About us
The barbering school we wished existed when we started out.
Small classes. Working barbers as tutors. Real clients from week two. That's the whole model.
- 2,000+
- graduates
- 2009
- established
- 8
- max class size
- 11
- courses offered
How TotalBarber Academy started
TotalBarber Academy grew out of a simple frustration: every barber we hired had gaps the big schools never filled. Real chair speed, handling a nervous first-time customer, fixing a fade that’s going wrong halfway through — the things that matter on a Saturday morning in a busy shop.
So we started teaching them ourselves. First informally in our own shops, then in a proper academy with a proper syllabus — but always with the same rule: every tutor still cuts hair every week. No full-time teachers reading from a textbook. Working barbers who teach because they love watching someone get good at this.
Since 2009 we’ve trained over 2,000 barbers. They cut for Premier League footballers, run their own shops, and teach in turn. The academy is in Shoreditch — five minutes from Old Street — and classes never go above eight students. That’s deliberate. It’s the only way to give the kind of one-to-one attention that actually moves the needle.
What we stand for
The things that matter to us
Hands-on from day one
Barbering is a trade, not a theory module. You learn by cutting hair — on training heads at first, then on real paying clients as soon as you're ready.
Small classes, big feedback
Never more than eight students per cohort. Every tutor knows your name, your strengths, and the one thing you need to fix before you graduate.
Working barbers as tutors
Our teaching team still stands behind a chair every week. When you ask how to fix something, the answer comes from someone who dealt with the same thing last Tuesday.
Flexible training
From 1-day specialist courses to 10-week NVQ programmes and Saturday pathways. We shape the training around your life, not the other way round.
No hidden costs
The price you see includes tuition, equipment during the course, consumables, assessment fees, and a professional portfolio shoot. No extras, no surprises.
Career support beyond the course
Shops get in touch with us when they're hiring. We forward openings to our graduate network and make intros where we can — because your success is our reputation.