<P> The red and white pole outside barber shops references a time when barbers were expected to perform bloodletting and other medical procedures to heal the sick ; red may have represented blood and white may have been bandages . Possibly as early as the later Roman Empire , and certainly continuing through the Renaissance into Industrialization ( maybe even until the 1700s in some places ) a `` barber - surgeon '' also performed tooth extraction , cupping , leeching , bloodletting , enemas , amputations , etc . However , today 's barber poles represent little more than being a barber shop that cuts hair and does shaves . Barber poles have actually become a topic of controversy in the hairstyling business . In some states , such as Michigan in March 2012 , legislation has emerged proposing that barber poles should only be permitted outside barbershops , but not traditional beauty salons . Barbers and cosmetologists have engaged in several legal battles claiming the right to use the barber pole symbol to indicate to potential customers that the business offers haircutting services . Barbers claim that they are entitled to exclusive rights to use the barber pole because of the tradition tied to the craft , whereas cosmetologists think that they are equally capable of cutting men 's hair ( though many cosmetologists are not permitted to use razors , depending on their state 's laws ) . </P>
<P> The red and white pole outside barber shops references a time when barbers were expected to perform bloodletting and other medical procedures to heal the sick ; red may have represented blood and white may have been bandages . Possibly as early as the later Roman Empire , and certainly continuing through the Renaissance into Industrialization ( maybe even until the 1700s in some places ) a `` barber - surgeon '' also performed tooth extraction , cupping , leeching , bloodletting , enemas , amputations , etc . However , today 's barber poles represent little more than being a barber shop that cuts hair and does shaves . Barber poles have actually become a topic of controversy in the hairstyling business . In some states , such as Michigan in March 2012 , legislation has emerged proposing that barber poles should only be permitted outside barbershops , but not traditional beauty salons . Barbers and cosmetologists have engaged in several legal battles claiming the right to use the barber pole symbol to indicate to potential customers that the business offers haircutting services . Barbers claim that they are entitled to exclusive rights to use the barber pole because of the tradition tied to the craft , whereas cosmetologists think that they are equally capable of cutting men 's hair ( though many cosmetologists are not permitted to use razors , depending on their state 's laws ) . </P>
what is the significance of the barbershop pole
what is the significance of the barbershop pole
The red and white pole outside barber shops references a time when barbers were expected to perform bloodletting and other medical procedures to heal the sick
The red and white pole outside barber shops references a time when barbers were expected to perform bloodletting and other medical procedures to heal the sick