Barber vs. Hairstylist - Which Will Give Me A Better Hair Cut?

What's the difference between making an appointment with a hairstylist and a barber?

Does it matter at all when it comes to how men look after themselves?

Most of the time, the difference between a barbershop and a salon has been the people who work there.

There are many things to consider when choosing the best person to cut your hair.

In this article I will go over some of the things that I have learned to help guide you & help you understand the main differences between a salon and a barber.

"DO I GO TO A BARBER OR HAIRSTYLIST?" IS THE QUESTION.

Most guys go to a barber, but depending on how their hair looks or feels, that might not be the best choice.

Most barbers are taught to use clippers to cut shorter, more traditional hairstyles for men, while salon stylists are taught to use scissors to cut longer, fuller hairstyles for men.

The main thing a barber does is cut the hair of men. Barbers are the traditional, no-frills kind of hair stylists.

Barbers blend, fade, and shave men's hair with great skill. In fact, a straight-razor shave can only be done by a barber, not a hairstylist.

Barbers offer services that are just for men (and some women depending on their desired haircut).

You can get a haircut from someone who knows how to cut men's hair, as well as a beard trim, a moustache trim, a scalp massage, a line up, and a lot of other things.

This includes a hot lather shave with a straight razor, which is said to be the sign of a great barbershop.

As more high-end barbershops and salons for men become popular, the line between barbers and stylists is blurring.

In the past, barbers only cut men's hair and used clippers to do it.

Most of the time, men-only barbershops didn't have much to offer in the way of colour and other services that you might find in a salon.

Usually, barbers do things like give great shaves with a straight razor, but that's about it.

On the other hand, stylists are usually good with scissors and longer hair, but often not as good with clippers.

Stylists also pay a lot more attention to recommending products, hair colour, chemical services, and other treatments for the hair.

If you want to colour your hair or have long hair, you should go to a hairstylist instead of a barber.

Most stylists have more experience cutting and styling hair that is longer.

You want to get your hair coloured. Most barbers don't do a lot of colouring, so you're probably better off going to a stylist.

You want a style that is more on trend and less old-fashioned. A stylist usually knows more about current trends and tends to take more courses that teach about new ones.

You want to make a bigger change to the way your hair looks.

During the consultation, a stylist will usually suggest a style that would look better on your face.

You want to do things like manicures, pedicures, facials, and more at the salon. You probably never saw your grandfather get a pedicure, but now you can get one and not worry about losing your "man card."


Be a better fit for you if you want a short, traditional haircut like a buzzcut, flattop, fade, or military style.

You want your hair to look as simple as possible. Most barbers will cut your hair in a way that makes it look good on its own.

You'd like to shave. In many high-end barbershops, you can get a hot lather face shave, which is a real treat. We really think you should get one of these every month.

You want to get away from your day for an hour. Barbershops can be a great place for guys to get to know each other.

Which one do you go to? Let me know in the comments.

3 Incredibly Manly Fragrances From Marc Antoine Barrois

If you are a connoisseur of niche fragrances, you know that there is no such thing as a female fragrance or male fragrance.

This was purely a marketing ploy of the industry.

With that being said, over the years whenever I wear any of my Marc Antoine Barrios scents… there is one word that gets mentioned:

Manly.

B683 AND GANYMEDE

Two enigmatic names, fragments of universes belonging to the same galaxy, and telling in wakes the inspirations of an artistic encounter between two young creators. One is a perfumer, the other a fashion designer.

Quentin Bisch and Marc-Antoine Barrois met in 2015 and immediately created an extraordinary creative partnership. Childhood memories, shared values, and the same love for beautiful materials as well as the respect for certain sobriety have brought them together around the challenge of defining and redefining new and timeless elegance(s).

B683 was born in 2016. The name is inspired by the asteroid of the Little Prince by Saint Exupery and by the birth date of the couturier who made it his own imaginary planet. It is a fragrance that blends leather and spice in a subtle, powerful and distinguished refinement. Ganymede was launched in 2019, it is still a leather-based perfume but just like the planet whose name it bears, it is a new elegance, which is fresh and mineral, just as timeless.

B683 EXTRAIT

EXTRAIT DE PARFUM | MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS

B683 is now available as an extrait. The success of this beautiful scent as an eau de parfum formulation has encouraged Marc-Antoine Barrois and the perfumer Quentin Bisch to create a very intense and sensual extrait strength of B683.
Rich, dark and as smooth as velvet, this exceedingly seductive and sexy fragrance is made up to a very powerful 40% concentration for maximum effect and incredible sillage.

The original formula has been re-orchestrated with oud to give depth and intensity. Whether in eau de parfum or in extrait strength, B683 is a creation which defines supreme elegance and savoir-faire for the modern generation with timeless feel.

This in no mistake is a luxurious and sexy fragrance, which becomes an extension of ones personality: the passionate, well put together gentlemen or the sophisticated, independent and adventurous woman.

The spicy top notes include precious saffron, cumin and nutmeg, which entices the senses before taking them into a sensational soft musk, vanilla, amber, aromatic woods and precious oud.

A relaxed, harmonised understated style is the perfect way of describing this beautiful creation.

A little essential luxury, every day.

£243.00

Product Size

50ml

Top Notes:
Black Pepper, Chili Pepper, Nutmeg, Saffron

Heart Notes:
Amber, Cistus, Musk, Violet Leaf

Base Notes:
Ambroxan, Oakmoss, Oud, Patchouli, Sandalwood

GANYMEDE

EAU DE PARFUM | MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS

Ganymede is the new fantasy of Marc-Antoine Barrois. For this new opus, the destination is elsewhere.

Creating an elegant and unexpected harmony around a quartet of mandarin, violet, immortelle and suede, the perfumer and the couturier have dreamt of this new planet: Ganymede. The rocky satellite of Jupiter discovered in 1610 by Galileo that is both luminous and covered with salt-water oceans. It acquired its name from the Greek mythology, meaning a young man, Ganymede, who was kidnapped by gods who had been so enthralled by his beauty that he was offered immortality.

Created by perfumer Quentin Bisch, Ganymede makes use of the suede-leathery notes that had made B683 a beautiful classic. For Ganymede, the perfumer takes us towards a more luminous and fluid elegance. The leather notes are softer, lighter and gentler. The opening of Italian mandarin brings vivacity and evocative freshness, but also gentility with the contrasting and chic violet notes and Chinese osmanthus. The immortelle flower, yet opposing, raises the scented harmony with its double-sided notes of minerals and saltiness. The entire composition plays with contrasts and oppositions.

Exquisite and timeless elegance, redolent of extraordinary luxury and pleasure.

£150.00

Product Size

100ml

Top Notes:
Italian Mandarin Essence, Saffron

Heart Notes:
Chinese Osmanthus Absolute, Violet

Base Notes:
Immortelle Absolute (Helichrysum Italicum), Akigalawood

B683 EAU DE PARFUM | MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS

Exclusively available to Shy Mimosa Perfumery.

A raw and chic, refined and spicy fragrance.

B683 is a result of the meeting of two young designers.

One is a couturier, the other a perfumer, Quentin Bisch. Their childhood memories brought them together. Remembering captivating smells, of the leather from an elegant brief-case or distinct smells of burnt logs during the regular family gatherings to warm the family home.

The artistic skills of the former and the olfactory talent of the latter together sparked a magical fragrance with notes of spices, leather and wood.

Marc-Antoine Barrois called the Perfume B683, which is an imaginary planet as an invitation to discover his creative universe but also a nod to the book of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry "The Little Prince" whose planet is asteroid B612.

The perfume exudes Marc-Antoine’s encounter of beautiful cuts, exceptional fabrics and subtle refinement of poetry and humanity.

Subtly combining refined woody essences, sensual spicy notes and the powerful smell of leather, avant-garde perfumer Quentin Bisch is signing a perfume both heady and sober modelled on the fantasy universe of the designer.

£150.00

Product Size

100ml

Top Notes:
Black Pepper, Chili Pepper, Nutmeg, Saffron

Heart Notes:
Amber, Labdanum, Musk, Violet Leaf

Base Notes:
Ambroxan, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Sandalwood

Have you ever tried out any of these fragrances? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

My First Lymphatic & Buccal Massage

My wife signs me up for a lot of things, but I never thought a mouth massage was going to be one of them. But as she has been enjoying her Buccal Massage with Karla Santos so much… I figured I would try it out too.

A Buccal massage is basically a massage on the inside of your mouth, working out any tight joints or tension in your jaw, and the flesh around it.

Typical facials are usually associated with topical treatments, exfoliators, extractions, peels, and, of course, massage, which is usually done on the outside of the face and jaw. Buccal facials, on the other hand, are done from the inside out. They involve massaging pressure points inside the mouth. And if you tend to hold stress in your jaw, it could be the best way to improve your self-care routine.

The buccal facial better targets the underlying muscles of the area.

It focuses on pressure points that help restore the tone of the facial muscles and ease any tension in the area.

The treatment's benefits include better circulation, smoother facial lines, and more collagen production. It also helps people who clench their jaws, grind their teeth, or, most importantly, have TMJ ( this is why Nicole has started getting this treatment ).

Even if you don't have TMJ, a buccal massage can help relieve tension in your neck and head, just like any other massage.

By massaging the inner cheek muscles, you can also relax, lengthen, and release tension in those tissues. This gives the face a more lifted and plump look.

Buccal massage may also help the body make more collagen, which is the main structural protein in the body's different connective tissues, and define the shape of the jaw and cheekbones.

If your muscles are in a contracted state (a "knot," or myofascial trigger point), gently massaging the muscle out of a contracted state may make a slight visible difference as the trigger point releases and the muscle lengthens.

After a Buccal facial, your facial muscles may be more relaxed, your skin may be glowing, and your cheeks may feel fuller.

This is a result of increased blood flow and lymphatic massage. If you have a blockage in your lymphatic system, a gentle massage can help get things moving again, which gives you a plumper look.

During the Buccal massage, Karla will put a gloved finger, usually the thumb or index finger, into the mouth and knead the inside of the mouth along the entire cheek. The rest of her fingers will massage the outside of the mouth. She doesn't just massage the cheek; she also massage the muscles in the nose and lip.

If the words "nasal massage" make you feel uncomfortable, that's probably because it's not really meant to be comfortable (sorry!). During the treatment, certain pressure points will be released, and kneading will be done in areas that don't usually get touched or stimulated. This could make you feel a little sore.

Just think about how when you get a massage, the therapist may reach a knot and use pressure to get it out. At the time, it might have been close to painful, but after your treatment, your body will be so relaxed that you won't even remember it.

It is the strangest sensation, but it truly ‘ hurts so good’. Have you ever tried out a Buccal massage before? Tell me you thoughts on it in the comments.

Scalp Micropigmentation For The Gent Who Is Starting To Recede

What happens when you are noticing that your hair is starting to recede, but you aren’t ready for a hair transplant yet?

That’s the position that I recently found myself in. My wife told me about something called Scalp Micropigmentation, and I had to look more into it.

Scalp Micropigmentation is the only 100% effective solution for hair loss including thinning hair, hairline recession, pattern baldness, alopecia, and hair transplant scarring.

Scalp Micropigmentation is a non-invasive treatment that uses detailed micro-needles to deposit pigment into the scalp. The result creates the appearance of tiny hair follicles that help thicken and restore the look of fuller hair. If you are starting to thin, recede, or if you are completely bald, we can give you the look of a short buzz cut.

When administered by a trained and licensed specialist, the Scalp Micropigmentation treatment can restore receded hairlines, thicken remaining hair, camouflage transplant scarring, and create the look of close-cropped hair.

Scalp Micropigmentation is also effective for those suffering from minor hair thinning or recession.
Which is what I got it done for.

By accurately replicating your own natural hair follicles and hair color, scalp micropigmentation can help strengthen and add density to thinning areas, creating an undetectable illusion of thicker, stronger hair.

To create the appearance of hair, practitioners use cosmetic pigmentation and state-of-the-art equipment to create your desired hairline, add density to thinning areas, and blend into your existing hair for a seamless look.

Scalp pigmentation requires little to no continued maintenance and carries no strict lifestyle or daily restrictions. It replicates the look of a buzz cut, fresh out of the barbershop.

I recently had the pleasure of working with Scalp Provoco on this. Located on Harley Street in London. Scalp Micropigmentation SMP is a unique, bespoke, designer service in an elegant boutique environment at London’s Harley Street.

At Scalp Provoco, they know that how we look plays a big part in our self-confidence and self-esteem, so our world-class scalp micropigmentation (SMP) treatment is designed to help you to look and feel as good on the inside as you do on the outside.

Hair loss can be emotionally devastating because our hair is not just part of how others see us, but also of how we see ourselves. But by choosing our expert scalp micropigmentation treatment, you can ensure your hair loss doesn’t become the thing that defines you.

Maybe you’ve already tried other products and services, such as scalp treatments, shampoos or even transplants and wigs, that haven’t delivered the results they promised.

Maybe you’ve begun to believe the people who tell you to accept hair loss as a fact of life and have given up hope of ever finding a solution that works and gives you back the confidence you need.

Watch the YouTube video of my experience, and let me know if you would consider getting this done.