Ten Year Anniversary

This July it will be ten years since I started Tim Carr Hair and I wanted to thank everyone who’s been coming to the salon because you’ve made it all possible—from the people who have only came in for one haircut all the way through the people who followed me from Alexander’s for Hair to the Sola Salon on Wilshire and Bundy, the shop I rented a chair in on Sawtelle in Culver City, to the outdoor haircuts I did in the parking lot behind that salon when I was only able to offer outdoor haircuts during covid, to the Sola Salon Studios I work at now off Jefferson. There were tough times. When I first started on my own, I would hope to get at least 36 services in a week because if I hit that number I would be making a little more than I did at Alexanders for Hair, now I usually do around 65-70 haircuts a week and if I had a week where I only did 36 I would start trying to figure out what happened. Halfway through the ten years the Covid lockdowns happened and I was unable to work do to the restrictions, and then when I was allowed to cut hair again I had to do it in the parking lot behind the salon. Even when they allowed people to start working indoors again I had to stay outside because we had to be at 25% capacity and in a four chair salon that is only one person. The woman I rented a chair from cut mostly women’s hair so she needed access to the shampoo bowls to wash hair before her haircuts and to rinse out color and other chemical services so I stayed outside since I only do men’s haircuts. At first it was fun cutting hair outside, but the novelty wore off fast, especially when it started to get hot. I never envisioned myself cutting hair in a tank top and shorts when I first got into the industry, and knew I had to be looking ragged at the end of some of those hot days because people would say things like, “Thank you for doing this” after I finished their haircuts. I ended up cutting hair outside for a full year until I could start working in the salon again and six months after that I moved across Sepulveda Blvd to where my salon is now, in the Sola Salon Studios. I’ve been working in Sola for a little over three years now and really enjoy having my own private suite and I would only consider moving if everything is perfect because it’s so easy in the shop I’m in now. Perfect would mean the salon being in the same area in Culver City, affordable price, good parking, etc. I’m not even looking, nor have I been in case anyone was getting worried. Every once a while when I’m out and about in the West LA - Culver City area I’ll see a for rent sign in an empty salon or barbershop and I’ll do some research and it doesn’t come close to being as good as where I’m cutting hair right now.

2017 in Hair

As 2017 comes to a close, I thought I would take a look back at the year in men's hair. I haven't had as many opportunities to blog as much as the past, but I'm out of the salon for a few days for the holiday. 

At least for the guys that come in to get their hair cut by me, the undercut is still king. This is easily the most requested haircut in the salon. It's a great looking cut, has been in fashion for years now, and I think part of the reason for so many men requesting undercuts from me is that I have more pictures of that particular haircut than any other on Yelp, Instagram, and my website so my numbers my be skewed a little. I tend to fade my undercuts, because of that it makes for a good picture from the front and the side--while scissor haircuts can be pretty uninteresting from the side view. That leads to twice as many undercut pictures. I'm trying to get better about taking more pictures of the haircuts I do.

The number one haircut girlfriends have been sending guys in with pictures of is Ryan Gosling's haircut. There wasn't one picture that everyone brought in, but a few different lengths. All of them were long enough on top where the hair could be parted to the side and fall over (as opposed to spike up) and the sides were long enough to where the hair could be pushed back. This haircut looks great at a few lengths, so you could get one of the shorter versions of the cut and have it grow into how he wears it when it's longer. You could even come in for the hairline clean up service I offer ($10) and get the sideburns neatened, back tapered, and neck trimmed so your hair doesn't look sloppy as it grows out to keep your hair looking its best. 

This year I've also seen classic barbering come back into style--men getting their hair cut with a shorter clipper blade and short on top as well. Some guys like the look because it's low maintenance at home. These usually get the hair cut finger length or just a little longer on top. Others just like the classic, clean look or have really thick hair on the sides and need the clippers to rid some of the bulk. 

I get a decent amount of guys with long hair coming in to the salon as well. For this blog, when I say "long hair" I'm talking about any hair that touches the collar or longer. While I do see a lot of guys with this length of hair, I think I would see more if I had more pictures of longer haired men.  I didn't really take  a lot when we first moved to Culver City--when we were in west LA I had a great spot with a neutral background inside Sola to take pictures of my haircuts, and I'd been trying to find a spot at the new salon. The best spot I could think of would be in front of the brick wall at the bank, but no one (including myself) wants to run across the street and dodge traffic on Sawtelle to get their picture taken. I settled on just taking pics at the chair in the salon after I do my detailing and get the hair styled.

Overall, it was a great 2017 at the salon. We left Sola in west LA and moved to Culver City in February. In the hair industry moving is really stressful because there is no way to tell who is going to follow you, especially with the traffic in Los Angeles. I saw a dip in the amount of haircuts I did in the first month we were at the salon, but things really picked up as I got going and I ended up having over 50% growth for the year. I'd like to thank everyone who followed me, and all of the new people I've met while working in the Culver City salon for making this year one of the best. 

On to 2018!!

Tim

Dandruff

People have been using the word dandruff as a catch-all for anytime you get flakes in your hair, but just because you have some flakes doesn't necessarily mean you have dandruff. Dandruff is large greasy flakes while dry scalp is the little white flakes in hair most people think of when they talk about dandruff. In the ten years I've been cutting hair, I've only seen actual dandruff in someone's hair two or three times. Now that we've got that out of the, I was reading a good article on GQ about habits men have that are causing their dandruff. I agree with what they wrote and don't really have anything to add to their list, but there are some environmental factors that you can't control that can affect your scalp. Except for the weather we've been have recently, Los Angeles is generally dry, and I know a lot of guys that started noticing flakes in their hair after moving to LA. The changing of the seasons can also do a number on your scalp. Even though we don't get much of a winter in LA, I do see more flakes while cutting hair this time of year. 

If you've followed the advice in the GQ article, and still have flakes, it may be time to switch to a different shampoo and conditioner. I have read good things online about Nizoral AD, but I don't have any experience with that particular product. What has worked best for me is Aveda Scalp Benefits and the Eufora Complete Shampoo with their Revitalizing Treatment. If you do everything in the article, get a good shampoo and conditioner, and still have scalp issues and see flakes in your hair, it may be best to go to a doctor. Below is a link to the article I referenced.

http://www.gq.com/story/bad-habits-causing-dandruff

Moving

I wanted to write a blog post to let everyone know that we'll be moving and I'll be cutting hair in a salon in Culver City. I will be sending an email with the details in addition to this blog post, so unless you've unsubscribed from Vagaro emails you should be getting that shortly. Besides the location of the salon, everything else will remain the same as far as services offered, prices, and the hours I work. I will still be renting a chair from Krissy, not working for her--I know it can be confusing since I worked for her in the past, but I've been working for myself ever since moving out of the salon on Pico. The reasons for the move are because of how expensive it is to work out of a suite, Sola doesn't make any money off of the hair services we provide so they charge a lot in rent so they can make money. The other reason is that at the new salon we will have more space. Sometimes it can feel like we're working right on top of each other in the suite, and there's not really anywhere to wait for your service if you get there early and I'm still cutting hair. 

There will also be some benefits on your end by the move to Culver City. I haven't been able to scout it out myself, but there's a free parking lot. No more having to use the garage, valet, or walk from Ralphs. With the extra space in the Culver City salon, we'll be able to have a waiting area and you won't have to find a bench outside of the suite while waiting for your haircut like you currently do at Sola. With the addition of a waiting area, we want to serving drinks again. I don't have a timetable of when that's going to start, Krissy is taking care of that, but we are planning on having coffee, soda, water, and beer again. The beer is something that people who have been getting their hair cut by me since the beginning have been asking for ever since my former salon got rid of it, so I'm glad to be bringing it back. We're planning on getting a bigger TV, putting it on the wall, and having the same set up for sports on it as I do now with the WatchESPN, NBA League Pass, etc.

Just as it was with the move from the last salon, I'm sure there will be some people that Culver City is more of a drive for so I'm willing to be flexible with my hours. I can't open everything up in Vagaro, but if you're looking for a hair appointment a little later than you see available in the online booker so you can miss traffic, give me a call or shoot me a text and we can try to schedule a hair appointment that will work best for you. For earlier appointments, I need to know the night before so I can plan ahead since I'm driving from Woodland Hills to Culver City.

I would just like everyone to know that this decision wasn't made lightly--but this was the best of the few options that were available to me. I looked into staying at Sola, but there are no suites opening up soon enough, and there's a waiting list (which I'm not currently on) for when one does open up. Staying in the current suite by myself would cost too much, and not even an option since I'm not on the waiting list for it.  All of the other West LA salon suites are full as well. I checked with Salon Republic and Phenix. I also looked at closer hair salons to rent a chair in, but they were all very expensive, and I also wouldn't have the access I would need to work my hours six days a week. Some people at Sola offered to let me do hair out of their suite, but I would only be able to work one or two days a week doing that. I don't want anyone to think I'm just going to be bouncing around all over different salons in Los Angeles, Krissy signed a five year lease on this space, so this will be my last move until I'm able to open my own salon--which is years away at this point. With very few options, I think the salon in Culver City will work out best.

In closing, I really hope this works out and everyone is able to make it into the new space. I genuinely like cutting everyone's hair who comes in. I've had friends who don't do hair ask me how I handle difficult/rude clients and I always tell them that there's not anyone who's hair I cut that I wouldn't go out and grab a beer with. I will be sending an email when I know the exact date for the move to Culver City, which depends on how long it takes a plumber to get our shampoo bowls and sinks in. We're hoping for Feb 1st, but will know for sure after the plumber gets a chance to to look at the salon. I will send out an email as soon as I know. Stay tuned for photos or the new salon!

Hope to see you soon!

Tim

 

Update 1/3-/2017

The plumbing is done and the moving day is set. I will start doing hair out of the Culver City salon on January 31st. The last day in the Sola suite will be Saturday the 28th, I won't be working in either salon that Sunday because we will be moving things between the west LA and Culver City spaces. If you didn't receive an email, you may have unsubscribed yourself from Vagaro's emails. I will update the confirmation emails when we move with instructions for getting to the new salon, parking, etc.

What's New in Men's Hair for 2017?

That's a good question. With 2016 almost over, I've been looking for the best answer to that on different men's fashion websites, blogs, instagram posts, and a few youtube videos. I clicked on a link that said long hair will be in and the new thing, but then when I got to the article it was all pictures of guys with fades and undercuts. I have a client who I've been giving an undercut to for a few years now, and at the beginning of 2016 he was looking for something new, checked a few websites, and found the same thing as me--that undercuts were the "new" thing for 2016. I'm not knocking the haircut, it's one of favorites to cut in the salon (and one of the best looking haircuts in my opinon, I was just using that example to make the point that men's haircuts don't change too much over time. I mean guys are still getting a haircut make popular by Julius Caesar. One thing I have noticed about the current trend for men's hair is that anything goes, which could explain why that particular haircut has lasted so long. When you can do whatever you want nothing (which exception to avant garde styles) really goes out of style. I don't know about other places, but in Los Angeles you can feel free to get that trendy undercut, grow your hair long, get a business/professional haircut, or pretty much anything you can think of. As long as it's cut properly and put together, your hair will look its best.