A barber’s pole is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft. The trade sign is, by a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a helix of colored stripes (often red and white in many countries, but usually red, white, and blue in the US). The pole may be stationary or may revolve, often with the aid of an electric motor.
The origin of the red and white barber pole is associated with the service of bloodletting and was historically a representation of bloody bandages wrapped around a pole. During medieval times, barbers performed surgery on customers, as well as tooth extractions. The original pole had a brass wash basin at the top (representing the vessel in which leeches were kept) and bottom (representing the basin that received the blood). The pole itself represents the staff that the patient gripped during the procedure to encourage blood flow.
At the Council of Tours in 1163, the clergy was banned from the practice of surgery; the role of physician was separated from that of surgeon and barber. Later, the role of the barbers was defined by the College de Saint-Côme et Saint-Damien, established by Jean Pitard in Paris circa 1210, as academic surgeons of the long robe and barber surgeons of the short robe. After the formation of the United Barber Surgeon’s Company in England, a statute required the barber to use a blue and white pole and the surgeon to use a red pole. In France, surgeons used a red pole with a basin attached to identify their offices. Another, more fanciful interpretation of these barber pole colors is that red represents arterial blood, blue is symbolic of venous blood, and white depicts the bandage.
Prior to 1950, there were four manufacturers of barber poles in the United States. Koken of St. Louis, Missouri, manufactured barber equipment such as chairs and assorted poles in the 19th century. In 1950, William Marvy of St. Paul, Minnesota, started manufacturing barber poles. Marvy made his 50,000th barber pole in 1967, and, by 2010, over 82,000 had been produced. The consistent use of this symbol for advertising was analogous to an apothecary’s show globe, a tobacconist’s cigar store indian, and a pawn broker’s three gold balls. In recent years, the sale of spinning barber poles has dropped considerably, since few barber shops are opening, and many jurisdictions prohibit moving signs. The William Marvy Company is now the sole manufacturer of barber poles in North America, and sells only 500 per year (compared to 5,100 in the 1960s).
Barber poles have actually become a topic of controversy in the hairstyling business. In some states, such as Michigan in 2012, legislation emerged proposing that they should only be permitted outside barbershops, but not traditional beauty salons. Barbers and cosmetologists have engaged in a 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 argue 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).
In some parts of Asia, a red, white and blue barber pole is used as a symbol for a brothel. While prostitution is illegal in many parts of Asia, laws against it are often only enforced to the degree that all public solicitations for it are eliminated. The barber’s pole is used as a euphemistic way of advertising a brothel, thus reducing the likelihood of police intervention. In South Korea, barber’s poles are used both for actual barbershops and for brothels. Brothels disguised as barbershops, referred to as ‘ibalso’ or ‘miyongsil,’ often use two poles next to each other, often spinning in opposite directions. To avoid confusion, actual barbershops usually use a pole that shows a picture of a woman with flowing hair on it with the words hair salon written on the pole.
The Daily Omnivore 
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