Female barber a cut above the rest

Just seconds after walking into Classic Barbershop in Willowgate Plaza, Mandeville, Manchester, one is instantly drawn to the booth of 23-year-old Carlene Gentles, the lone female.

Shear in hand, Gentles flashed a captivating smile and welcomed the STAR team. She said she became part of the Classic family over a year ago and that was where she got on the job training.

"I was always doing forex trading but I wasn't making enough money. I knew I needed something meaningful to do but I know I wasn't going to the call centres or a Chinese shop. Anything I want, I usually just ask God and I know him always show me the way. So I prayed and one day I was just outside and the vision just come to my head that I should be a barber," she said.

Gentles said she garnered the courage and went to Classic Barbershop where she asked Peter Binns, one of the barbers, to show her the trade.

"He told me that I could come and watch every day until I learnt. I was here every day and I watched and watched for about five months then I did my first trim. My first trim was messed up really bad. Mi bald off the whola di man hair line and whole of all of his head. It was really bad but he still liked it," she said.

The Mile Gully High School past student said that she has had mixed reactions from the public about her career choice but the majority of responses were positive and motivating.

"Dem would be like 'A one girl dat!' Sometimes I would be on the road and I ask a man if dem a trim and they would ask who is trimming them. Some of them kiss dem teeth and walk pass and others would say dem don't believe that woman suppose to cut men hair because of the Samson and Delilah story. But a lot of people will just welcome the idea and let me trim them saying that they never had a girl barber before," Gentles said.

As she conducted the interview, she gave one of her new customers, Dave Meikl, a fade. He told THE STAR that he had learnt about the bubbly barber via her TikTok page and travelled from Clarendon to experience her talent.

"I follow her on TikTok and I sell hair products as well. At first I wanted to meet her to discuss business so I was thinking that we could do a partnership where we promote each other's products. I visited her and decided to get my hair done so I can actually stand behind her brand and say that she can trim good. I am very pleased and I might have to fire my original barber, no disrespect, big him up same way. It's more comforting to be staring up in the face of a female than a man. It's a refreshing vibe,' he said.

Gentles also does microshading. Like Meikl, she says her clients travel from other parishes for her services, for which she feels super appreciative and humbled.

"I have customers come from all the way in Kingston. I am the only female here and the rest of the barbers treat me like family. I am like their little sister. It is just love here. Barbering is a trade that I would encourage other females to get involved in. Yea, it's a male dominated job, but us females can do it all. You get to work on your own time and you get people from all walks of life," she said.