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Barbershops: what’s with the pole?

16.7.2021

In recent years, they’ve seen a boom: barbershops. The shop window or facade is often decorated with a rotating red, white and blue post. The origin of this symbol is surrounded by various legends – all of them bloody.

A group of men stand in front of the windows with bold lettering. Most of them are smoking. In the background, shaving foam is being applied. Stubble is skilfully removed with a blade. A tart musky scent permeates through the open door to the outside. Aftershave is applied to a customer’s freshly shaved neck. «Next, please!»

Even without this scene, it would be immediately clear to me what this place is. A red-white-blue rotating column reveals the trade: a barbershop.

Worldwide recognition

Whether I’m in Zurich, in Marrakech or in Hanoi, barbers everywhere identify themselves with this so-called barber pole. Diagonal stripes in red, white and blue rotate in such a way that it looks as if they’re moving upwards. But what does this universal symbol actually mean?

There are also modern reinterpretations.

Historians don’t agree. There are some legends around the subject. But they all begin in the Middle Ages in Europe. They had barbers even back then. In addition to cutting hair and shaving beards, many of them also performed surgical procedures. These included, among other things, pulling teeth and bloodletting. These were already a thing of the ancient times. Between 50 and 1,000 millilitres of blood were taken from patients to cure disease. This practice comes from the theory of the humours, which states that disease is the imbalance of the mixture of blood, bile and phlegm in the body.

The bloodletting usually didn’t pass without a trace. The bloody bandages were reportedly hung outside on a post to dry. The wind would then have caused them to wrap diagonally around the post, creating a red and white pattern. For this reason, the older barber posts are only red and white. According to legend, these dressing posts gradually became the distinguishing mark of barbers who also performed surgical procedures and not only cut hair. The blue stripe is said to have been added later as a sign of American patriotism.

Bloodletting in the Middle Ages. Image: history.com

Other legends say that people held on to the post for bloodletting so that the blue veins stood out, which would explain the additional stripe in the symbol. Others claim the colours symbolise arterial blood (red), venous blood (blue) and clean dressings (white).

Today, such universal professions are almost extinct. Each person is an expert in a small field. Now you mostly get one type of haircut at the barber’s (no offence) and a wet shave. And blood flows only when the barber gives you a cut due to incompetence or inattention while shaving.

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Carolin Teufelberger

Editor

carolin.teufelberger@digitecgalaxus.ch

My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.

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