Fantastic way to describe it. There’s a barbershop in Denver, on North Tennyson south of 41st Avenue, that does a fantastic old-school shave. It’s a manly experience.
My barber stopped offering shaves years ago. He felt one needed to do them often in order to maintain the necessary skill level, and there just wasn’t enough demand to keep him well-practiced. So depending on where you live, it may or may not be easy to get a traditional barber shave.
I had a shave at a barber in Kosovo, where it is really cheap and very common. I found the whole thing unsettling as a stranger with a razor that had nicked who knows who else with who knows what germs on it hovered over over my throat. But I’m an uptight kind of guy.
I used to live on the Plateau in Montreal. All the barbers there would shave. I think it remains an acceptable form of manly decadence to stoics like me who would not really consider going to a spa or wearing make-up. I usually shave myself, of course, but it’s quite nice to have someone else do it with the warm towels and shaving cream. I remember one Jewish barber who made a point of using very hot towels, and when I grimaced, asked me “You want me to call the police”?
I often warm up my own shaving cream by leaving the cannister in a sink full of warm water for a few minutes; makes all the difference.
Several years ago I had a friend whose brother went into a barber shop for a haircut, and asked for a shave. The barber pulled out a can of shaving cream and a Gillette Trac II.
I’ve sung the praises of barber shaves in several other threads, and recommend them to anyone that has never had the experience. Unfortunately, my barber doesn’t do them anymore due to liability exposure.
Good point. What sterilization procedures are required for straight razors in this day of blood-borne diseases?
I have used soap and brush since I was 20 and it beats canned shaving cream hands down. I don’t know why, maybe because there’s more water mixed into it. But it gives me a closer, more comfortable shave, and if you use hot water you get hot lather. Tends to dry quickly, though, so it’s better if you’re in a steamy bathroom. I’ve tried a couple of different brands but settled on Crabtree & Evelyn.
I’ve just made the switch to soap and brush, got the stuff at Wal-Mart for all of $5. The hot lather is great, and I love the feel of scrubbing the lather into my stubble.
Dr_Paprika I don’t know if your heating method is such a great idea, there is a real possibility of having the can explode by overheating it. You can get hot lather machines for about $20, that will heat the lather without heating the whole can. Yes, I tried that too, but I think the brush is more fun.
My barber uses the straight razor to trim after a cut, the old guy with the shaky hands worried me a bit, but once that blade touched skin, the shake vanished. Pretty cool.
There’s this stuff called, I think, Barbicide™. And there’s always plenty of scalding water to keep things in check.
Let me ditto what other men have said about the close shave and pleasent sensation of having a professional barber shave. I got my first at age 15 by some back-room barber (the barber shop was in the back room of a bar, where the barber was also the barkeep :eek: ) in a semi-bad part of town. I was a nervous wreck, but… wow, what a shave!
If you’re in Springfield, IL head to 15th & Germania (I think; it’s right by where Bunn Park ends on the northwest). If Fred’s still alive then you can get a great shave at Fred’s barber shop, then head next door to his bar to knock back a cold one.
That’s what single-edged razor blades are for, silly. That, and scraping paint.
My uncle is a semi-retired barber (he’s officially retired, but works from home for tax purposes). He still offers shaves, though not the kind of “male facial” described, just a kind of utilitarian shave.
He’s got the jar of electric-blue Barbicide, but that’s used for combs mainly. For metal objects (scissors, clippers and razors) he has an electric sterilizer. It’s a metal box with an opening, inside of which is a high-voltage electric light kind of like the light inside of a bug-zapper. After using the razor on a customer, he washes it in the garage sink (yeah, he works out of his garage now) before loading it in the sterilizer. How well that system works, I couldn’t tell you.
I think the possibility of an actual explosion is pretty low. I’ve done it hundreds of times. I also sometimes use a brush.
Going to the barber in Japan is (or at least used to be, ca. 1988-1991) a fantastic experience, including a shave. Mine used disposable razors to underscore hygiene, but it was still far better than what I could do myself. The key point is that if you, the shavee, are flat on your back, the barber get get at your beard at different angles than you could ever achieve by yourself. That means a closer shave.
And even if you could get certain angles on your own, the extra moisturzing from hot towels, etc - hard to do at home - makes it more comfortable and safer. At home, shaving against the grain shreds my skin; at the barber it’s OK.
I wish I could find a barber to shave me.
I’ve only been shaved by a barber once. It was back in the 70’s. The night before, I had been at a friend’s bachelor party - got home about 2:00 in the morning. The next day I had a job interview at 1:00 in the afternoon. I went into the barber shop hungover as hell, and looking like crap. I asked for the works: shampoo, shave, facial, scalp treatment and massage, haircut. An hour and a half later I walked out feeling great and looking better.
And I got the job!
The barbers in Japan are still great, but are getting harder to find (at least for me). The hot towel, the lather and lotion massage, the complete shave (I don’t know what he shaved from my forehead and cheekbones, but they felt great afterward), and the cute assistant who gave me a neck-and-shoulder rub. Perfect.
Slightly off-topic question here, I know, but I thought cartridge razors (a la my Gilette Sensor Excel) and safety razors were two different terms for the same thing. If not, then what’s a safety razor?
I believe the original safety razor blade was the two-edged rectangular disposable thing that dropped into a razor handle. Don’t see them much now, as they’ve been displaced by cartridges (much safer). And as Larry Mudd alludes, they’d make lousy cocaine choppers.