When it comes to their grooming, many men don’t give too much thought to the details. They’ll be happy to get a simple haircut, but if a barber asks them about their neckline preference, he might be met with a blank stare. After all, it’s behind them, so out of sight, out of mind, right?
In a recent TikTok video that has garnered over 32,700 views, barber Alan Genter (@alangenter.hair) playfully roasts such men while sharing some sage advice about a common question posed in barbershops around the world: “Rounded or squared?”
Genter’s video, posted on April 11, begins with a candid confession: “If you go to the barbershop, get a haircut, and you get squared off on the back—bro, what?” He admits he might be “a little harsh,” adding, “Maybe you don’t know; maybe you don’t know. I’m gonna change your life.”
Genter’s life-changing advice is that the answer to “rounded or squared?” is neither rounded nor squared. He advises, “Let your barber know you want a taper in the back. Tapered all the way out.”
He concludes his video by saying, “That’s it. It’s gonna change your life forever.”
The video has sparked a lively debate in the comments section. One viewer shifted the blame onto barbers. They wrote, “Bro so many barbers love the square. They don’t get it.”
@alangenter.hair Stitch this video after you get a taper #barbertok #barbertok💈 #barber #nashvillebarber #hair #hairstyle #haircut #barbershop ♬ original sound – Alan Genter
Another shared their personal experience. “The reason I stopped going to my long time barber was because one day out of the blue he gave me the usual fade and squared the back and sideburns,” they wrote.
Yet another commenter remarked, “Tapers last like 2 days, bald mid fade for me.”
Some commenters expressed the sentiment that personal preferences should not be imposed on others. One of those commenters wrote, “Why do people think that what they like others must like also? You do you and let others do them.”
“Let other men get whatever they want,” another wrote.
Barbers are a common topic of discussion on TikTok. In January, a TikToker went viral after sharing how his barber “gaslit” him after messing up his haircut.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Alan Genter via the contact form on his barber shop’s website.
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