The first visit to a new barber is always a small gamble. You've read the reviews, you've scrolled the Instagram, but you still don't quite know whether you're going to walk out looking sharp or wondering if you should wear a hat for the next three weeks.
Canggu has a lot of barbershops. Some are great, some are fine, and a few you should walk straight past. Once you've picked one — hopefully ours — here's how it goes when you walk in.
The check-in
Most studios in Canggu work on a walk-in basis, but a booking is always safer on a weekend. We open at nine and the chair is usually quiet for the first hour, then busy from about eleven until late afternoon. If you don't have a booking, walk in, tell the person at the counter what you want, and they'll give you a wait time — usually somewhere between five minutes and an hour depending on the day.
Coffee is offered at most places, and it's usually real coffee, not instant. Say yes. You're on Bali time anyway.
The consultation — the most important five minutes
A good barber will not pick up the clippers before they know what you want. At Xin Fade we sit you down, show you a mirror, and ask three questions:
- When was your last cut?
- What are you happy with right now?
- What do you want to change?
From there we'll talk about length on the sides, length on top, whether you want a fade or a taper or neither, how you usually style it, and what your day-to-day looks like. If you surf every morning, the cut should be different than if you're in an air-conditioned coworking space.
Bring a photo if you have one. We will never be offended. A reference photo removes ninety percent of the guesswork. The closer the photo is to your actual hair type, the better the result will be. If you have straight fine hair and you bring a photo of someone with thick curly hair, we'll tell you that, not try to fake it.
The cut itself
Standard haircut in Canggu is usually somewhere between thirty and forty-five minutes. Fades and skin fades take longer because the blending is what takes the time. A proper fade — the kind where you can't see where one grade ends and the next starts — can't be rushed.
You'll get a neck shave at the end with a straight razor, a blow-dry if you want one, and some product worked in unless you tell us not to. Then a mirror check from the front, the side, and the back. This is the moment to say if something is too long, too short, or not quite what you pictured. Say it. We'd rather fix it in the chair than have you leave unhappy.
After the cut
Most studios in Canggu take cash, card, and QRIS. We take all three. Tip is never expected but always appreciated, and if you liked the barber, asking for them by name next time is the biggest compliment you can give.
The first visit is always the test. If you leave happy, you've found your place. If not, try somewhere else. There are enough good barbers in Canggu that you don't have to settle for one that's just okay — here is what we look for in one.
And if the first cut isn't perfect but the barber listened and you felt like they got about ninety percent of the way there, give them a second visit. It takes one or two cuts for a barber to really learn how your hair grows, what you actually mean when you say "a little off the top," and how you like your neckline. The second cut is almost always better than the first.