History of the Striped Barber Pole  

In the Middle Ages, hair was not the only thing that barbers cut. They also performed surgery, tooth extractions, and bloodletting. French authorities drew a fine distinction between academic surgeons (surgeons of the long robe) and barber surgeons (surgeons of the short robe), but the latter were sufficiently accepted by the fourteenth century to have their own guild, and in 1505 they were admitted to the faculty of the University of Paris. As an indication of their medical importance, Harry Perelman points out that Ambroise Pare, "The father of modern surgery and the greatest surgeon of the Renaissance," began as a barber surgeon.

The barber pole as a symbol of the profession is a legacy of bloodletting. The barber surgeon's necessities for that curious custom were a staff for the patient to grasp (so the veins on the arm would stand out sharply), a basin to hold leeches and catch blood, and a copious supply of linen bandages. After the operation was completed, the bandages would be hung on the staff and sometimes place outside as advertisement.

Twirled by the wind, they would form a red & white spiral pattern that was later adopted for painted poles. The earliest poles were surmounted by a leech basin, which in time war transformed into a ball.

One interpretation of the colors of the barber pole was that Red represented the blood, Blue the veins, and White the bandages. Which has been retained by the modern BARBER.

The Future of the Barber Shop

It's annoying to see so many barber shops going out of business. I know some of the barbers in the Richmond area that died or retied or just closed up, in the last few years, and I think it so sad that there no one to replace them but the chain discount hair cutting places. I think there are a lot of men that want to go to an old fashioned barber shop and that's why I bought the shop to give these men a place to go.

This is a perfect time for shops to make an effort to come back and reestablish themselves. Otherwise they will be wiped out in the next decade and we will be left with a selection of chain store haircutting factories that are only concerned with the bottom line on the ledger.

One of the biggest problems is finding young people who want to become barbers and who have a knack for the work. It is just not a high enough paying job to attract very many people these days. Can someone start as a barber today and hope to be able to afford a house and car and maybe put a couple of kids through school ?? I wish I had the answers but all I can say is if they work hard .

How can barber shops fight back? How can barbers encourage guys who haven't been into a barber shop for thirty years to come back? How can they attract younger guys who have never been in a barber shop ? What do you think ??

                                                                     Jim Fadool

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