Thread: Barber Shave Breakin' The Law

Good reasons/excuses. If it costs you $100 to do it that way then just say so. Don't say it is illegal.

But then again I went to a barber last week and a black man or African American to be politically correct came in and the barber said that I never was trained to cut your style of hair.

In my opinion if he had been a barber for 30 plus years as he stated he never wanted to learn.

But that was his excuse................

Originally Posted by Majortom

For the most part everyone in California uses disposable straight razors. They look the same as a fixed blade you can't really tell.

They look similar unless you are part of this group!

Ya that's true but they do make some really nice ones. And fixed blades aren't illegal in california you just have to sterilize them between clients and for most barbers it's just easier to use disposable

And most shops around where I live charge between $20-$40 for a straight shave.

You can get the ' works' at my barber in Elyria, ohio for $35 bucks. Shave (with a shavette ) facial and a haircut. I take my straights to him and that's what he uses.

I live in the Chicago suburbs. You can find barbers who will give a shavette shave (a real straight is not allowed), but they are few and far between and quite expensive ($75 or more). I think the main issue is liability.

My barber said that they use to give shaves until one family brought in their elderly father for a shave. He couldn't sit still and he got cut rather badly. The barber was afraid of a lawsuit. Here in Chicagoland, juries tend to award outrageous settlements to plaintiffs, so liability insurance for barbers offering shaves is quite expensive. Most barbers decide that offering shaves is not worth the risk of being sued.

From a disease transmission standpoint, products such as Barbacide do a good job killing HIV, hepatitis, MERSA, etc. However, they are only effective if prepared and used according to directions. I suspect some barbers, beauticians, nail salons, etc. try to cut corners to reduce costs.