How to ask your barber for the right haircut
The right haircut happens before the scissors come out, in the first minutes of the consultation. Here's what to say, which words to use, and what to leave to the person looking at your head up close.
What to tell your barber before the cut
Your barber needs three things from you: what you didn't like about your last cut, how much time you give your hair in the morning, and how often you plan to come back. At Monfrecola the consultation is part of the men's haircut (30 minutes, CHF 50.–): it's the part that decides everything else.
Bring a photo, but use it right. A photo shows the shape; it says nothing about whether your hair can pull it off. Show it and ask: will this work on my head? If the answer is "yes, but", listen to the "but": that's where the cut you'll actually take home lives. One photo of your own hair on a good day beats ten photos of an actor.
The words that work in the chair
Four things are enough to understand each other with any barber: the clipper guard number, scissors, the fade, and how you wear your hair in the morning. The guard number sets the millimetres on the sides: if you remember last time's number, say it straight away. Scissors means length that stays and can be combed; clippers means short and even.
A high, mid or low fade tells the barber where the short zone starts. High shows more of the head and needs more frequent touch-ups; low is more discreet and forgives a few extra weeks. If you can't choose, just say how fast you want it to grow out clean: we'll handle the rest.
Then the sentence worth more than all the others: "I give it two minutes in the morning" or "I blow-dry it and comb it". A cut is built around the time you will actually give it, not the time someone else would.
What your barber sees that you don't
Before the clippers switch on, your barber checks three things: your features, the direction your hair grows, and your crowns. Features decide the volumes: where to lighten, where to leave weight. Growth direction shows where the hair wants to go on its own: work with it and the cut holds even without styling.
The classic case is a double crown: two points, usually at the back of the head, where the hair spirals in opposite directions. Ignore them and a week later a tuft stands up for no visible reason. If your barber points them out, that's not an excuse: it's the reason the back keeps a few extra millimetres.
Why "just do your thing" only works from the second visit
"Just do your thing" is a good request only if the person cutting has seen you before. On a first visit nobody knows how your hair grows back after two weeks, what you can't stand in the mirror, or how much work you put in each morning. Saying it at the first appointment is asking for a bet.
From the second visit everything changes: we've seen how the previous cut grew out, what held and what didn't. That's when "just do your thing" becomes the most precise request there is. First time round, bring the three pieces of information and, if you have it, the photo: five minutes of conversation and the cut comes out right.
Where to put this into practice in Zurich
Bring your photo and the three pieces of information. Men’s haircut: 30 minutes, CHF 50.–; long hair 45 minutes, CHF 65.–. The consultation is included in both. Thurgauerstrasse 117, TMC Fashion Square, 1st floor, no. 162, 8152 Glattpark (Opfikon).
Men’s haircut · CHF 50.– · 30 min