No more awkward small talk at the barbershop

[cmac]

I had a conversation of my buddies who is also bald today and we both agreed that not only do you save money at the barbershop by not not going due to shaving your head, you also no longer have to have awkward small talk with barbers that you will never see again. I think its cool that some people have a consistent barber they see but a lot of people i know just get a random time slot with a random barber they will likely never see again and have to endure some form of awkward small talk during their haircut. I am now at two months sly and that thought definitely added more fuel to the fire in my decision to keep shaving outside of being addicted to a smooth shave.

[chuck63]

When I had hair, I was friends with my stylist and enjoyed talking to her while she cut my hair.  I don’t miss calling to make appointments or the time involved in running back and forth, waiting my turn, etc.  I’ve thought about treating myself to a straight razor head shave in a barber shop but haven’t gotten around to it yet. 

[reddog]

I don't miss the barbershop at all. When I had hair, I never knew if I was going to get a good haircut or a hack job. Before I started shaving, I was cutting my own hair, and got quite good at it! A few years after I started shaving, I grew my hair back for a couple months, and went to a barbershop for a high and tight flattop. It was so bad, when I got home and looked in the mirror, I went right into the bathroom and shaved my head. A waste of $25.00.

@chuck63 , I had two barbershop headshaves. Both were ok, but not as smooth as I could do at home. It was a great experience though. Especially the guys waiting, they kept sneaking looks.

[Razorhead]

I didn’t mind having conversations with a barber. Most times I enjoyed it. What I don’t miss is the wait or the drive to and from. I live in a small town so most good barbers are at least 20 or 30 minutes away. So a haircut could be a 1.5 to 2 hour adventure every two weeks. I always preferred barber shops and not salons. And barbers are typically first come first served without an appointment. But it is a cost savings. I think my old barber is now $25 and before the pandemic he was $16.

[Razorhead]

@reddog i think flattop barbers are just hard to come by anymore. My last flattop was also a hack job. I didn’t want to shave my head so the only way to correct it was to buzz the top with a #1. The flattop before was perfect but the barber was about an hour way and that’s not ideal for a regular haircut.

[reddog]

@Razorhead , yes, I agree, it,was great when I had a regular barber that I enjoyed talking to. About 15 years ago, I was living in a small rural town. I was wearing a great flattop and tried several barbers in town but none were very good. There was a tiny little town about 10 miles away with a small one chair barbershop. That barber was very talented, and did a great flattop. Great conversations with him and also his customers.

One thing I liked, I would walk in, hop in the chair, get caped up and he would start cutting without asking how I wanted it! He also finished with hot lather and a straight razor around the ears.

[Razorhead]

@reddog yes, what you described is the ideal barbershop situation. I love the one chair shops too. Sometimes they are an extra long wait, but well worth it. Especially for the nice finishes like a a razor shave clean up on the neck and around the ears.

The one chair shop I went to, the barber caped me up and asked me what I wanted. I said a flattop and then started to go into more detail. He stopped me and said “I know what you want. You want to look like a drill instructor.” This became one of my all time favorite shops. Generally, barbers that weren’t afraid to go short (and then shorter on the next cut) and didn’t require a lot of instruction were my favorites.

[reddog]

@Razorhead , about 30 years ago, I passed a small barbershop with a big sign in the window that said "FLATTOP EXPERT" . I finally got the guts to go in, thinking I would try a flattop. At the time my hair was medium long and a little over my ears. So when I went in, he was doing a fatty on a guy.

He must have seen me watching him do the flatty, because when I got in the chair he said, I'll bet you want a flattop! I said maybe, can you leave the top a little long so I can brush it to the side? He said no, A flattop has to be short with sharp edges. Well, I chickened out and just got a trim. To this day I wish I would have told him to go ahead and go really short! A year or so later, I ended up getting a flatty at A different shop.