Old ways
Happy Friday, friends. Or, for most of us, Happy-Friday-Before-A-Monday-Holiday! Hope you have the opportunity to enjoy the long weekend!
Had an interesting experience this week--I went to a barber shop.
This statement requires some clarification.
For the past fifteen or so years, I've worn my hair in a crew cut. It decided to grow in a couple of different directions at the point when I started this, so this has been the norm for me for at least that long.
At about the same time, I was ready to try something different as far as who would cut my hair. Up until that point I had used traditional barber shops, but, as most of us know, the type of barber shops that I knew from childhood forward are becoming a thing of the past. My last experience with shops of this type was several years ago, as I tired of the stylist-of-the-week mode that most of the "haircut" places I visited seemed to employ.
So I found a barber. At that time he told me he was in his early 70s, and he owned his own shop. Three chairs, but when I would visit on weekdays he was the only barber. And most often I was his only customer. Nice man, but he seldom remembered either my name or how I wanted my hair cut, and when I noted his hands shaking I decided to look elsewhere.
For the past several years I've been using my wife's stylist. She learned of her from our daughter-in-law, and this young woman has also cut our grandchildren's hair. Nice gal, and since I wear my hair short, mine isn't difficult to cut.
A couple of different times during my time using her I've had to find an alternative. The first was when she was expecting her first child and had a serious auto accident, which laid her up for some time. Then she had her first child, thankfully with no complications. And now she has just delivered her second child, and mother and baby are well.
So I needed to find someone else to cut my hair, at least for the next couple of turns.
I remembered talk of an old-fashioned barber shop where our daughter-in-law had taken our grandson, and he thought it was so neat. Guys with beards and elaborate haircuts fussing over him, suggesting that they put "pig fat" (which I learned is a type of pomade) in his hair, just the thing for an impressionable little guy.
This same shop also shaved off my son's beard in its last iteration. He proclaimed it an interesting experience. Another factor in my decision is that I am a fan of traditional after-shave lotions, as opposed to cologne. The scents are not quite as overpowering and it actually feels good on my face after a shave.
So I decided to give it a shot, since I was almost due for a haircut, and I'm working a short week next week. Made an appointment for a haircut and a shave, which I've never experienced. Compared to what I pay my regular gal this was going to be expensive, but experimentation often is.
I chose a barber of less experience in order to save $20 on the services I chose when booking online (a nice convenience) and arrived at the appointed time yesterday. After completing a very basic form for the salon's records (incidentally, this shop is in the back of an established salon, and one of the gals there referred to the barber shop as the "man cave") I was escorted back to the waiting area, where I would meet my barber.
Americana music was playing, there were stuffed game heads on the walls and very old style furniture adorned the waiting area. I sat down on a church pew and in a matter of a few minutes my barber walked over to introduce himself and get to work.
The haircut was not much different than I expected. Being a barber he can do things a stylist cannot, namely handle a razor, and he did a great job with the sides and back, blending them into a nice fade. He also cut the top a little shorter than my regular stylist does.
Then the shave began, and from the perspective of the barber chair this seemed an endless parade of hot towels, conditioners, shaving cream and actual shaving. I should note that I don't have an especially heavy beard and it's rather light in color on various parts of my face (which is largely why I don't wear facial hair), so he invariably missed a few places. But overall it was a pleasant experience and the barber didn't cut me (but managed to cut one of his fingers while closing his razor).
When I checked out with the front desk I was asked if I wanted to schedule my next appointment, and I declined, offering some comment about my unpredictable work schedule. Truth is, while I liked the experience, I probably wouldn't go back, as it costs quite a bit more and took a lot longer than I normally allot.
Based on some of what I've read, barber shops of this type are making a comeback of sorts, as more men are opting for hairstyles and facial hair that require more care and skill to maintain. If the guys who were working there are any indication, those who wear that Brooklyn-style short hair-and-beard combo are becoming fashionable here in Lexington.
So I'll get my next haircut in three weeks or so from one of the mass-retail haircut operations, again, and hope my regular gal gets back into the swing of things!
Had an interesting experience this week--I went to a barber shop.
This statement requires some clarification.
For the past fifteen or so years, I've worn my hair in a crew cut. It decided to grow in a couple of different directions at the point when I started this, so this has been the norm for me for at least that long.
At about the same time, I was ready to try something different as far as who would cut my hair. Up until that point I had used traditional barber shops, but, as most of us know, the type of barber shops that I knew from childhood forward are becoming a thing of the past. My last experience with shops of this type was several years ago, as I tired of the stylist-of-the-week mode that most of the "haircut" places I visited seemed to employ.
So I found a barber. At that time he told me he was in his early 70s, and he owned his own shop. Three chairs, but when I would visit on weekdays he was the only barber. And most often I was his only customer. Nice man, but he seldom remembered either my name or how I wanted my hair cut, and when I noted his hands shaking I decided to look elsewhere.
For the past several years I've been using my wife's stylist. She learned of her from our daughter-in-law, and this young woman has also cut our grandchildren's hair. Nice gal, and since I wear my hair short, mine isn't difficult to cut.
A couple of different times during my time using her I've had to find an alternative. The first was when she was expecting her first child and had a serious auto accident, which laid her up for some time. Then she had her first child, thankfully with no complications. And now she has just delivered her second child, and mother and baby are well.
So I needed to find someone else to cut my hair, at least for the next couple of turns.
I remembered talk of an old-fashioned barber shop where our daughter-in-law had taken our grandson, and he thought it was so neat. Guys with beards and elaborate haircuts fussing over him, suggesting that they put "pig fat" (which I learned is a type of pomade) in his hair, just the thing for an impressionable little guy.
This same shop also shaved off my son's beard in its last iteration. He proclaimed it an interesting experience. Another factor in my decision is that I am a fan of traditional after-shave lotions, as opposed to cologne. The scents are not quite as overpowering and it actually feels good on my face after a shave.
So I decided to give it a shot, since I was almost due for a haircut, and I'm working a short week next week. Made an appointment for a haircut and a shave, which I've never experienced. Compared to what I pay my regular gal this was going to be expensive, but experimentation often is.
I chose a barber of less experience in order to save $20 on the services I chose when booking online (a nice convenience) and arrived at the appointed time yesterday. After completing a very basic form for the salon's records (incidentally, this shop is in the back of an established salon, and one of the gals there referred to the barber shop as the "man cave") I was escorted back to the waiting area, where I would meet my barber.
Americana music was playing, there were stuffed game heads on the walls and very old style furniture adorned the waiting area. I sat down on a church pew and in a matter of a few minutes my barber walked over to introduce himself and get to work.
The haircut was not much different than I expected. Being a barber he can do things a stylist cannot, namely handle a razor, and he did a great job with the sides and back, blending them into a nice fade. He also cut the top a little shorter than my regular stylist does.
Then the shave began, and from the perspective of the barber chair this seemed an endless parade of hot towels, conditioners, shaving cream and actual shaving. I should note that I don't have an especially heavy beard and it's rather light in color on various parts of my face (which is largely why I don't wear facial hair), so he invariably missed a few places. But overall it was a pleasant experience and the barber didn't cut me (but managed to cut one of his fingers while closing his razor).
When I checked out with the front desk I was asked if I wanted to schedule my next appointment, and I declined, offering some comment about my unpredictable work schedule. Truth is, while I liked the experience, I probably wouldn't go back, as it costs quite a bit more and took a lot longer than I normally allot.
Based on some of what I've read, barber shops of this type are making a comeback of sorts, as more men are opting for hairstyles and facial hair that require more care and skill to maintain. If the guys who were working there are any indication, those who wear that Brooklyn-style short hair-and-beard combo are becoming fashionable here in Lexington.
So I'll get my next haircut in three weeks or so from one of the mass-retail haircut operations, again, and hope my regular gal gets back into the swing of things!
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