Flattoplover
Brianna’s surprise horseshoe
Brianna had never been knowledgeable about haircuts and styles. She’d had the same style for a decade. Mum would always trim it into a long bob in the kitchen every 8 weeks. After 10 years with the same uniform haircut, Brianna had an epiphany. A new haircut would change everything. She didnt have any ideas on styles but something shorter and edgy she thought would be perfect.
Saturday morning finally arrived and Brianna threw on a nice velvet red dress with long sleeves and headed out in search of a hairdresser. To her surprise, she spots a sign in the window of a shop while waiting at the traffic lights. “Budget haircuts…. $9”. Brianna thought to herself; who could pass up such a great deal.
When you get home haircuts for almost your entire life, you never learn the etiquettes of haircuts. Like rule #1: girls go to salons and guys go to barbershops. Brianna was unaware of this ‘rule’ of society, so she nonchalantly walked through the door of the barbershop. A bell dinged above the door to notify the owners of a new customer. As Brianna walked in, her senses went into overdrive. She could see 3 black leather barber chairs side by side, sitting atop a worn white tile floor. The benches in front of the chairs was a messy pile of barbering supplies, clippers, combs and razors. The walls were filled with old posters and black and white photos of mens haircuts. Most of them, almost bald.
As the bell rang, the 3 barbers in the shop turned to see the next customer. They all are shocked by the petite young lady standing in the doorway of their barbershop. One of the older men, who is barbering a gentleman, says to Brianna “take a seat young lady. It won’t be too much longer. She quietly takes a seat on the bench and crosses her legs. She continues to look around when she locks onto one of the barber’s clients.
This particular client was getting a very short haircut. She saw the pale skin of the sides and back. It was almost like there was no hair left. She then watched in awe as the barber meticulously shaped the remaining on top. It was almost a box shape. Brianna had no knowledge of hairstyle names, let alone men’s hairstyles, so she gave this cut her own name; a very short boxy haircut. About 3 minutes pass when the client looks towards the waiting bench and locks eyes with brianna. He gives out a small grin when she snaps out of her trance. While she is regaining her composure, one of the barbers calls out “next” and looks towards the waiting bench.
Brianna realised he was talking to her when she looked to her left and saw there was no one else on the waiting bench. She uncrossed her legs and stood up. Her low heeled shoes tapped across the tiled floor as she approached the barber chair facing her. The barber was standing behind the chair with both hands on the back rest and a barber cape draped over his forearm. Brianna stepped up onto the footrest and as she sat down, she tucked her dress under her butt. She felt the soft plushness of the old black leather chair then she crossed her legs and placed her hands on the armrests. Brianna felt like she was about to get a massage in this chair. All of a sudden, the barber places a tissue around her neck and fastens it tightly. He then drapes the bright red barber cape over her and fastens it nice and tight once again. The barber spins the chair around to face the mirror. All brianna can see at this point is her petite head and her chocolate brown hair popping through the top of the giant cape. It reaches so low that she cant even see the bottom of the chair.
“so young lady. What’ll it be?” said the barber.
“well my mum has cut my hair in the same style my entire life so I want something different. Something short” replied brianna.
“ok. What about something clean like a crewcut or a horseshoe” asked the barber.
Brianna was too timid to ask alot of questions and tried to imagine what a ‘horseshoe’ haircut would look like. She quickly pictured a short angled bob where the arc of the hair resembled a horseshoe.
“i like the sound of a horseshoe sir. Could i please have that one?” asked brianna politely
“absolutely. Just to inform you I will have to clipper the sides with a zero”
Brianna just smiled, slightly confused by his barber jargon.
In an instant, the barber spins the chair around again to face the wall. He then picks up his best pair of wahl balding clippers with the #00000 guard, and places them at Brianna’s nape. He pushes her head down into her breasts with some force. The barber pushes the balding clippers through her thick black hair all the way up to the crown. Brianna has no idea what the machine is that the barber is using, but she loves the soothing, slightly ticklish feeling that it’s creating. He makes another swift pass up her nape to the same height. He swiftly clears her entire nape in minutes then moves to her right sideburn.
As he pushes the balding clippers into her sideburn, Brianna winces from the warm vibrating steel touching her cheek. The barber shaves to about 2 inches above the top of her ear and creates a slight fade with the hair on top. He quickly finishes the right side and moves onto the left, shaving to the top.
Brianna’s head feels lighter now. “sir. What is that buzzing machine you’re using? It feels really nice”, Brianna asked.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it young lady. They’re called clippers. They’re a more efficient alternative to scissors. It cuts the hair alot quicker and more precise.” Replied the barber
Brianna was intrigued by these ‘clippers’ and wondered how she’d never heard of them before. Part of her hoped that he would keep using the clippers to cut her hair as it was so relaxing.
As the barber tidied up the sides and back, he grabbed a large rectangular comb and began to comb up the short hair. He then places it flat on top of Brianna’s head and runs the clippers over the comb. This left a straight, flat section of hair where the middle was almost shaved to 0. The barber continues to shape the horseshoe with the comb and clippers.
As her hair is being clipped into a very short flattop, she begins to wonder if she’s getting the ‘horseshoe’ haircut she imagined in her head earlier. “sir. What is a horseshoe exactly?” she asked.
“well young lady. The horseshoe is my specialty. I’m very good at them so I’m glad you said yes when I suggested it. The secret is the landing strip. I’m almost done then you will be able to see the finished cut.”
The barber puts down the comb and starts tidying up the top. He places the clippers on briannas crown and pushes them forward into the flattop. The clippers leave behind a bald patch right up the middle of her head. The barber likes to call this ‘the runway’. He makes a few more passes to widen the patch then he flicks the clippers off and assesses his work. With a slight grin, the barber spins the chair around to show Brianna her new haircut.
Instantly, Brianna’s mouth shoots wide open in disbelief. This is definitely not the style I was thinking… She is completely frozen staring at her almost bald head. After the barber dusts her off, he grabs the back of her head and tilts it down. “Now young lady. That is why it’s called the runway” says the barber with a slight smirk on his face. Once again Brianna is shocked by how extreme and masculine this haircut is. Her remaining hair was cut into almost a horseshoe shape. It was completely flat on top, apart from the shiny bald strip down the middle moving into the back.
The barber removed the cape and neck tissue, and brushed her off once more. Brianna had begun to get used to her look now. She stood up out of the big barber chair and paid the man. She thanked him for her first haircut in a barbershop.
“Come back soon young lady” said the barber. Standing at the door
