For those of you who enjoy a barbershop shave, particularly when the barber is female, I recently found a new shop that you might enjoy. It is called the Plaza Barbershop and it is on Main St. in Forest City, NC. It is an old shop that has been decorated, shined up, and had new lighting put in. There are about 8 chairs, with several female barbers to choose from. The day I was there, it was an all female staff, and all appear to do shaves.($16.00) My barber did a once over with a disposable blade, straight razor, and a second time over with a disposable Bic type razor. A fairly good shave, all things considered. Pretty close, no blood, with just a little skin irritation. There is a smaller shop across the street called The Straight Edge Cut and Shave Shop, which appears to have female barbers that do shaves also, but it was closed the day I was there, so I cannot confirm this. I would also like to comment on several older posts that have referenced the poor state of barbershop shaves in this country. While there is plenty of blame to go around, I would like to point out that the basic physics of shaving has not changed. If a barber knows his craft, has his equipment near at hand, takes the time to properly soften the beard, uses a sharp razor (of any kind) with correct technique, and is not sloppy in his movements, then the result should be an acceptably pleasing shave. In my experience, the biggest problems are improper beard softening, lack of skin stretching, poor razor technique, and a general lack of interest in doing quality work. Why the barber schools turn out new barbers trained(?) like this is a mystery to me. To quote the Smothers Brothers, "What is the difference between ignorance, and apathy? answer: "I don't know, and I don't care."
I was married once. I don't want a woman anywhere near my throat with a straight razor. Call me paranoid...
Howdy! I have never had a shave at a barbershop; however, the barbershop I go to now has 3 barbers that I know of. Not all three are there at the same time, maybe just two. When I go for a haircut, I get whoever is on duty. This last time was a woman barber and she did a great job with the haircut and neck shave. Barbershops are usually closed on Mondays around here. I have watched several you tube videos on shaving, mostly in foreign countries. Be prepared to spend some time in one these barbershops because they do all the preparation and so forth. Always, Gene
When I was living in Washington, DC, my dad took me to the barbershop where President Reagan would go at times-as would my dad. Point being, that's the only barbershop I can recall where I got shaved, as well as the haircut.
Am I the only one who questions them using disposable razors? I mean you did say yourself "If a barber knows his craft". For the most part this community has moved away from carts and disposables so it's beyond me why somebody would go PAY for somebody to shave you with one.
Many local health codes require them to use disposable equipment to avoid the possibility of cross contamination issues from a razor the barber thought was cleaned and sanitized.
I had a straight razor shave in Houston a few months ago. It was a decent shave, maybe not as good as I can get myself, but a CCS bordering on DFS. I didn't have any irritation, and it was nice to sit back in the chair and just rest with my eyes closed enjoying the moment. He did the full prep of hot towel, pre-shave oil, lather, then repeat before the shave, and I never go through all of this exercise. I certainly wouldn't do it all the time, but it did feel like a treat, and I will probably do it again sometime.
Dear Paranoid, I was married once, too, and I also would not want my ex-wife coming near me with a razor. Having said that though, have you seen this video? Yours truly, Sleepy
It may be just me, but I don't particularly enjoy shaving my face. I also am a person who does enjoy a bit of pampering every now and then. Thus, I find a good barbershop shave to be worth paying for occasionally. The problem is that good barbershop shaves are extremely hard to find. If you know of a place where I can find one, be sure to let me know. I did not mean to imply that I was endorsing disposable blade straight razors over real straights. I much prefer a real straight razor shave to a disposable straight shave. The problem is that NO barbershops today (that I know of) are using real straights, primarily due to the AIDS scare, and state barber board regulations prohibiting it. The last time I saw a barber using a real straight razor was in the early 2000's. Also, the last thing I read from the CDC indicated that there had been no confirmed cases of AIDS being spread by the use of a razor, and no reported cases of barber to patron or patron to barber transmission. They also said that there were several cases where an infected and a non infected man shared a razor, and the non infected man never got infected. So while it is theoretically possible for transmission to occur by a razor, it apparently has not happened in this country. I think you would be much more likely to get some type of skin rash from a barbershop shave since, contrary to the instructions in the barber textbook, very few barbers wash their hands before giving a shave. (At least in my experience.)
Okay, maybe I misunderstood, but he did say a disposable BIC type razor right? I understand why shavettes are used, but why would you pay somebody to shave you with a disposable BIC?
We have this old school fifties style barbershop in town that I really ought to be paying a visit. But as other have said before me, I prefer to do my own shaving. Perhaps if I am out travelling and happen to pass by a barbershop I would probably consider it
Dear Txskimo, I guess for the purists on this website, letting anyone shave you with anything would be unthinkable, and I understand that. However, If you have ever been shaved correctly, by a skilled barber with a sharp blade, the feelings of relaxation and comfort are worth paying for, in my humble opinion. Not to mention not having to do it yourself. Here again, I understand that a purist would feel differently. In my younger days, I had the privilege of being shaved by some of the old time barbers who knew what they were doing with a straight razor. I remember seeing business professionals come into the shop and sit down for a relaxing shave and haircut. The barber treated them as very special customers, carefully shaving them, grooming their hair, trimming their ear hair and eyebrows, even trimming their nose hairs. Making sure that when they left the shop, they were perfectly groomed, relaxed, and ready to face their busy day. After the services were rendered, the barber would help them on with their coat, and use a whisk broom to make sure their were no loose hairs on their clothing. The customer was king, and was treated as such. (You can do your own comparison with the way services are provided in today's barbershops and salons.) Now, to answer your question. There really is no comparison between a shavette and a real straight razor. Same thing for a disposable, BIC type razor. My experience (on my sensitive skin) has been that all of the disposable blade straight razors in use today give an inferior shave to that of a properly sharpened straight razor. For one thing, they cannot be stropped. For another, they most often do not have rounded points, as a good shaving, straight razor often does. Thus, when a barber shaves you, you most often have your skin scratched and/or cut. Shaving with a disposable blade straight razor is not easy, and most barbers don't do enough shaves to keep in good practice, even if their technique is flawless to begin with. (Which it usually isn't.) Disposable BIC type razors, while still not perfect, do offer your skin a degree of protection from being scratched and/or cut by the point of a disposable blade straight. Thus, as a method of skin protection, and a preserver of one's blood supply when being shaved by a medium to poorly skilled barber, a BIC type razor is often preferable to a shavette. If I sound a little bit like Don Quixote, it is because finding a good quality barbershop shave these days is probably something of an "Impossible Dream." Best wishes, Sleepy P.S. Although it wouldn't have mattered, in this particular case, since I had never been to this particular barbershop before, I did not know what type of razor(s) they used for shaving.
