The barber "business" has changed a lot since I was kid. Now many men go to hair stylists and even if you go to a real barber shop because of health regulations you no longer may be able to get a shave with a real straight razor.
If you are an "old timer" did you get a real shave with a straight razor in a barber shop?
Here is what happened to me.
I was approaching my 16th birthday. The year was 1958. My mother asked my uncle to take me to his barber and get a "decent" haircut for my birthday. My uncle and I walked along Hillside Avenue until we reached his barber shop. It was not a large place - there were five chairs in the shop and since it was a Saturday morning the place was filled. We sat in the waiting area reading old magazines when it was my turn. I sat in one chair and my uncle sat in the chair next to me. After my haircut was finished, including shaving the back of my neck with a real straight, my uncle told the barber "give the kid a decent shave." I had not shaved for two days and my beard even at that age was fairly full.
The next thing I knew was my chair went from a sitting to a reclining position. The barber wet my face and neck and applied some white cream and gently massaged it in. I don't know what this elixir was but it had the same smell as Noxema skin cream. Next, he went to this odd contraption and pulled out a hot towel which he wrapped around my face and neck. After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes the hot towel came off. My face and neck were red and looked like I had gotten sun burn. During this period I could hear the barber stropping the razor against the leather strop. Next he used a lather machine to apply lather and began shaving me. The first thing that surprised me was there were no nicks or cuts. When I shaved myself I invariably cut myself. (The no pressure rule was one I had not heard of.) He used two passes and then with a towel took off any remaining lather. Next came some WH and talcum powder and I was finished.
I felt happy and proud of my experience and felt old beyond my years. The experience may have made me think I was a hot shot and may have contributed to my buying my first pack of cigarettes. But that's another matter.
If you are an "old timer" did you get a real shave with a straight razor in a barber shop?
Here is what happened to me.
I was approaching my 16th birthday. The year was 1958. My mother asked my uncle to take me to his barber and get a "decent" haircut for my birthday. My uncle and I walked along Hillside Avenue until we reached his barber shop. It was not a large place - there were five chairs in the shop and since it was a Saturday morning the place was filled. We sat in the waiting area reading old magazines when it was my turn. I sat in one chair and my uncle sat in the chair next to me. After my haircut was finished, including shaving the back of my neck with a real straight, my uncle told the barber "give the kid a decent shave." I had not shaved for two days and my beard even at that age was fairly full.
The next thing I knew was my chair went from a sitting to a reclining position. The barber wet my face and neck and applied some white cream and gently massaged it in. I don't know what this elixir was but it had the same smell as Noxema skin cream. Next, he went to this odd contraption and pulled out a hot towel which he wrapped around my face and neck. After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes the hot towel came off. My face and neck were red and looked like I had gotten sun burn. During this period I could hear the barber stropping the razor against the leather strop. Next he used a lather machine to apply lather and began shaving me. The first thing that surprised me was there were no nicks or cuts. When I shaved myself I invariably cut myself. (The no pressure rule was one I had not heard of.) He used two passes and then with a towel took off any remaining lather. Next came some WH and talcum powder and I was finished.
I felt happy and proud of my experience and felt old beyond my years. The experience may have made me think I was a hot shot and may have contributed to my buying my first pack of cigarettes. But that's another matter.
) . With that said, I do remember my last barber straight shave. It was back in 1988 in Rome Italy (honeymoon vacation). Got the entire treatment with hot towels, pre shaves, hot lather and straight edge and after shave. It was great. Oh Almost forgot the great cup of Espresso that was served while I was waiting. Felt like a new man. To bad I didn't have any clue about DEs and wet shaving back then as I would have hauled a bunch of shaving hardware and software with me back to the states.
