As early as 6,000 years ago barbering services were performed by Egyptian nobility. The crude instruments were usually formed from sharpened flint or oyster shells

Barbers of the middle ages not only practiced shaving, hair-cutting and hair-dressing, they also dressed wounds and performed surgical operation. They were called Barber-Surgeons.

The Barber-Surgeons formed their first organization in France in 1096.

In the thirteenth century in England, Barbers formed into two classes: Those who practiced barbering and those who practice surgery.

The Barber's company and the Surgeon's guild were united by law in 1450. The law was enacted so that no one during surgery should practice barbering and no barber should practice any phase of surgery except the pulling of teeth.

Finally in 1745 a bill was passed separating barbers from surgeons. When the Barber-Surgeons separated, the barber kept the pole as their identification. The pole consists of Red and White, or Red, White and Blue strips. Red for blood, White for bandages and Blue for veins.

Most of the Colonial Days were smooth shaven and many of the rich wore wigs. Also in the Colonial days barbering was hardly considered a white man's trade. Hence it was mostly confined to black barbers. Wealthy people became slave owners and the duty of the barber was shifted to the servants.

George Washington was bled to death by his physician in 1799. He suffered from a prolonged windpipe infection. He died calmly counting his pulse at the age of sixty-seven.

By 1848 bloodletting instruments had disappeared from most Doctors satchels.

The beard did not come into it's own until the Civil War. 1861-1865

After the Civil War with the influx of Dutch, Germans, Italians, and Swedish emmigrants, the white man began to thrive and the barber profession elevated.

The Civil War that closely followed the Western movement brought more changes to America. Including the re-establishment of the barber shop as an accepted institution on Main Street.

The average shop at this time cost approximately twenty dollars to equip and were ten by twelve feet in size. The shop consists of a straight-backed chair with a head piece resembling a crutch, a basin of water, a piece of common soap and a brush, 'setting' chairs and enough towels to last a week. "One towel to every ten to twelve customers." Hair cuts were five or ten cents and shaves were three cents.

As people moved westward, there were little time for wigs and personal embellishments. The pioneer life was a hard one. The men let their hair grow as well as their beards.

The Barbers Protective Union was formed on December 6, 1886 in Columbus, Ohio.

The Protective Union becomes the Journeymen Barber's International on December 5, 1887.

It was not until 1893 when A.B.Moler opened the first Barber School in Chicago. He also published textbooks at that time.

In 1897 the State of Minnesota passed legislation for a barber license. For the next forty years various states enacted legislation whereby barbers were licensed and inspected for sterilization to protect the public from disease. With the enactment of the licensing laws and stringent inspections, diseases such as impetigo, anthrax, ringworm and barbers itch are seldom heard of today.

The Associated Master Barber of America was organized in 1924 in Chicago, Illinois.

World War II brought about short hair as barbers were called into service. The flat top, butch, crew cut and the Princeton cut became popular.

In 1959 Edmond O. Roffler developed the Roffler Sculptur-Kut technique, a method were-by barbers could earn "big money" and capitalize on long hair. The Roffler-Kut system started with twenty barbers.

In the early sixties the Beetles set the stage for ling hair. Many barbers who refused to learn the methods of cutting ling hair were soon out of business.

The Roffler-Kut system now has over 6,000 barbers that have been trained in the Roffler Method. It is still being practiced today.

In 1981 the Journeymen Barber International Union became part of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Over fifty percent of barber students are female.

Since 1995 over fifty percent of barber students are African-American.

New technology and techniques continue to shape the future of barbering. Every year more young men and women choose the barber profession. The future of barbering is in their hands.