Greetings, gentlemen,
I'm rather new to B&B, but I think I've found a home here with all the friendliness and discussion related to my favorite interests and hobbies (and vices).
I wanted to share a barbershop experience with you all that first introduced me to wetshaving. I think many of these things have been mentioned by others in old threads, and I apologize in advance for any longwindedness.
Back in 2000 I spent six months in southwest Turkey. To better learn the language, I would walk through the rural town often, visiting the shops and restaurants. I happened across a barber and had one of the best experiences of my life. I was quite scruffy at the time and asked for a shave. The very friendly gentleman put a hot towel on my face, took some near-boiling water from a kettle on a wood-fired stove, and begin to lather an Arko shave stick. He then shaved me thoroughly using a straight razor with a disposable blade (I never did catch the brand of blade he used). Then, after another hot towel and a splash of ice cold water, the barber placed a few specks of yağ kremler (lanolin cream) on me, massaging it into my face. Next, he dipped a cotton ball in alcohol, wrapped it around a metal wire, and lit it on fire. He rapidly and lightly beat it against my ears, singeing away any annoying little ear hairs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB89txvMNSA). Then, my face and hair was doused liberally in traditional Turkish lemon cologne (http://dixonsturkey.blogspot.com/2007/02/limon-kolonyasi.html) and my scalp and face again massaged.
Finally, the barber had me lean forward and place my forhead on the countertop as he massaged and kneaded my shoulders and arms, all the way to my fingertips. The whole experience took about 45 minutes, but afterwards I felt as refreshed as if I had just slept 9 hours.
The cost for all this? At the time Turkey still used the old lira currency and the total was 500,000 TL, or about $1.50 USD. Needless to say, he always received a huge tip and I visited him often.
I liked many things about my visit to the Near East, but that barbershop stands out as one of the best. Ah, nostalgia...
I'm rather new to B&B, but I think I've found a home here with all the friendliness and discussion related to my favorite interests and hobbies (and vices).
I wanted to share a barbershop experience with you all that first introduced me to wetshaving. I think many of these things have been mentioned by others in old threads, and I apologize in advance for any longwindedness.
Back in 2000 I spent six months in southwest Turkey. To better learn the language, I would walk through the rural town often, visiting the shops and restaurants. I happened across a barber and had one of the best experiences of my life. I was quite scruffy at the time and asked for a shave. The very friendly gentleman put a hot towel on my face, took some near-boiling water from a kettle on a wood-fired stove, and begin to lather an Arko shave stick. He then shaved me thoroughly using a straight razor with a disposable blade (I never did catch the brand of blade he used). Then, after another hot towel and a splash of ice cold water, the barber placed a few specks of yağ kremler (lanolin cream) on me, massaging it into my face. Next, he dipped a cotton ball in alcohol, wrapped it around a metal wire, and lit it on fire. He rapidly and lightly beat it against my ears, singeing away any annoying little ear hairs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB89txvMNSA). Then, my face and hair was doused liberally in traditional Turkish lemon cologne (http://dixonsturkey.blogspot.com/2007/02/limon-kolonyasi.html) and my scalp and face again massaged.
Finally, the barber had me lean forward and place my forhead on the countertop as he massaged and kneaded my shoulders and arms, all the way to my fingertips. The whole experience took about 45 minutes, but afterwards I felt as refreshed as if I had just slept 9 hours.
The cost for all this? At the time Turkey still used the old lira currency and the total was 500,000 TL, or about $1.50 USD. Needless to say, he always received a huge tip and I visited him often.
I liked many things about my visit to the Near East, but that barbershop stands out as one of the best. Ah, nostalgia...
