In 2025 I’d not had a paid-for haircut in about five years, preferring to ask my ex to cut it with kitchen scissors in the bathroom. But now I was in my late 20s and single and I decided that it was time to look more grown up. Not knowing the first thing about looking after my hair, I felt that a trip to an establishment that offered something beyond a short back and sides – a trendy, gentrified place where a trim puts you back a cool £38 – was sorely overdue.
“You need to stop washing your hair,” my barber told me bluntly. As they ruffled through my shapeless, overgrown mop I was warned about using too much shampoo, which can leave your hair dry, lifeless and coarse. I sat in the swivel chair feeling a bit embarrassed. My barber’s words were less a caution and more a diagnosis. I was instructed to drop shampoo immediately for at least two weeks. The dry variety was fine if I got desperate for a clean and I could maybe use a bit of conditioner as a treat. But for the most part, water was my entire regime.
