Got my first "Barbershop" Shave
Right outside the place I work, there's a hair cutting place -- it's got the spinning pole, so I guess it's as barbershop as you get. A little while ago I asked them if they did shaves and they told me they did. I asked to see what they use then, and was shown a shavette. Of course. So yesterday, after I had finished work, I went in there for a shave, figuring that because I had never had one done before, and because I walked by the place every day, I might as well. Just to see if they could do it as well as I can. Eight dollars was the price.
So the guy sat me down, put a towel around my neck and started applying shaving cream with his hand. He had nearly finished this step before I asked, "Hey, aren't you going to prep my face with hot towels or anything?" He said sure, he would do it for me, rattling off a jumble of excuses, including, 'Some guys don't like the towel' and 'This cream here moisturizes just as well.' (Abort! Abort!) So then he applied the towel. It was wet, but pretty cold. It was only on there for thirty seconds before he began with the cream again -- a poor lather.
He then asked me what my face was used to. I told him to go with the grain, then across. He nodded an affirmative. His with-the-grain pass was pretty straight forward. He moved swiftly enough and was soon re-lathering. But on the cross-grain I thought he was being a bit aggressive with the strokes (this was a machine-sharp edge, after all), and he went against the grain where I'm usually very careful with my straights. I noticed at that point that my neck and a space above my lip were red with a irritation. I toughed it out, though. When he was nearly done he asked, "Is that close enough? Because if I go any further, it's probably going to bleed." I was like, "Well, I personally stop before the 'bleeding stage,' so yeah, I think that's close enough."
He then offered me "alcohol." I agreed, but asked if I could apply it. It burned.
When I got home, I noticed that he had left a centimetre-long, thin nick beneath my chin. I hadn't noticed it before. This is basically what I expected for eight bucks. I've heard some bleed when they loose their "shave virginity" at a barbershop, though.
