Thread: wipe off the lather?

something just occured to me. when i was a teenager and went to the babrber he would use a straight razor to shave my neck i remember he would put on the shaving cream and then before making a pass would wipe it off. is this a common technique? i dont do this and i didint think it odd at the time because i honestly didnt start shaving untill i entered basic training and havent really needed to shave every day until the last year or two so its been 11 years or so since that time and now its got me thinking....why did he do that? he is closed now and none of the other barbers in town shave with a razor anymore so i turn to the straight razor place to guide me

Hello
Im a Barber from Pa. I may have your answer. He isn't really wiping all the lather off he is just wiping the lather that is covering your hairline, so he can see where to start his stroke. Or if there is too much lather he may have been cleaning some off so it isn't so messy for the customer and also checking for skin tabs or moles.

Exactly.

I remember that. The barber would wipe off the lather at the point he starts the stroke so he could see better.

ok so its not necisarily for a closer shave but just to make sure you arent injuring a customer by shaving skin tags or moles i got it thanks i apreciate it

Gentlemen:

This wiping of shaving cream must be akin to clearing the line at the side burn in order to see where to place the razor.

Of course, for those of us gentlemen with white hair, sometimes distinguishing the shave cream from the hair at edge of the side burn proves difficult. Ah, well.

Regards,
Obie

could he have also been using the touch and go way of shaving.. where you feel which way the hair is growing and shave in the proper direction?

+1 to Joe. Just making sure he can see the hairline so he can get it straight.

Personally, when I apply the lather, I work it in an upwards direction so I can bring it close to the hairline without getting it up in your hair too much.

I'm sure everyone has little tricks they use though

Everyone so far is correct.

I remove the lather from the hairline so I can see my starting point because if I cut into it then I need to go back re-create it. Also, if I hit the hairline first, that will then cause a hesitation in my stroke in going from the hairline to the skin and that can cause a pretty deep cut. Lastly, if you hit the hairline enough times it will dull the edge of your blade. I do about 17-20 neck and over the ear shaves a day and if I keep hitting the hairline then dragging the edge over that dry hair will dull it out alot quicker.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by SRC

Everyone so far is correct.

I remove the lather from the hairline so I can see my starting point because if I cut into it then I need to go back re-create it. Also, if I hit the hairline first, that will then cause a hesitation in my stroke in going from the hairline to the skin and that can cause a pretty deep cut. Lastly, if you hit the hairline enough times it will dull the edge of your blade. I do about 17-20 neck and over the ear shaves a day and if I keep hitting the hairline then dragging the edge over that dry hair will dull it out alot quicker.

Hope this helps.

Back in my younger days I remember the barber had two jars of barbicide on the counter with razors in them. One was for shaving his customers and the other was for trimming hair while giving haircuts. They didn't mix the two.

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

could he have also been using the touch and go way of shaving.. where you feel which way the hair is growing and shave in the proper direction?

Not really. The direction on the hair on the neck is irrelevant. It isn't like shaving your face or head. Its usually not dense so a quick pass with a straight should remove.