It’s Wrong To Say “I Want To Barb My Hair”, Instead Say “I Want To Barber My Hair”

Is it right to say “barb my hair?” This post explains the correct form of how we describe the action of getting a haircut.

First, let’s even talk about how to best describe the place the male folks get a haircut; I know some females visit there too. Almost everybody is guilty of using the wrong expression, ‘Barbing Salon’! It is not only incorrect, but it is also a complete misnomer.

You have certainly heard statements like:

• I need to visit the barbing salon.
• He opened a barbing salon last week.
• Which barbing salon do you use?
• Running a barbing salon is a lucrative business.

Never mind that I did not say you have even made such statements countless times. Don’t be shocked that I said the expression ‘Barbing Salon’ is a misnomer. So how do we then say it in the correct form? Well, this is why you are reading this and we will get to that in a short while; just follow on.

Let us begin with the word ‘barb’. It will interest you that not one definition of the word directly refers to getting rid of hair on one’s head; though one of them relates to the ‘beard’ and the Latin word for that is Barba. Let us see some definitions…

Barb…

As a noun, it means the following:

1. A sharp point facing away from the head of an arrow, fishhook, or harpoon, designed to make it difficult to remove
2. Hurtful comment, a wounding or cutting remark, a gibe
3. A stiff spine that forms the framework of a feather that sticks out on each side of the main shaft; that is, any of the numerous hairlike filaments that form the vane of a feather.
4. Any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus (or Puntius) and related genera, often kept in aquariums
5. A hooked projection or hair on some plants and certain fruits
6. A beardlike growth or whisker in certain animals
7. A white linen cloth forming part of a headdress extending from the chin to the upper chest, originally worn by women in the Middle Ages, is now worn by nuns of some orders
8. Any of various pointed parts, as on barbed wire

As a verb, it means to ‘fit something with barb, to provide with a barb or barbs’ and the adjective form is ‘barbed’.

Who then invented Barbing Salon?

I am certain that many questions would have popped up in your mind as you read the various definitions of the word ‘barb; and I deduce the uppermost one is: ‘How have we come to associate this word with the removal of hair on the head?’ Let us look at some possibilities!

We might have got this idea from the word ‘barber’ which simply refers to someone who cuts hair as a profession. It may then stand to reason that just as a teacher teaches, a writer writes and a singer sings, then a barber barbs. So we might have erroneously concluded that a barber is one who barbs! But the removal of the inflectional morpheme ‘-er’ does not yield the meaning ‘to cut the hair’ as the various definitions above show. So it is clear that ‘barbing’ has nothing to do with hair.

Another possible source is the word ‘salon’ which means, among other things, ‘a place for hairdressing or beauty treatments; that is, a commercial establishment where hairdressers or beauticians work, and sometimes part of a larger store or a hotel’. So it may not be wrong to say you want to visit the salon for a haircut since it is a place where the hair is ‘dressed’. So what then is the right way to describe ‘barbing salon’? It is simply ‘Barbershop’! Yes! That is simply it! Take note that it is one word and it means ‘the business place or premises of a barber’.

Barb or Barber?

So do not say ‘barbing salon’, say ‘barbershop’! In addition, note that the action of cutting one’s hair, that is the verb, is ‘barber’. It would be wrong to say:

• I want to barb my hair.
• Let us barb her hair.

The right thing to say is:

• I want to barber my hair.
• Let us barber her hair.
• The children went to the barbershop to barber their hair.

It is not wrong however to say you want to get or have a haircut. What you get after barbering your hair is ‘haircut’. See the following:

• How do you like my new haircut?
• He gave me a nice-looking haircut.
• Your haircut is trendy.
• That’s some awesome haircut you’ve got.

But remember, to have a haircut, you must visit the salon or barbershop, not a barbing salon, where a barber will barber your hair.

BONUS: Below are some other common grammatical errors in English that we make or speak everyday and of course their corrections.

DON’T SAY — SAY

Earpiece — Ear Phone

Escape goat — A scapegoat

I have ten sheeps  — I have ten sheep

Mother in laws — Mothers in law

Plate number — Number plate

Open Teeth — Diastema

K-leg — Knock knees

He gave me an advice — He gave me a piece of advice

Down Nepa — Power Outage

Up Nepa — Power has been restored

Night Vigil — Vigil

I have two trousers — I have two pairs of trousers.

One of the boy is here — One of the boys is here

I want to barb my hair — I want to Barber my hair

Drinking water — Drinkable water

You’re taking it personal — You’re taking it personally

Driving license — Driver’s license

I like watching movies — I like seeing movies

Keke Napep — Tricycle

I have a shoe — I have a pair of shoes

Commissioner’s quarter — Commissioner’s quarters

Wake keeping – Wake Keep

I was bitten by rain — I was drenched

I saw your missed calls — I missed your call