Thread: Gave my Brother a Shave

Yes, I played barber last night and gave my younger brother his first straight razor shave (it was also the first time I had shaved anyone). I suppose I could have done a practice run on a hobo or something, but I decided I'd just dive right in.

I tried to provide the best care possible. Hot towels and all that. I sat him down in the Lay-Z-boy recliner, too.

I had to laugh, because he had this "I'm gonna die" look on his face the whole time I was shaving him. His face flushed red a few times (no, not from cuts, but from nervousness) and he had a tight grasp on the collar of his T-shirt, since he's quite ticklish in the neck area. But he didn't flinch and was quite trusting.

I too was a little nervous about accidently slicing him open, and I doubt he found the shave relaxing; but in the end, I did quite a good job and didn't cut him once. When he went to check his face in the bathroom mirror, he complimented my skills and told me he enjoyed the experience in retrospect and that he'd like to have me do it again.

I am now going to get a barber's pole and set up shop in my living room. Mua ha ha.

I am waiting for my 12 year old son to grow facial hair so I can shave him.

Awesome!! Simply Awesome.

Can you give us any more information on your experience? Does the lack of feedback challenge shaving others? Anything about it surprise you from you experience?

I've often thought that if you got a barbers liscense, set up shop in the right location (i.e. a large office building downtown), and gave straight shaves, you'd make a mint. Anyone who's ever had a good barber shave will always come back for more.

AFDavis:

What occured to me after I had applied the lather and readied the blade for the first pass on my little brother's cheek was how similar, yet totally different shaving someone else was going to be.

The first thing I noticed was how much clearer my vision was. Since I didn't have to use the foggy bathroom mirror like I do when I shave myself, I could spy each and every hair. What complicated things was the fact that although I've pretty much programmed my hand to shave the contours of my face, doing it to someone else is like... saying the alphabet backwards, or something. Sure, you can do it -- it's just awkward and unfamiliar. As a result, I found myself walking back and forth from one side of the chair to the other, second guessing how I should go about making each pass. Oh, and did you ever consider that you can't see your own nose on your face (except in the mirror), so it's kind of a non-issue---but someone else's? It's like a fleshy pilon you've got to try like hell to avoid!

I was also very conscious of the razor's angle to the skin. When you've got the blade to your own flesh, an extra sense will tell you when it's safe to proceed. And although the the person who is being shaved has the same living tissue you've got, you can't feel with it like they can, so it might as well be a tomato or some other inanimate object. The chin and upper lip were the areas I (unsurprisingly) had the most difficult with. The chin, as you all know, has the hairs growing every which way, so it requires a pass from every damn direction, pretty much. It was slow going, but doable. And I was apprehensive about the upper lip, since I know from experience that it's a very delicate area. I was very careful, though, and managed to do okay.

My brother's whiskers were a little long, too, and I found that the razor caught up in them from time to time. When he winced at the sensation I assured him, "I know this feels like it's pulling, but trust me, I'm mowing the suckers down."

So all in all, I think I've got to become more familar with how to make the passes. I've got one of those foam heads they use for hats kicking around somewhere. That might help me with this.

thanx, very interesting

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

thanx, very interesting

Yes, very good!

Your description of the absence of blade-feel like on your own face was an eye opener.

We have a barber named Rick Watts in Fayette, MO (a small town in the central part of the state) who does straight shaves, but only on people he knows. He nicked one customer who threatened to sue him (don't you love those kind of guys?). The customer went to sleep while Rick was applying the hot towels and he awoke with a start, causing Rick to slip and nick him. Anyway, what I was getting to is that Rick told me in barber school they shaved lather covered balloons for practice. Needless to say any nick on the balloon will have dire consequences!

This is really cool!! We have a couple of Members, Jay and Mitch who have barber chairs and regularly invite people over for a shave. They live in Indiana.

Lynn