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My old boss told me to stop using clipper guards on kids under 10, and I still can't decide if he was right
Back in 2019 I worked at a spot in Amarillo and the guy who trained me, Dave, swore up and down that guards were for lazy barbers and you should freehand everything on a kid's head. I tried it his way for about 6 weeks and got three complaints and one mom who called the owner because her son had a bald patch behind his ear. So I went back to guards, and honestly my kid cuts got faster and nobody complained again. But here's the thing, Dave had 22 years in and his freehand work was smooth as glass, so maybe I just never put in the reps. Now I'm wondering if guards are a crutch that keeps me from ever getting that good. Any of you old heads actually made the switch to freehand and stuck with it, or did you bail like I did?
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margaret_lane27d ago
Ugh, freehand on a wiggly 7 year old? No thanks. Dave had 22 years of muscle memory and a kid who sat still, not the same thing as a Tuesday afternoon at a walk in shop. Guards keep things even and fast, and parents care way more about their kid not looking chewed on than about your technique. Bet Dave used a guard on the sides when nobody was watching anyway.
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