The number of experienced barbers in Wellington is receding like a dodgy hairline, the industry says.

While Wellingtonians may have noticed new barbershops sprouting up, many are advertising for months, if not years, to become fully staffed.

A surge in demand for men's grooming, coupled with the boom in new shops, is making for slim pickings in those capable of holding the clippers because there is no easy path to training.

Barber Tuigamala Andy Tauasiafi co-owns Killa Kutz – where Julian Savea gets his locks shaved or 'faded' – and has been advertising a role for two years.

He said it was difficult finding a person with the right experience and attitude. Recently they hired a young man who had been cutting his friends' hair at school.

It was a reasoned punt to take as Tauasiafi learnt his trade at college, doing cuts in the lunchbreak for $1, enough for a Georgie Pie pie, and saving with his mates to go 10-ways on a pair of clippers.

"If you were in a rugby team you were cutting at school all the time," he said.

"You can teach as much as you want [in training] but the experience of doing it is where you get it from."

Custom Cutz barber Simon Kelland said he also struggled to find staff and the shortage was evident in the "quality of haircuts walking around Wellington".

"I don't know what you could put it down to, but there's a good barber shortage in Wellington."

The shop has cut the famous locks of the Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae and Phoenix player Roy Krishna.

Part of the problem could be there wasn't a set training path for those who wanted to get into the industry.

"And people don't seem to take apprentices on anymore, that old style of apprenticeship learning has gone out the window," he said.

Up the road in Woodward Street Barbers, there is a steady stream of well-suited men lining up for a cut.

Barber Deby Stonyer said they had been looking for a new staff member for two months, but had not had any luck.

HTO hair and beauty industry training organisation boss Erica Cumming said barbers needed to get back into the tradition of taking on keen newbies and training them up in-house.

"Sometimes you need to grow your own."

That was exactly what Boar & Blade owner Brendan Blake was doing. Each of the barbers in his chain of traditional barbershops were trained by him.

"I was trained by fourth and fifth generation barbers, the techniques, the secrets of the trade, were handed down," he said.

While there was a barber course in Auckland, it was costly and very short.

"I'll handpick someone on their personality and passion, and I'll train them up - whether they have trained before or not."

THE ART OF MEN'S HAIR

Gone are the days of barbershops offering a traditional short back and sides or the infamous bowl cut, now it is all about the "zero fade".

Fading is using a razor and clippers to shave the hair on the back and sides from bald around the ears to longer at the top. It has been made popular with all ages by the likes of Julian Savea and Sonny Bill Williams.

Many kids (and adults) get patterns worked into the fade, such as zig-zags, stars, lines, even silver ferns.

Barbershops also offer a wide range of grooming options from eye-brow shaping to beard trimming and oiling, hot-towel shaves and cut-throat shaves.

Beard trims will set a Wellington man back from $5 to $30, depending on the shop and the size of the beard.

Cut-throat shaves are about $50 across the city.

And for that zero-fade like SBW? That will cost stylish Wellington men about $35.