Aline Gonçalves owns a salon in São Bernardo do Campo and mixes eclectic and classic trends in haircuts
Encouraged by her brother, who was a barber and worked in a friend’s salon, barber Aline Gonçalves Gazal, 33, learned to shave and cut men’s hair. She was already a hairdresser, she had clients to get cuts and nails, but the curiosity to work with another public was born.
“The first hair I cut was my brother’s, I did it with a clipper. In my husband’s beard I improvised a wooden clip and put the blade for cutting hair. I didn’t have the financial means to buy the right materials,” he says.
In 2011, Aline opened the first salon called “Aline Fashion Hair”, in the garage of her mother’s house, in Jardim Calux, on the outskirts of São Bernardo do Campo, in ABC Paulista. The space was small and the clientele consisted of locals.
“It was a difficult start to set up my salon, few people encouraged me, but I didn’t give up. As the demand for cuts increased, I rented a room the following year to better serve my clients,” she says.
Trying to perfect himself as a barber, he attended courses and workshops. In 2016, during an event in the city of São Vicente on the coast of São Paulo, he met Nariko Hairstyle, hairdresser of Brazilian player Neymar, and presented men’s haircuts with the professional.
Around this time, she began using the professional name Aline Barber, at Nariko’s suggestion. She made a post on social media alongside the barber and her profile gained 36,000 followers in one day. “He is my reference in the area, it was sensational to be next to a famous professional”, she explains enthusiastically.
In the same year, Aline also participated in the reality show “The Best Barber Brasil”, broadcast by SBT. In one of the episodes, she was challenged to cut her hair with scissors. But she, with little experience in this style of cut, she was eliminated from the competition.
She says she also faced machismo in order to be female and target a male audience, but she managed to get around the prejudices and today it is mirrored in other women who are in the same area. “This shows that a woman’s place is where she wants to be,” she says.
In 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic, he opened the “Aline Barber” salon, specializing in men’s cuts and beards, in Jardim Beatriz, in São Bernardo do Campo. The space has a retro North American style and the methods used are freestyle (drawings on the side of the hair), the Pompadour hairstyle (with a front quiff) and rockabilly hair (a 1950s inspired quiff).
It serves, on average, 800 customers a month (adults and children) and the team is made up of three professionals. Young people are the ones who look more for the freestyle cut. “I draw the client’s hair, see which style best matches his profile. Barbershops in Brazil are on the rise,” she says.
In April 2022, Aline fulfilled her dream of studying with the team of former English hairdresser Vidal Sassoon (1928-2012), in London, England. She stayed in town for a few days and learned cutting methods at the ABC salon. “I brought an incredible experience with me and doing the course abroad is the difference for my area,” she explains.
For the next year he plans to open a barber school and teach the profession to other people. “I want to expand my business and be a reference in the area,” she concludes.
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Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
