A Turkish shave ...
This one's for the men, but the ladies in the viewing audience are welcome to continue reading. (It's PG, I swear.)
A few weeks ago I went a barber shop for a hair cut.
Towards the end of the hair cut, which was a good one I must say, the man asked me if I wanted a tashir, which means shave in Turkish.
A shave. And not any kind of electric razor, but a good old fashioned open blade shave.
The moment the barber started applying the warm foam with a soft brush, I was in heaven. It was an instantly gratifying experience only to be had in Turkey.
I know some American barber shops still do this - but they are rare. In America the barber shops that give a shave are the kind you talk about with your friends.
Women in America may not know this, but when a man, and of course this is what separates the men from the boys, finds this kind of barber shop in the states, they tell their friends.
"Hey, I found a place that does an old fashioned shave."
I feel sorry for any man that hasn't had this experience. It's worth finding.
It begins with the barber taking a soft brush into a cup that contains shaving soap and lathering that soap onto your face. The soap is warm and feels good as he brushes it into your facial stubs and hair.
Then comes the razor. The closest, best shave a man will ever have comes from an open razor.
The Turkish barbers who do this are artists. They move the razor with the grain of each part of a mans face. They know the delicate balance between a close shave and razor burn. Each time shave a man they straddle this fine line, but almost never give into the red skin that comes from shaving too hard.
When the shave is over, they remove the remaining suds with a warm towel.
When the process is complete, it is almost like I've been reborn. I honestly feel like a new, improved James at the end of a shave.
Following the shave, a Turkish tradition, we drink tea and smoke cigarettes.
A real barber shop. A place where men can be men and women don't dare step foot.
America needs more of these. If anything, it would help a country of men to reclaim their masculinity - all while looking and feeling like a million bucks.
A few weeks ago I went a barber shop for a hair cut.
Towards the end of the hair cut, which was a good one I must say, the man asked me if I wanted a tashir, which means shave in Turkish.
A shave. And not any kind of electric razor, but a good old fashioned open blade shave.
The moment the barber started applying the warm foam with a soft brush, I was in heaven. It was an instantly gratifying experience only to be had in Turkey.
I know some American barber shops still do this - but they are rare. In America the barber shops that give a shave are the kind you talk about with your friends.
Women in America may not know this, but when a man, and of course this is what separates the men from the boys, finds this kind of barber shop in the states, they tell their friends.
"Hey, I found a place that does an old fashioned shave."
I feel sorry for any man that hasn't had this experience. It's worth finding.
It begins with the barber taking a soft brush into a cup that contains shaving soap and lathering that soap onto your face. The soap is warm and feels good as he brushes it into your facial stubs and hair.
Then comes the razor. The closest, best shave a man will ever have comes from an open razor.
The Turkish barbers who do this are artists. They move the razor with the grain of each part of a mans face. They know the delicate balance between a close shave and razor burn. Each time shave a man they straddle this fine line, but almost never give into the red skin that comes from shaving too hard.
When the shave is over, they remove the remaining suds with a warm towel.
When the process is complete, it is almost like I've been reborn. I honestly feel like a new, improved James at the end of a shave.
Following the shave, a Turkish tradition, we drink tea and smoke cigarettes.
A real barber shop. A place where men can be men and women don't dare step foot.
America needs more of these. If anything, it would help a country of men to reclaim their masculinity - all while looking and feeling like a million bucks.
posted by James at 10:36 AM
2 Comments:
I'm looking forward to your post about your first experience in a Turkish bath house.
Sefton
I concur with Sefton. That's the story I'm waiting for.
Rits
Patrick
Post a Comment
<< Home