The Pleasure of the Beard told by the Experts.
The beard: well grown, in its many variations, or well-shaved, it has always defined the appearance of the male face.
The different shapes emphasize those of the face, enhancing or attenuating some characteristics, and this often reflect the personality of those who wear them.
To know what will be the trends of 2019 we talked with whom can be considered a real expert in this field and precisely, to Massimo “Max” Romano, owner of Max&Jò Barber Shop, a real reference point for fans, with two barberies in the center of Rome (Campo de ‘Fiori and Piazza di Spagna) where you can go for a traditional shaving experience, or to take care of, and perfectly model every type of beard.
The Interview
Q) Good evening Max, given your great experience, and considering the fact that you also have an international clientele, what can you tell us about the beard cuts that will trend in 2019?
A) Good evening to you. To hypothesize what the trend beards will be in the future is always a very difficult task. The trend is always the moment, however, based on the requests of recent months, we perceive that it will be the year of the short beards, with a sober and refined style. The long hipster style beards that were back in fashion last year seem a bit ‘down.
Q) It seems to us that the passion for the beard is constantly increasing. Is it just our impression or have you encountered this phenomenon during your almost thirty years as a renowned barber?
A) There are two types of bearded men: those who wear it for fashion and usually do not last more than two, three years and those who instead are real lovers without which they would have difficulty even to look at themselves. Undoubtedly in recent years, especially in 2017, the beard is back in the limelight.
Q) What do you look for and what does the client ask you for?
A) The typical customer of our barberies is a man who leaves nothing to chance and wants to receive an experiential service made of details and precautions that make the difference. He also asks us for the best products on the market: balms, shampoo, oils, creams. Our experience took us last year to develop a line for men, “Barbatvs”, able to meet the needs of the vast majority of our customers.
Q) If you can say, the most famous customers?
A) Obviously, most people prefer to remain anonymous. We constantly serve actors, singers, journalists, sportsmen and other celebrities. The first ever was Valerio Scanu, with whom we also lived together the experience of Sanremo’s Festival taking care of his look in every evening.
Last year, however, we were very pleased to be visited by a large part of the All Black team, who came to Rome for the Six Nations: the day after the match with Italy they came to redo the look in our barberie. What giants!
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Q) How do you become a good barber?
A) The first element to become a good barber is passion, love for the barber. It takes curiosity, humility, self-denial, enthusiasm, transportation. In addition to these values, of course, there is a need for good training, specific courses held by barbers who have lived the barbery on their skin.
Q) Speaking of courses, we know that you are preparing great news about.
A) It’s true: next January 21th we’ll hold a workshop about self-management of the beard but it is a small course aimed at the public. For aspiring barbers or for professionals in the sector, we hold several courses, both individual and group. Our training courses take place directly in barbery so that the trainees breathe the air of the workplace and find themselves immediately facing the demands of the customers and the daily situations of our sector.
Q) Can you tell us something more about Max & Jò? How it was born and how you got to the current success. What is your philosophy and what distinguishes you?
A) What has distinguished us over the years is a mix of various elements. First of all, the quality of the service we provide, then the careful selection of the new barbers that have joined the team and finally the human relationship we have with most of our customers. Working with customers of international level, who book their service even before arriving in Italy, we find ourselves having to satisfy completely different style and look requirements and this request has greatly increased our baggage and our experience .
The Barber Museum
While thanking Max for this interview we also want to point out to our readers a valuable initiative recently realized by Max&Jò: i.e. The Barber Museum. In fact, just beside Piazza di Spagna, Max and his team have set up a sort of “sanctuary” of barbery, collecting relics from various parts of the world. The history and traditions of this ancient art are thus preserved and made available to fans and young future barbers, who can thus retrace the steps and breathe the atmosphere that has always characterized that unmissable pleasure that is the care of the beard.
Texts & Interview © iBESTmag – Images courtesy of Max&Jò – Reproduction Forbidden – Title Image & First Slideshow CC0 Images
