First Barber Straight Razor Shave

So, I had my first straight razor shave over the weekend. I was wanting to do straight razor shaves for all the groomsmen for my wedding this coming Friday, and wanted to make sure it was worth the price ($75 or $90 dependind on the type). I was extremely excited, and I guess I had my hopes set really high, because I was extremely dissappointed. I left there very unsatisfied, and wondering if I'll ever pay for a straight razor shave again. So, here's my experience, I would love some insight on if I over paid for what I was given, or if it was about right. I'd love to hear from some long time barbers about the straight shaves they gave.

So, first let's explain what all was offered for that price:

• Preshave Oil and lotion
• 4 Hot towels (I had multiple hot towels on my face for at least 10-12 minutes before he even got his razor out)
• The Later: They make their own soap and brushes, so no idea what soap they used, but made his own lather, and brush was really nice feeling.
• 2 more hot towels
• More lather
• The first past (WTG)
• More preshave oil and lotion and lather
• More hot towels for another good 6-8 minutes
• More lather
• Second pass (XTG? it was every which way but ATG)
• Warm towel to wipe all excess whatever off.
• Clay pack facial
• removal of clay back facial
• Ice Cube rub to close pores
• after shave balm and after shave applied
• I paid the man.

So, that's the quick rundown. All in all it was about an hour process I was with him. The end result wasn't even a DFS. I was only smooth when facterbating WTG. Any other direction was rough and within 24 hours, visible stubble bad enough I wouldn't go to work without shaving first. I didn't have any irritation (i'm guessing because it just wasn't a close shave) but my face was really red for a solid 20 minutes afterwards (the towels were REALLY hot, like I could feel my face throbbing while they were on). Upon closer inspection when I got to my car, he missed many spots (I was going on 3.5 days since my last shave).

Now, I'm assuming he was using all high end products, and it took an hour or so for the whole process, so I can understand charging what he did, but am I wrong in expecting a much closer shave than what I got? Please, anyone who's had a professional straight shave, chime in, I want to hear how your's went. I am considering trying again, but I'll try say AoS or another barber in town. I don't necessarily need the bro-facial with the shave, I just want a nice, close shave.

Also, I will still go to said barber for my haircuts, it is a top notch shop, and they employees are awesome. I'm not knocking the shop at all, just trying to figure out if what I recieved is a typical striaght shave, or if what I got was legitimately sub par. Thanks guys!

I commend your quest and your documentation—oriented skill!

AoS is known to bust out safety razors towards the end of their shaves, a testament perhaps to B&B's varied, tried and true techniques to never settle for anything less than a DFS. I'm sorry to hear your shave wasn't up to par—from experience I know your pain, pun intended.

It's crazy because they get all the products right, but, for me, less is more for the prep. Hot shower, face lather—BOOM, that's it. Pre shaves are a luxury, not necessarily a requirement for this face. I just posted that after shave balms work fine as a pre shave. I won't be buying a clay pack anytime soon though lol. Easy does it usually describes my entire routine.

I used to use a straight exclusively, until recently. For me nothing beats a good ol' safety with a solid blade. I don't know, maybe it's just easier to navigate the contours of my face with it.

You won't find a lot of barbers that know how to do this properly today. We have a couple old timers in Charlotte that know their trade.

I've had two barber straight shaves in my life. One was given by my Grandfather who was a barber for over 50 years. It was amazing, close, and irritation free. It cost me nothing. The second was a pure butchery job that even drew blood. I paid $15 for that but it was over 25 years ago. The second one was so bad that it has discouraged me from trying again. I've read numerous posts on this site over the years where people echo your experience in a poor shave. It seems it is a lost art here in the US as I've only seen praise from people sharing vacation experiences from the Middle East and India. FWIW, given the time involved and what things cost now days, I don't think the $75 you were charged is out of line, but I sure as heck wouldn't have spent that on a shave (but then again, I'm a tight bastard)

I've had 3 barber shaves in my life and they've all been about 8-10 years apart. Well each one was worse than the last. The first one I got was close to DFS, but not. The other 2? not even close. I'll keep looking for a good one though. I know it's out there.

I have had two. The first was really bad. Imagine your face being one giant weeper. Like I had a 2nd degree burn. The second was many years later and done with a shavette. DFS at the time and only lasted 4 hours but that's par for the course.
Congrats on taking the plunge. Your best men won't mind it or miss it either way. Honestly for me the perfect best man gift was a hearty steak dinner with wine and a good scotch followed by a fine cigar.

Mine was 31 Dec 1969, one of my 18th birthday gifts from my dad, along with a haircut. This was one present he gave me for registering to vote, and for the Vietnam war draft, that day.

My Dad is a Barber, and he has given me straight razor shaves before. Always fun and relaxing.

sadly, your experience is typical…..

The only decent shave I received from a barber was in Saudi Arabia.

When I first got into wetshaving, I really, REALLY wanted to get a straight razor shave. The 7 or 8 months I've been looking at this forum have kind of turned me off. Seems if you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself.

Fenris said:

When I first got into wetshaving, I really, REALLY wanted to get a straight razor shave. The 7 or 8 months I've been looking at this forum have kind of turned me off. Seems if you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself.

Click to expand...

+1 this is the conclusion I've come to after everyone's responses. Thanks everyone for the feedback. As much as I want a straight shave that turns out perfect, it may be my shaving unicorn...[emoji17]

Same bad experience here. It's like they're trying to lure you with their fancy towels and products, yet the shave itself os aweful.

I can't remember reading any posts where the actual experience of getting a shave from a barber has lived up to the posters expectations unless it happened somewhere outside the U.S.

Biggz1313 said:

+1 this is the conclusion I've come to after everyone's responses. Thanks everyone for the feedback. As much as I want a straight shave that turns out perfect, it may be my shaving unicorn...[emoji17]

Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear about your bad experience. I guess like some of the other guys have said, the old pros are dying off, and the new guys just don't have the knack for it. It's a real shame

I've had exactly one barber shave, and it was a big disappointment. I got it complementary (i.e. FREE) with a $25 haircut since it was my first time at the shop and he wanted to show off a little.

He had me wash my face at the sink. Put on a hot towel for about 2 minutes. Applied some PSO. Then he put on some lather that came out of one of those LatherKing machines. Another hot towel for 2 more minutes. More lather. Then he started in with the shavette. I chatted with him a little about the blades he was using (Feathers) but I could tell as he was working that this wasn't going to turn out well. There were lots of missed spots, a few nicks and weepers and plenty of irritation. He wiped off the remaining lather with another towel, then he applied some Bay Rum aftershave. IT STUNG LIKE HELL, and I don't even like the smell of Bay Rum on my skin. He didn't ask if I had a preference, even though he had several other flavors sitting at his station.

I paid up and gave him a $10 tip. The haircut alone was worth it.

As soon as I got home, I washed my face to get the Bay Rum off, and applied some Nivea Sensitive ASB to soothe the irritation. I waited a couple hours and then I shaved again, using my normal prep and gear. Its the only time I can ever remember shaving twice in one day.

As for the OP's shave ... it looks really good on paper. I'm not sure where the barber failed in this, but obviously, it didn't turn out too well. I can't see spending $75 for something like this, but its a good thing you found out ahead of time, instead of bringing in your groomsmen and going at it blind.

If there's a lesson in all this for us, its this: Before you let a barber shave you, watch them shave someone else first. That way, you can scope out their equipment, examine their technique, and if possible, talk to the guy who got the shave and see whether he likes the results or not.

I paid more than that for a straight razor shave at the Truefitt & Hill in Chicago a few years back. Top notch products. Horrible shave. In fact, when I got back to my hotel room...I shaved the remaining stubble myself. The most valuable thing I got from that experience was that the barber told me I had a coarse beard and that my hair grew south to north along the bottom of my neck. So I adjusted my shave and it has paid off.

When I lived in Brooklyn I had an old Italian barber for many years. Before he retired he agreed to give me a straight razor shave, which he didn't typically offer to customers. Simple products (Barbasol & Pinaud). Fantastic shave. I truly believe it's the magician and not the wand. The real barbers are a dying breed.

I guess one could always pretend to get two barbershop straight razor shaves and buy oneself a towel warmer.

Sanity Removed said:

I guess one could always pretend to get two barbershop straight razor shaves and buy oneself a towel warmer.

Click to expand...

I plan on buying an electric tea kettle for that. Store it under the sink with a small bowl that fits a hand towel, then fill it up and have hot water waiting for me when I get out of the shower. The one that I saw at Wal-Mart was only $20.

Biggz1313 said:

So, first let's explain what all was offered for that price:

• Preshave Oil and lotion
• 4 Hot towels (I had multiple hot towels on my face for at least 10-12 minutes before he even got his razor out)
• The Later: They make their own soap and brushes, so no idea what soap they used, but made his own lather, and brush was really nice feeling.
• 2 more hot towels
• More lather
• The first past (WTG)
• More preshave oil and lotion and lather
• More hot towels for another good 6-8 minutes
• More lather
• Second pass (XTG? it was every which way but ATG)
• Warm towel to wipe all excess whatever off.
• Clay pack facial
• removal of clay back facial
• Ice Cube rub to close pores
• after shave balm and after shave applied
• I paid the man.

Click to expand...

What kind of razor did he use? Did it use disposable blades (required by law in most places in USA) or was it a fixed-blade razor made of solid steel?

I had a similar experience about 7 years ago, the only time in my life that I ever had a barber do it. I don't remember how much I paid for the haircut, but I think the shave was $12. I think he used a DOVO Shavette (the one that I have now) because it had a red insert for the blade. He used a hot towel first, which was probably the only thing he did right. The lather came from an electric machine and he used NO OIL or any lubricant other than the foam. I should have known from the moment he put a blade on my face that the results were going to be terrible.

Right away I felt that he was using too much pressure, but I didn't say anything because he was a licensed "professional" and probably knew what he was doing. It didn't seem to take too long (probably because he wasn't taking his time and being careful), so I paid the man and left. My face sure didn't feel anything like a baby's butt and I was left with so much redness and irritation that I couldn't shave for an entire week afterwards. I think I still returned to that same barber shop for haircuts after that, but I wouldn't send my worst enemy to get a shave there.

Now that I have my own straight razor, I wouldn't dream of getting another straight shave from a barber here (I live in LA, CA). I'm currently not making nearly as much money as I was back then, so paying as much as you did would be out of the question anyway. However, I do believe that real barbers still exist somewhere, so I will definitely seek one out next year when I'm in Germany or the Netherlands, maybe from one of the same Moroccans or Turks that I keep reading about. Good luck in the future, and I wish you well in your search (if you decide to continue searching) for a real barber.

This thread is so sad because I've always wanted a straight shave. Maybe some day but I'm gonna need some good reccomendations for the barber first