Learn to barber in the traditional and classic way

The first barbering course with Portuguese Danilo Alfonso is over. And it tastes like more!

Quality over quantity

When we organize a course in the Romain Academy, quality over quantity is paramount. This is also why there is a maximum of 6 students who can register. This way we can guarantee maximum guidance and knowledge transfer.

Lisbon meets Ghent

It was wonderful to see Danilo Alfonso again. I met him earlier this year met in Lisbon and there was an instant click. We understood each other immediately and we share the same passion and interest in the classic barbering profession. Specifically, on the classic barber’s wheel practiced from 1860 to 1960. Therefore, that is the period where all the high-end barber stores that still barber in the classic way today were founded.

A power couple

Danilo was also accosted in Ghent by his super sympathetic wife Grazi. She takes care of Danilo’s social media and handles his presentation to perfection. A power couple, as it often was in the old days. And where in small barbershops the man was assisted by his wife, or vice versa.

Instructive interaction

The two-day course went smoothly, with instructive interaction between master barber Stijn (or Steven Romain, as they call him abroad, because try pronouncing Stijn in another language). The different insights of the barbers give the students a different perspective on barbering each time. They show a neat, hygienic, well-organized, but above all professional outlook. The main goal is always to optimize the customer’s experience at the barber shop.

A touch of history

The first day we went deeper with a presentation on the classic barber and the history of the craft, from which we got a mass of tips and tricks on how to serve your client now and what the do’s & don’t are.

Shaving with an open razor

After a delicious lunch at Bassin restaurant, it was up to master barber Stijn to demonstrate a full shave on a customer, using a real open razor. The participants were again given a lot of tips and tricks: how best to apply shaving soap to the face, which steps to take each time, how to pay attention to ergonomics, … Of course, all this knowledge is founded on Italian tradition. That means positioning the client high, with the head at the chest area and shaving nice and straight.

Classic men’s hairstyles

Then it was master barber Danilo Alfonso’s turn to cut the hair of two models in the classic way. No clipper spacers and lots of scissor work. As it should be as a classic barber. It is a view on barbering that Alfonso wants to pass on: that it can also be done differently, no Fast Barbing, but classical and with extra service for the customer.

Also for dinner we were again expected at Bassin. There we talked about the day over a delicious meal and the students could ask plenty of questions to the master barbers so they could informally sound out the barbering profession.

Time for practice

On the second day, it was up to the students to put theory into practice. How do you receive a customer? How do you put on a barber apron correctly, along with the neck paper? And so on. Half of the trainees applied the new knowledge to a client, and the other half evaluated what the others did well and not so well. This seems like a simple task but this is really intense because you have to be very focused to apply all the new techniques in detail.

After lunch at the Bassin restaurant, the roles were reversed. The master barbers also stayed close to the trainees throughout the day, noting their work points, helping to improve the hairstyles, and learning numerous tricks to improve the results as they went along. After the satisfied models left, there was another self-reflection moment: what went well, what was difficult, where did I go wrong? Sometimes a confronting feeling, but of course that’s how you learn the most and become a better barber, with happy customers.

Passed!

After the self-talk, our trainees more than deservedly received the diploma of our ROMAIN Academy.

And in addition to that document, we took home wonderful memories, new connections and lots of new knowledge. As it should be.

Also brush up on your barbering knowledge?

You can, in our Romain Academy for barbers. Check out our offer here!

Written by : Stijn De Sutter

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