Old Fashioned Barbers

[Doc Dan]

I just got back from the barber. Over here, I can still get a man's haircut. He cuts my hair, trims my Van Dyke, trims my nose hair, trims my eye brows, gives me a massage on my shoulders and the chair massage on my lower back...and actually uses a straight razor to shave the hair on my neck and around my ears and beard. I get all of that for $3-4 USD.
Back home in the USA, the barbers do not even train to do that any longer. I never feel I have had a hair cut, and do not feel as clean, until the barber shaves my neck.
When I was a boy all barbers did that. As a teen I had very long hair so I would allow no barber near it. But, once in the Army, I was back to getting traditional haircuts and neck shaves. I have been hooked ever since.

How about you folks?

[tvenuto]

I'm less interested in all the bells and whistles than I am in repeatability. Granted, I'm sure you go to the exact same guy every time, so the repeatability is probably very good. Also, I pay 4 times what you do and don't nearly get the level of service, more like Maury Povich on the TV, and uncouth women talking about things that belong on Maury Povich. In general, America isn't the best for craftsman professions, for obvious reasons. No one wants to do an honest days work anymore, or put in the effort to do something mundane truly well. Everyone looking for that big payout.

[Skidoosh]

When the razor comes out I'm glad I got the Hep A-B shots.
It is nice to go a barber that turns out nice hair cuts. $2-3 bucks is great. I get sticker shock in the US .

[Doc Dan]

They use disposable blade inserts and change them with a great flourish for each customer. In that way, disease is avoided. They are pretty careful, here. Well, most of them.
It is nice to come out smelling good (after shave applied), looking good, and feeling good.

[O,just,O]

I have absolutely no use whatsoever for a barber, or any of the tools of his trade.
Last time I went to a barber was in about 1965. He did me a short back & sides on the orders of two aunties who dragged me in there under protest.
Not only did he cut my hair, but also oiled it & slick combed it. I was traumatized & cried all the way back to Aunty Mary's house where the first thing I did was wash that awful oily muck out of the little bit of hair I had left.
This is why I now look like a Sasquatch & ask that if you see me, Don't shoot !
O.

[tvenuto]

Mr. O is the winner.

[bearfacedkiller]

I'm a scruffy hillbilly myself. I cut my own hair. I am a tight wad too. :)

[RanCoWeAla]

Its impossible to get a haircut that you are completely satisfied with. There for a while I would get a Lady to cut the top as Barbers have a hard time with the top and then get one of two Barbers I knew to give me a shallow taper around the edges. Even though Cosmotologists usually go to school and are licensed they want to tell you some gossip or pick gossip out of you or stay on the phone the whole time and don't have a clue what they are doing to your head. The only two Barbers I knew of who could use a set of clippers finally died or quit.

[yablanowitz]

What's a barber?

Oh, wait, I think I remember now. That's one of those people who charge two hours of my wages for five minutes of "work". I think the last time I paid someone to cut my hair was in 1980, while I was still in the Navy.

[SpyderNut]

Barbers are a dying breed, IMHO. I've been to a few not too far from where I live (read: small-town USA) and they do a fair job. Presently, I go to a professional hair stylest and pay around $31 for my haircut (which includes a shampoo with high-end fancy-smancy shampoo and conditioners :rolleyes: ). My wife suspects I am vain, which I am. But then again, my grandfather was the same way before he lost most of his hair. :D You only live once, yada yada... :cool:

[jmh58]

I give myself a buzz with dog clippers!! John :)

[Monocrom]

I go the barber about once out of three hair-cuts. I get a relative to do it the other two times. Only way to save some money but still occasionally have nicely trimmed hair around the edges. Mostly though, I just keep it short. It does feel like a waste of money. Spray bottle with water, and a quick snip-snip. Yup, a few minutes of work for two hours of my pay.

[OldSarSwmr]

I went to the barber once every 2-3 weeks for over twenty five years! I love the feel of a fresh haircut and the hot shave on my neck. Unfortunately, my hair started to have a competition with itself, between turning grey or falling out.
I gave in this year and started to just clip it all off. It's kinda nice having that money back in my pocket.

Dan

[Doc Dan]

John, I tried the dog clippers and if I can't go to the barber...:)

Dan, This is the thing. It feels really good to get cleaned up like that. There is something relaxing about getting a good hair cut, somehow. It can put you to sleep. And, there is nothing like the feeling of that hot foam shave on your neck and around your ears. I keep my hair very, very short, but still like to have the barber cut it.

[The Mastiff]

I give myself a buzz with dog clippers!!

Yep. Me too. I sit on the floor legs crossed and shave it off. If I could I'd razor it but that doesn't work out well even with safety razors. Part of it is after wrecking and rebuilding my shoulders a few times I can't even reach spots. Past about a 32nd of an inch the hair is a PITA and just gets in the way.

[demoncase]

I'm happy for someone else to cut my noggin for the price of £6 every 4 weeks.

But the only person who gets to hold a blade to my face is me- period

[Doc Dan]

I give myself a buzz with dog clippers!!

Yep. Me too. I sit on the floor legs crossed and shave it off. If I could I'd razor it but that doesn't work out well even with safety razors. Part of it is after wrecking and rebuilding my shoulders a few times I can't even reach spots. Past about a 32nd of an inch the hair is a PITA and just gets in the way.

Maybe we should all invest in Nair and be done with it.

[gijoe945]

I go to an old fashioned barber every 4 weeks and he still shaves my neck with exchange a blade straight razor. I feel lucky at $13.

[tvenuto]

Maybe we should all invest in Nair and be done with it.

Spoken like someone who's never used Nair. That sh*t is nasty, doesn't work that well, and the regrowth is weird! My roommate in college used it on his back. Laughs were had by all.

[tvenuto]

I go to an old fashioned barber every 4 weeks and he still shaves my neck with exchange a blade straight razor. I feel lucky at $13.

Yea I'm starting to wonder how much people's barbers are charging, or how little some of these members make, if their barber is charging 2x their hourly wage. :eek: