Barbers differ with respect to where they work, but they are professionals who cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. There is a distinction between a beauty salon and a hair salon. A barber does the job of a hair salon which includes shaving, hair cutting and so on, whereas beauty salons provide more generalized services related to skin health, facial aesthetics, foot care, aromatherapy, etc, in Shafter.

In Shafter, with the development of safety razors and the decreasing prevalence of beards, most barbers specialize in cutting men's hair , although many barbers may still deal with facial hair if requested.