St. Charles Barber College

Feature I wrote about a barber college in St. Charles, Mo. First published in First Capitol News Nov. 4- 17, 2006

There’s an old vision of the way a barber shop used to operate, a place where people can take a load off, forget about their struggles, stresses of their lives and unwind. This is the barber shop Leo Price would like to bring back. This is why Price opened The St. Charles Barber College last January.
“The profession [barbers] has been slacking a bit, it’s lost its professional side,” Price said. “Barbers used to be counselors, a respected member of the community.”
The eight month program teaches students the knowledge and skills necessary to own or manage a barber shop. The school day begins with two hours of theory or book learning. Then six hours of “shop” training, this is where the students apply what they have learned to customers.
In addition to running a college, Price also runs a full-service barber shop. Hair-cuts are $6.50. The students are always supervised by the instructors.
“We make sure the customers are taken care of, as far as getting the right service,” Price said.
The college also prepares students for the Missouri Barber Examination, the exam to obtain a barber’s license. The license is good throughout the entire United States.
“It’s basically a universal license,” Price said. “It’s good to have.”
The shop features 11 barber stations for the students to perfect their skill.
“It’s a fairly small school,” Price said. “But you form good close relationships with students and there’s a lot of one-on-one training.”
The theory or book learning part is very important. Price added students must first have to the basic knowledge before they can apply it to customers.
“When you get the theory down it ties into the physical, hands on part of the job,” Price said. “When you understand what goes on with the hair and the head shapes, it helps the students so much when they go on the floor.”
Price stresses diversity when training his students. The college covers all different hair styles, flat tops, taper cuts, fades and learn to cut for all different types of races and people.
“By St. Charles being a mixture of different types of people it exposes the students to all hair types,” Price said.
St. Charles Barber College has open enrollment. All prospective students must be of 17 years old and have a high school diploma or a GED. There is also a $100 fee at the time of enrollment.
Student Deidre Wynn joined the college in June and plans on opening her own shop. Before joining the college Wynn worked in a pharmacy.
“Everyone here is very professional and easy to talk to, the college is very convenient,” Wynn said.
Price has seven years experience and owns Desi’s Sports Barber shop in here in town. The college is the first of its kind in St. Charles. Prince runs the college with his brother Leonardo R. Price. The college is located at 1022 South Benton. For more information about the college call: (636) 724-7670 or stcbarbercollege.com.