Proper Barber Shop

[Historyteach24]

I hope this is the right thread I really couldn't decide where it belonged, but I went to the new barber shop in town today and man it was a blast from the past!! He does all the old fashioned things that have gone by the wayside like face shave, hot towels etc. I was wondering though in today's day and age what a gentleman would expect to pay for such services? Just curious to see where he lines up! Thanks guys!

 

[TomS]

I go to a couple of different shops in the Spanish section of the city where I work. A shave, cut, and razor "edge-up" is 14.00. I don't speak Spanish and the barbers don't speak English, but it hasn't been a problem thus far.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Prices vary wildly depending on region and even neighborhood. For example, in San Francisco, I pay $12 at a my neighborhood barber shop in the Outer Richmond District, but if I get my hair cut downtown near my office a cut runs about $36. A guy I work with pays $8 at a barber shop in Chinatown (which is really cheap!), but he's a native Mandarin speaker and the barbers at that shop don't speak any English . . . .

Mind you these are all authentic barber shops that do only clipper cuts and straight razor shaves.

 

[Historyteach24]

I paid 22 and after the three hot towels, hot lather and neck massage along with the shave and the cut I am very pleased with that price.

 

[stevew443]

I go to an old fashioned barber shop over in Charles Town, and for a good haircut I pay $14. I usually hand the barber a twenty and tell him to keep the change. A shave with a shavette instead of a proper straight razor also costs $14. I try to get "my" barber because he knows my head well, but if by chance I get the Korean woman, the haircut includes a scalp and neck massage.

 

[cchgn]

Since AIDS in the 80's , laws have changed and shavettes are the closest you can get for a straight razor cut.

 

[Historyteach24]

Yea, he used regular razor but I dont really care the hot lather was worth the shave price

 

[Guttersnipe]

Since AIDS in the 80's , laws have changed and shavettes are the closest you can get for a straight razor cut.

This is 100% untrue.

 

[hatguy1]

We have a cool area barbershop that offers straightrazor shaves. Not too steeply priced, either:

Hot Shave - 25 Signature Shave - 40 Razor Edge - 5

http://www.theplazabarbers.com/default.html

 

[DougC]

I'm gonna go with Guttersnipe on the razor comment-Art of shaving will do a straight razor shave here in Texas. Mind you, I would have to have a GREAT relationship with the barber before sitting down in the chair.

 

[Historyteach24]

I always assumed barbicide killed all that junk?

 

[cchgn]

I always assumed barbicide killed all that junk?

Bacteria yes, viruses, nope.

 

[cchgn]

Anyway, imo, a "proper" Barbershop will have a hat rack as soon as you walk in. A model horse on springs or a firetruck off in the corner. A sofa, table and chairs off to the side, with hunting and fishing mags. Boxing, fishing, hunting, Noir movies memorabilia. The smell of Barbasol and baby powder. Noir music on a jukebox. That's what I remember......

[video=youtube;Bj6iM9w_FGY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj6iM9w_FGY[/video]

 

[Guttersnipe]

Bacteria yes, viruses, nope.

Again, 100% wrong.

Per the label on the Barbercide container:

"Barbicide is a United States Environmental Protection Agency-approved hospital disinfectant. It is a germicide, pseudomonacide, fungicide, and viricide. In addition, it kills the HIV-1 virus (AIDS virus), Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. Contact can cause irritation to the skin and eyes, and consumption of as little as 50 mL can cause a person's system to go into shock and may lead to death if not treated quickly."

 

[Historyteach24]

The guy is new in town and he had all that stuff. Leather chairs, sports stuff and funny old fashioned tin signs stuff like that.

 

[John J]

Hello again History teach.

My Barber is My wife's cousin He just recently opened a new shop and a very nice one it is. Upstate NY.

1) haircut men $15.00 students $13.00 styled cuts like , layered, Mohawks ... $18.00

2) hot towel straight razor shave (replaceable blades) $18.00

3) shampoo and condition (some guys do use this service) $10.00

4) beard trim $5.00 ( free with hair cut)

"John"

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

For a number of years I lived in a town adjacent to Dulles Airport. Even after I moved closer to Washington, I would still return to the barber shop in my former town. It had twelve chairs. Most of the barbers were from West Virginia or deep in the Shenandoah Valley, judging by their speech. When the phone rang, they answered "Barbershop". While the staff changed slowly over time, when my regular barber for several years packed in his tools and went home, I found a place closer to home.

Now my regular barber is a Jordanian immigrant who owns a shop in Falls Church. It's a much smaller-scale operation, with four chairs. The other barbers are also middle-eastern, probably family. When they answer the phone there, the say, "Barbershop". Is that some kind of rule?

So, for a hair and beard cut, the charge is $22 if you pay cash, slightly higher for credit or debit card.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I go to a couple of different shops in the Spanish section of the city where I work. A shave, cut, and razor "edge-up" is 14.00. I don't speak Spanish and the barbers don't speak English, but it hasn't been a problem thus far.

Growing up in Tampa, my father used to take me to a barber shop in the Cuban section of town, where they all spoke Spanish, and the old men sat around drinking Cuban coffee, playing dominoes and talking about baseball. The barber knew two styles...short and shorter. Good memories.

And on topic...around here I pay $16 for a haircut with the razor cleanup, etc. A full face shave, hot towel, the works is an additional $14.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I'm gonna go with Guttersnipe on the razor comment-Art of shaving will do a straight razor shave here in Texas. Mind you, I would have to have a GREAT relationship with the barber before sitting down in the chair.

It's different in different jurisdictions. Some places have outlawed straight razors, some only allow the disposable shavettes. In Texas, you have to be a licensed barber to offer a straight razor shave. If you have a cosmotology license, which is what most haircutters have these days, you are prohibited from using one.

 

[Guttersnipe]

It's different in different jurisdictions. Some places have outlawed straight razors, some only allow the disposable shavettes. In Texas, you have to be a licensed barber to offer a straight razor shave. If you have a cosmotology license, which is what most hair cutters have these days, you are prohibited from using one.

Correct. In a few municipalities and perhaps several states, straight razor blades were banned (basically out of ignorance and fear) during the early part of the HIV / AIDS epidemic.

However, with proper sanitary procedures, the risk of blood-born disease transmission via a reusable blade in virtually non-existent. Further, such bans have mostly been repealed. At this point, straight razor cuts / shaves are perfectly legal in the vast majority of the U.S., when administered by a licensed operator. What that specific license is depends on the state, because barber and cosotology board regulations vary greatly state-to-state.

The main reason so many barbers only use shavettes is the same reason most men use disposable blades at home; laziness and speed.