I had my first "barbershop" head shave today. My brother in law got me a couple of gift certificates to a fancy men's spa type place called The Manor Shave Bar and Vitality Lounge. I took my brother along with me to treat him to a head shave as well. He's still a cart user and has never had a straight shave either. If you want to hear the worst of it, skip down a couple of paragraphs.
The place itself was pretty cool. A little rustic, iron and wood decor with various antiques along one wall. Complementary beverages, including the adult kind. I'll start with my brother's shave, even though my shave started first. His shave was done by a nice woman. She started with PSO, then applied some hot lather and covered with a brief hot towel. She then relathered and began the shave. She did a single WTG pass plus some touch up using a Feather Artist Club. She finished with a hot towel wipe, then some balm, and finally a cold towel, followed by a little more balm.
My brother enjoyed the experience, particularly the head massaging during the oil and balm applications. The shave itself wasn't as close as he gets with his carts, but it was irritation and nick-free.
On to my shave...
I was attended to by a nice young gentleman. He started off with some warm PSO. I don't use it anymore at my dermatologist's recommendation, but I wanted the full experience. Here's where things started to go wrong. No hot towel treatment. He was speaking with another gentleman sitting nearby as if he was doing a training session. He went straight to the hot lather, telling the other guy that the hot towel wasn't necessary because the lather was already heated. I'm a man with VERY coarse hair, and quite a bit of it everywhere on top, so I typically need decent prep. But I held my tongue just to see how it would go. Maybe he was right.
He then picked up a Feather Artist Club and I felt him start with some very tentative strokes. He started on the top of the head, just left of center, but the strokes just felt a little wrong. Picture a windshield wiper motion, but the wiper moves up the windshield as well as back and forth. That's what it felt like. After he completes the first razor pass all the way down the top of my head like that, he relathers and starts again.
When the razor made contact again, it felt different. Not like a shavette, and not like a safety razor. Then I heard and felt the buzzing... He was halfway done with my head in a matter of seconds before I could ask, "what kind of razor are you using?" Over my shoulder appears the dreaded 5-blade cartridge with the vibrating handle. "Oh, it's a Gillette 5-blade." They give really good shaves. Nice and close, and very comfortable."
WHAT?
After he finished, I could feel the couple of small cuts on the top of my head as he applied an alum block. Evidently he cut me a couple of times on that first pass with the Feather and decided to finish the shave with a freakin' cart. And it wasn't even BBS when he was done. The worst part is that the cart gave me just enough irritation that I can't even finish it up with a real razor now that I'm home.
Lesson learned. Never get a shave from someone who works in a Shave Bar instead of a Barbershop...
The place itself was pretty cool. A little rustic, iron and wood decor with various antiques along one wall. Complementary beverages, including the adult kind. I'll start with my brother's shave, even though my shave started first. His shave was done by a nice woman. She started with PSO, then applied some hot lather and covered with a brief hot towel. She then relathered and began the shave. She did a single WTG pass plus some touch up using a Feather Artist Club. She finished with a hot towel wipe, then some balm, and finally a cold towel, followed by a little more balm.
My brother enjoyed the experience, particularly the head massaging during the oil and balm applications. The shave itself wasn't as close as he gets with his carts, but it was irritation and nick-free.
On to my shave...
I was attended to by a nice young gentleman. He started off with some warm PSO. I don't use it anymore at my dermatologist's recommendation, but I wanted the full experience. Here's where things started to go wrong. No hot towel treatment. He was speaking with another gentleman sitting nearby as if he was doing a training session. He went straight to the hot lather, telling the other guy that the hot towel wasn't necessary because the lather was already heated. I'm a man with VERY coarse hair, and quite a bit of it everywhere on top, so I typically need decent prep. But I held my tongue just to see how it would go. Maybe he was right.
He then picked up a Feather Artist Club and I felt him start with some very tentative strokes. He started on the top of the head, just left of center, but the strokes just felt a little wrong. Picture a windshield wiper motion, but the wiper moves up the windshield as well as back and forth. That's what it felt like. After he completes the first razor pass all the way down the top of my head like that, he relathers and starts again.
When the razor made contact again, it felt different. Not like a shavette, and not like a safety razor. Then I heard and felt the buzzing... He was halfway done with my head in a matter of seconds before I could ask, "what kind of razor are you using?" Over my shoulder appears the dreaded 5-blade cartridge with the vibrating handle. "Oh, it's a Gillette 5-blade." They give really good shaves. Nice and close, and very comfortable."
WHAT?
After he finished, I could feel the couple of small cuts on the top of my head as he applied an alum block. Evidently he cut me a couple of times on that first pass with the Feather and decided to finish the shave with a freakin' cart. And it wasn't even BBS when he was done. The worst part is that the cart gave me just enough irritation that I can't even finish it up with a real razor now that I'm home.
Lesson learned. Never get a shave from someone who works in a Shave Bar instead of a Barbershop...
