It seems like an old-fashioned trend for men to come to their barbers for a shave. (a) I don’t understand why men wouldn’t choose to shave themselves, and (b) would Hair Cuttery look at me strange if I requested a shave?
I can understand, perhaps, a bearded man wanting his beard groomed. But, I don’t understand why a clean-shaving man would ever need to pay a barber for a shave? I WAG maybe this was the only way to get a good shave prior to the disposable razor? Maybe it was once too hard for men to shave themselves with a straight razor (prior to Gillette, etc., safety razors and disposbale blades)…? Confused! - Jinx
The barber I go still gives shaves with a cut. It’s in an old town - he uses the hot shaving cream, straight razor, etc. I love that feeling of nostalgia sitting in that chair getting a cut and shave.
Not to mention, he only charges $8.00 for the whole thing!
First of all, you can’t go to a standard salon and get shaved. Most hair cutters in the U.S. have Hair Stylists licenses and are not licensed Barbers. Actual licensed barbers are few and far between these days and are the only ones who can offer shaving services.
I have gotten a professional shave once and it is a very relaxing experience. It’s more than just a shave. The put various oils and hot towels on your face before the shave. I think this is almost the same thing as a facial but they don’t tell you that because it’s not manly sounding. It will be the smoothest shave of your life. I highly recommend the experience.
My current barber is one of my favourite places to spend money-- he does the whole routine-- hot towels, hot cream, razor & strop.
…and a scalp/neck massage after the haircut.
It’s practically hedonistic-- and just about the most therapeutic experience I can imagine. Total relaxation, and you come out of it looking, feeling, and smelling like a million bucks. What’s not to like?
A barber shave with a straight razor and hot lather is just heaven. Hong Kong is a great place for it. Make sure the barber knows how to shave a western beard! (I’ve had my face ripped apart by guys that didn’t know what they were doing.)
Before Gillette, a lot of men went to the barber daily for their shaves. It was hard to master a straight razor, so they were willing to pay for a daily shave. People even had their own personal shaving mugs that the barber would use, then wash and put up on a shelf until the next day.
Gillette invented a razor that was easier to use, so shaves at the barber died away.
Well, I’m 31 years old and have never had a barber shave me. From what I’ve heard in this thread, though, I might have to try and find a barber around here that still does it.
Hmm. I don’t even go to barbers for haircuts anymore; my wife cuts my hair. I wonder if I could get her to learn how to shave me (provided she does it right; I don’t want a bloodletting).
My barber shop (with a striped pole and everything) only recently quit offering shaves. The barbers still keep their straight razors and like showing them to the young’uns who can’t believe anyone would have ever paid for a shave.
Once upon a time, a man needed a good straight razor for a good shave. And good straight razors were expensive to buy and hard to keep sharp. For decades after personal razors became popular, a man would still go to a barber for a really good shave.
Before the day of a safety razor and later the electric razor. men had two choices, a barber shaving them or their taking a piece of steel in their not necessarily steady hands possibly honed to the sharpest imaginable edge it is possible to have and attempting to remove their stubble, five-oclock shadows or beards from their faces.
If you have ever used a safety razor, I will bet you might have knicked yourself once or twice, but because it is a safety razor, it was a just knick. With a straight razor, it would be a gash or worse. Imagine then, after a long night on the town, or a long day at work and your hands are not all that they should be for steadiness and your eye is a bit questionable too, and you picking up that piece of steel as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel and addressing the nooks and crannies of your bristled face.
When you went to a barber, it was done well, safely and comfortably, and you came away with all your facial apendages intact.
My father once told me about the feeling immediately after a shave, “It’s one of the two or three times in your life, you truly feel like a gentleman.”
Years later, I had a shave in Manila after about a week in the bush. I got the hot towel, a haircut…the whole works, and you know, he was right. I had a spring in my step and tilt to my hat and they definitely weren’t there an hour before.
This sounds great - I don’t know of any such barbers in the area where I live, but if I’m lucky enough to stumble across one sometime I’ll definitely give it a try .
TV time– “Safety razor” is a bit of a misnomer, in my opinion. I briefly switched over to them in my rebellion against the extortionist pricing of cartridge razors, and I learned the bitter truth of Bill Cosby’s immortal words “Muh face wuz ripped shreds!” More commonly, I cut my fingers changing the blades-- which at least wouldn’t happen with a straight-razor.
I wouldn’t feel “safe” using one of those things to arrange lines on a mirror, even. How did that ever seem like a good idea? (“Let’s get all twitchy and handle razor blades!”)
The funny thing (for me) is, that my Dad told me that, while in France, he had a rather similar expectation (decadent luxury via a shave by a Paris barber) and a rather similar outcome.
I always get a straight-razor shave along with my haircuts, but I also use a straight razor at home. If you have steady hands, try it. This site has more info on proper shaving. No disposable razors here!
- Jinx