is trying to make ends meet after having to close his Florida Salon because of the Corona Virus
Once the shutdowns were lifted and states gradually began to re-open. Shops were still feeling the effects of the pandemic because customers were not as willing to sit in a barber chair and have up-close contact with their stylist. I remember going back the first time after a couple months of experimenting on my own hair. My concerns were the same as most people. Do I wear a mask while receiving a haircut? Does my barber wear a mask? What are the safety protocols?
Something I used to do every week suddenly became a challenging decision to where I would either scruff it out for another week, or just take my chances of possibly getting exposed. For the most part, shops across the nation have been extremely vigilant regarding the safety measures they take. I can say this for sure, barbers and stylist who are in the trenches every day, do not receive enough credit. We all have jobs and a lot of us work for businesses that are classified as essential, but A simple haircut can make the difference on how a person feels. It can also work wonders for a person’s confidence level.
Social media allows me to see the efforts and additional steps stylists are taking in order to reassure their customers that protocol is being followed. I have been thoroughly impressed from what I have seen, and to be honest, I now regularly go to the barbershop as I did pre-pandemic. We normally run pieces on a specific shop for our “Shop of the Week” series, but this time around we want to give a special thank you to all the hair stylists and barbers who are keeping everyone fresh during these times.
In recent weeks we’ve received multiple emails from men inquiring how to properly grow and maintain their beards. Some men often struggle with the beard growing process, leaving many quitting during the rough stages. Other men who decide to push through may come across certain unpleasantries such as ingrown hairs, itchiness, stiff dry beards, and beard patches. We’re going to share a few tips and products to use when growing your beard that should make for an easier and less aggravating process.
Sticking with the decision
Making the decision to grow your beard is not something that’s often planned. To be honest, a lot of us usually get to a point where we haven’t shaved for a couple of days, and at that point, we notice our beards growing and it’s at that moment we may decide if we want to keep growing it or not. Once our minds are made up, we often dedicate ourselves to it for a couple of days, but most of us usually fall off as soon as we get a fresh cut at the barbershop. Some men want their facial hair to match the freshness of their haircut.
However, in the case where we hold our position and keep our beards growing, that process to where we’re able to cultivate a beard style of our liking may take up to 6 weeks. During that time, it is essential to keep your facial hair properly washed, conditioned and groomed.
Beard Soap
Using natural soaps for your beards has many benefits. Natural beard soaps preserve natural oils, keeps your beard hydrated, maintains the healthiness of your skin underneath, and prevents itchiness. Natural oils are essential to keeping your beard healthy and strong and it lowers the risk of your beard hair splitting and breaking. Lack of hydration can cause itchiness and flakes. I’m pretty sure we would all agree that having beard flakes on your black tee shirt is pretty embarrassing. Natural beard soaps will not only hydrate your beard and skin, but it also gives it a healthy appearance. I have included below a natural beard soap that you may want to give a try.
Shampoos and Beard Oils
Beard shampoo work wonders for our beard. It not only softens your hair, but it also cleanses the skin underneath and helps get rid of that pesky irritation we often come across. Beard shampoos come in a variety of wonderful scents that takes away the stink of our beards. Beard shampoos may not necessarily take away beard dandruff, but it does nurture and moisturize the skin leaving it less likely to have such a problem. A common mistake that men make when washing their beards is using the same shampoo meant for our hair and applying it to our beards. Regular shampoos take away natural oils from our hair, which we’ve already mentioned is quite essential for us to maintain a healthy beard.
Beard oil is used to keep beards looking fuller, softer and sometimes promotes growth. High Quality oils are usually made up of essential and carrier oils. Carrier oils are used to dilute essential oils and carry them to your skin. Essential oils are typically obtained by distillation and having the characteristic fragrance of the plant or other source from which it is extracted. True carrier oils are generally cold-pressed or macerated vegetable oils taken from, among others: Apricot oil. Grape seed oil. Avocado oil. Olive oil. Sesame oil. Evening primrose oil and Canola oil.
Now that we have broken that down, the point is that beard oils are extremely important to use while growing your beard. Having a routine is also helpful. When you implement a routine, it becomes second nature to use products such as beard soaps, beard oils, shampoos and conditioners. Check out this beard routine video from Youtuber NAIJAFAM:
Balm and Grooming
Beard balms are products used to add more control and styling to your beard. Similar to the products mentioned above, most beard balms contain some essential oils which helps with the conditioning and moisturizing of your facial hair. Here are some benefits to using beard balms:
Healthier beard
Helps prevent itchiness
Prevents beard dandruff
Prevents hair from falling and splitting
Beard balms
Scotch Porter Beard Balm
Make it a routine to apply your beard ball after washing your face in the morning or after you get out of the shower. Use a dime-sized amount of beard balm to your hands and apply it to your beard. Be sure to get the balm deep in the beard so that it contacts your skin underneath, that way, it will get all the way down to the roots. Once you have a applied the balm, use either a comb or brush to groom your beard.
When grooming your beard, it is best practice to brush through your beard in a downward motion. This allows for your hair to be detangled, and it also gives a more appealing appearance. Brushing towards your chin (downward) gives your beard a nice sharp outline and can add volume to your beard.
Staying consistent with your routine will eventually pay off in the end as you will reap the fruits of labor by having a healthy beard. For those who have tried and given up in the past, try using these products and tips and see if it makes a difference in your process.
Buzzers Blog 