The author, John Marek, is executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership.
Just after 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, I walked into my usual haircut place and had a seat in the chair. It had been five weeks since my last trim. Three or four weeks, depending on the season, is more typical, but I had been out of town the previous two weekends. On my way out the door after the cut, my stylist casually said, “See you in a few weeks,” and I responded, “Absolutely.” A week later, COVID-19 changed the world as we know it, and nonessential businesses such as barber shops were closed.
As I write this, the shaggy mop atop my head has been growing unabated for seven weeks. Honestly, I cannot remember having gone that long without a haircut, although there is ample evidence in my high school yearbooks that I once did. My senior picture, in particular, foreshadows the potential for awesomely bad hair if cutteries don’t reopen soon. As a stopgap measure I’ve been wearing a lot of hats, but stray wisps of hair are starting to peek out from behind my ears and through the adjustment hole in the back and I know that a decision is soon approaching; try cutting it myself or go full-on mountain man.
Right now, I’m leaning toward just letting it grow. While long hair isn’t a great look for me, the potential for botching a self-cut is pretty high. I checked out a few of the DIY haircut videos on YouTube and while it’s not rocket science, it is a skill set that I’m not 100 percent confident in my ability to replicate. On the other hand, I haven’t been within six feet of a human other than my wife in three weeks, so what do I really have to lose?
There’s a reason professional stylists spend years studying hairdressing before they are allowed to work on real, living people. When I was in Statesville, the community college there ran a salon in the Ingles strip center. It was staffed by students in the final stages of receiving their certification and overseen by seasoned instructors. Haircuts were $5 and satisfaction was guaranteed, which I suppose meant that if they botched it too bad you didn’t have to pay. I never took advantage of the service, but I know a couple of folks from the college who did. They described it as “hit or miss,” noting that not stabbing your customers in the back of the head with sharp scissors is apparently an acquired skill.
Before all the COVID-19 craziness, a new barber school was scheduled to open in Uptown Wadesboro at the corner of West Wade and Rutherford. That’s been put on hold, of course, but we expect it will be up and running soon after things return to some semblance of normal. Whenever that is, the demand for a good haircut is going to be high. Very high.