Hairdresser

A hairdresser or barber is a profession that mainly involves cutting hair on the head. For this, the hairdresser charges a certain amount of money. The German and Austrian word for this comes from the French: "friser" means "to curl". In France and Switzerland they say coiffeur. They say roughly "coafför"". This also comes from the French and means "to do hair". This profession is often also practised by women, i.e. hairdressers or coiffeuses.

If you want to become a hairdresser, you have to do a three-year apprenticeship in a company and attend vocational school. Because hair grows, most people want someone to cut their hair shorter from time to time. But hairdressers also change the hairstyle, for example with perms. They also dye the hair or add foreign hair. They also give tips on how to care for the hair. A hairstylist doesn't cut so much as think up special hairstyles. They say something like "här-s-teilist",

In the old days, there was a profession called barbering. The word comes from the beard, because the barber mainly shaved the customers' beards. Today, barbers do this rather rarely, because there are now cheap razors. With these, anyone can simply shave themselves at home.

Hairdressers have to know about fashion, but also about hygiene: their scissors and other equipment have to be cleaned regularly. Otherwise, they might spread diseases from one customer to another. Hairdressers also handle chemicals such as hairsprays and must have learned how to do so safely.