Barber shop shaves

[mindofsummer]

The real reason I always longed for taking up wet shaving, despite only just recently getting around to it. After I finished college in 1988, my brother and I spent a year traveling the Middle East and Europe together, just meandering and living here and there. During this year, we spent a month in the spring of '89 wandering through Turkey. While there, we gave up entirely on shaving ourselves. Instead, every few days we would find a barbershop in whatever small town or village we were in and, for no more than about a dollar, get treated to the most luxurious straight razor shave imaginable. It was honestly one of the things I remember most vividly about that entire year. The hot towel, the brush and lather to the face. The barber stropping and gossiping with the local men who were just hanging around in the joint. The slight unease as an American with a razor to the throat. The smell of the place, the aftershave. The truly magnificent, baby-smooth shave.

 

[mrb7]

The real reason I always longed for taking up wet shaving, despite only just recently getting around to it. After I finished college in 1988, my brother and I spent a year traveling the Middle East and Europe together, just meandering and living here and there. During this year, we spent a month in the spring of '89 wandering through Turkey. While there, we gave up entirely on shaving ourselves. Instead, every few days we would find a barbershop in whatever small town or village we were in and, for no more than about a dollar, get treated to the most luxurious straight razor shave imaginable. It was honestly one of the things I remember most vividly about that entire year. The hot towel, the brush and lather to the face. The barber stropping and gossiping with the local men who were just hanging around in the joint. The slight unease as an American with a razor to the throat. The smell of the place, the aftershave. The truly magnificent, baby-smooth shave.

Ive often wondered about the "Turkish Barbershops" and their technique. I actually bought a long horse hair brush from eBay to try and make lather. But I don't quite know how to make it work. The Vie Long brushes are really just like a regular old badger or boar knot. But this thing will turn into a tangled mess it's so long.

 

[Ron Scott]

Those guys could set up shop in Manhattan or San Fran and get $65 a head plus upsells on software. The whole Turkish thing? They'd all be driving M convertibles in no time...

 

[Ducati Scotty]

Funny, seems all the stories here of shaves in the east are great. Shaves in the States seem to be mixed. I had really wanted to get one, but after a few bad experiences reported here I'm going to be a lot more picky about where.

Scott

 

[halfturk]

I have tried a couple of times to get those shaves again in the states but no avail. I haven't been there in ten years but they did then. It took 2 hours for a haircut and a shave, I think 8 glasses of tea and it was truly a fantastic shave I won't ever forget. I think these kinds of things in life will always be wonderful memories in a time and place you hold fondly.