Cruise Shave Experience

[Steve in Shalimar]

On a cruise last month I decided to use a “free haircut with a shave and facial” coupon in the spa on a Princess Cruise. I never had a shave at a barber nor a facial for that matter and thought I would get them off the bucket list.

The “barber” asked when my last haircut was and I responded “2006.” That left him speechless. (I have cut my own hair since retiring from the military.)

Interestingly, for the shave he alternated between two cartridges on handles to allow one to soak in water as he shaved with the other—not a bad idea. I have incorporated this into my daily shave—alternating between two DE handles. Makes it a little easier to get the used cream and whiskers off.

It wasn’t cheap. The haircut was free but was normally $35. The shave and facial was $99 plus 18% gratuity. Interesting experience but won’t be doing that again.

 

[santamariasteve]

What was the purpose of the second razor soaking in water? Why not just rinse it and set it aside till needed?

 

[Steve in Shalimar]

He would shave a bit with one razor and then just drop it into the water. Then he would just pick up the "new one" up out of the water and gave it a shake in the water and then shave a bit with that one. I believe the thought process was by keeping it soaking, it gave it time for the water to help dislodge the cream and whiskers.

 

[sarimento1]

interesting report! thanks!

tell us how you managed your own hair cuts for so many years!!

 

[trentr]

He would shave a bit with one razor and then just drop it into the water. Then he would just pick up the "new one" up out of the water and gave it a shake in the water and then shave a bit with that one. I believe the thought process was by keeping it soaking, it gave it time for the water to help dislodge the cream and whiskers.

Perhaps also keeping the razor warm????? I came in expecting a bloody mess from rough waters or something along those lines.

 

[Steve in Shalimar]

The sides are easy to do with just the bathroom mirror. For the back sometimes I ask my wife to help even it up. If I’m alone, I set up one of my cameras on a tripod connected by a cable to a monitor in front of me on another tripod. That works much better than using two mirrors in which everything is reversed and it’s just not intuitive.

I figure I’ve saved about $3K so far. I’m retired and consequently don’t have to look good for a boss. If it doesn’t look perfect—who cares.

 

[knife5000]

I also cut my own hair using a razor comb with a DE blade. Just three bucks in AliExpress.


Sent from my Huawei P9 Lite using Tapatalk

 

[Big Jim]

My Uncle would cut his own hair back in the 60s. He did a good job using scissors. His sister was a beautician and taught him well. He would brag that he got $100.00 haircuts (since he cut it himself he could charge himself whatever he wanted).

 

[pmj]

I want a cut-throat shave some time in the near future. My haircut consists of running a beard-trimmer over my head set at 3mm. I'm ugly enough for this to make no appreciable difference...

 

[Steve in Shalimar]

It’s fascinating to me that both the Gillette Safety Razor and the Beatles caused the demise of traditional barbershops.

As you know, years ago many men used to get shaved there and some had their own personalized mug maintained at the shop, occasionally even including their profession. The upper class would get shaved frequently. Less affluent men might get shaved once a week or so. Gillette made it economical and more convenient for men to shave at home. The downside was the lost socialization and networking opportunity.

Then in the 1960s the Beatles came on the scene. Rather than getting a haircut every week or two to maintain the (previously popular) crew cuts and flattops to “look sharp,” guys could just have their girlfriends take a pair is scissors to their hair. Barbershops really suffered at that time. Four chair barbershops went to two . . . two chair barbershops went to one. Many barbers at that time hated the Beatles.

I distinctly recall walking into a bathroom at Fort Ord back in the late 1980’s. One of the sergeants was at the mirror trimming up his hair. Doing that had never even occurred to me. As a kid I was always taken to the barber shop for a haircut. The sergeant was doing it out of economic necessity. He had a big family and was short of cash.

When I retired, I tried it myself and put the money saved in my investment portfolio. I was really amazed by how much my expenses decreased when I retired.

 

[BigJ]

Great report!!

You might consider a straight shave from a master barber as a special treat one day!