Breakdown of O cabeleireiro costuma alisar o cabelo. Além disso, ele corta a franja.
ele
he
costumar
to usually do
cortar
to cut
o cabelo
the hair
Questions & Answers about O cabeleireiro costuma alisar o cabelo. Além disso, ele corta a franja.
How does além disso work here, and what does it literally mean?
Além disso means "furthermore" or "besides that". It is a connector of addition used to introduce new information that supports or adds to what was just said. Literally, it translates to "beyond of that" because além means "beyond", and disso is the mandatory contraction of de plus isso.
Could I use além de instead of além disso here?
Not without changing the sentence structure. Além disso stands on its own to link two separate sentences (like "Besides that, he cuts..."). On the other hand, além de must be followed directly by a noun or an infinitive verb in the same sentence. To use it, you would have to combine the thoughts: Além de alisar o cabelo, ele corta a franja (Besides straightening the hair, he cuts the bangs).
Why use costuma alisar instead of just using an adverb for "usually"?
Using the verb costumar followed by an infinitive verb (like alisar) is the most natural and frequent way to express that someone "usually" or "normally" does something in Portuguese. While you certainly could use an adverb like normalmente with the present tense (normalmente alisa), mastering the costuma structure makes you sound much more like a native speaker.
Why is cabelo singular? Doesn't "hair" consist of multiple strands?