Getting hard to find a "proper" Barbers in my area

W

Wook

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35
Like many places, it is mostly salons around where I live. Some call theselves Barbershops but when you go in there's the dance music and the bitchy female staff that tells you for sure that you're in a salon. The spotty 14 year old boy getting his hair dyed bright purple is also a give away.

Call me old fashioned but a proper haircut should
  • Be done in a small shop
  • That only does walk-in service
  • That has a red and white pole out front
  • Done by a man!!
  • A man who has been cutting hair for at least 30 years
  • Who was either apprenticed as a young man, or who went to a traditional Barber college
  • Who only chats with you if you want to. A good barber is as happy cutting hair in silence as he is chatting away
  • Who has actually been trained on how to give a proper shave
  • And who charges a fraction of the cost of the salons but does a massively better job[/list:u]

    It is getting increasingly hard to find a Barbers that fits my criteria. There are a few OK ones, but almost always staffed by women. I have never met a female Barber who was anything more than passable.

    There is one guy who I went to for a long time. He had been cutting hair for 50 years. He was a little demented and never remembered my name even though I had been going to him for years, but he could still cut hair :D

    I wonder if he is still going? I'll need to check in to that, because if he has shut then there are no proper Barber shops within 50 miles of my house in that case.

    Anyone else having this problem?
 
There's a place in Ipswich that I've been going to for a few years now. Is it me or do (on the whole) men cut men's hair better than women do? Maybe that's unfair but they usually do it more cheaply!! It's not totally traditional but is not the sort of place you'd make an appointment. They just sit you down, ask you what you'd like and get on with it. Can't be bad.
 
Wook said:
Anyone else having this problem?
Click to expand...


Nope. I shave myself, and my SO does my hair (what's left of it...), including redoing my rattail braid every few weeks.

When I was in University I would actually go to the hairdressers school, which was in walking distance of where I lived. Good, cheap, not fast, and the girls working there were grateful for anything else to practice on rather than the old ladies that used to frequent the place...

Also where I picked up my first shavette, way back in the early '80s.

Henk
 
No, unfortunately not :lol:

Back then, they used these straight razors with disposable blades to shave necks there. Japanese brand, dedicated DE blades for the thing (not Solingen branded, and didn't take halved DE blades). I bought one on the spot, and we still use it for neck shaving after a haircut.
 
I have a barber' shop nearby which meets most of Wook's criteria, but I won't use it as the man is a frothing at the mouth full on racist - he loses a lot of business because he won't stfu. I heard that one customer walked out halfway through a haircut, and I'd like to shake his hand. Where I go now is run by three amiable young asian lads who satisfy my most important requirements: cheap, quick, silent and open early on Sundays. They also do shaving - quite well from what I've seen - but I haven't plucked up the courage yet.
 
I'm in North East Scotland between Dundee and Aberdeen.

I work in Dundee so I took a drive around the city looking for any barber shops I didn't know about. They were all "salony" to coin a phrase. I even poked my head into one called "Mickey's" which I thought sounded hopeful. I don't know what the woman who worked there's name was, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Mickey. :lol:

My wife wouldn't want her hair cut by a man (unless she had 100% confidence in him). I would rather a woman didn't cut my hair, unless I have reliable information that she is very good at it.
 
quick flick through the TSR wiki :

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://wiki.theshavingroom.co.uk/wiki/Dundee_Barbers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://wiki.theshavingroom.co.uk/wiki/Dundee_Barbers</a><!-- m -->

Boabs yer uncle :lol:
 
Suggested additional criteria:~

Must not ask if you have booked your holidays yet.

Perhaps ask if you will require anything for the weekend (such as a lawn mower or a paint brush?).

Suggest 'trendy' hair styles.

Should be aware of the latest football / rugby et cetera gossip.

Should hold firm political views to encourage argument.

Should offer a singe on the price list.

Use Brylcreem, or similar, without question.

;)
 
Boab said:
quick flick through the TSR wiki :

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://wiki.theshavingroom.co.uk/wiki/Dundee_Barbers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://wiki.theshavingroom.co.uk/wiki/Dundee_Barbers</a><!-- m -->

Boabs yer uncle :lol:
Click to expand...

That's not a barbers, its a (very expensive) speciality shaving store. Been in there, decided to conduct my business online instead. I believe they do froofy "treatments" but alas "Shave and a haircut - two bits" isn't one of them ;)

I only get a basic clipper cut, but I'm continually amazed at how many barbers make a hash of even that. The only barbers I've ever been to that I feel like I leave presentable are the ones I described in the first post. Maybe I've got a funny shaped skull or something :ugeek:

If I let my hair get over about 1½ inches long my scalp dries out something awful and it is very uncomfortable. I wish there was an equivalent to the vast range of facial grooming products for the scalp. One of these days I'm just gonna get a crewcut - that'll solve it :eek:
 
Link for you, Wook:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/shaving-straight-razor/47782-how-can-i-shave-my-own-head-straight-razor.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forum ... razor.html</a><!-- m -->

I've just noticed this:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/shaving-straight-razor/17384-project-coochie-razor.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forum ... razor.html</a><!-- m -->
which I offer up for general discussion without further comment.
 
Yes trying to find a decent barber is hard enough I agree.In Oxford you would there would be plenty, but they are either staffed by young guys, women or not suitable and trying to find one who shaves is almost impossible.

It is true that women dont cut mens hair well certainly in my experience, they are too gentle when using the clippers for example, I want to feel them up the back of my neck, not tickling it.
If I find a shop and it has women barbers then its crossed off the list.
 
pjn1965 said:
Yes trying to find a decent barber is hard enough I agree.In Oxford you would there would be plenty, but they are either staffed by young guys, women or not suitable and trying to find one who shaves is almost impossible.
Click to expand...

In the Oxford of Waugh's Brideshead, Sebastian Flyte bought a hair brush at Germers to threaten his teddy bear with a spanking...that begs the two questions.

If Germers has gone where can you (a) buy a hairbrush, or (b) get a decent hair cut?

:roll:
 
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