Shout out to all my bald friends!
I talk with business people of all industries, and I am often who my ideal client is… and they are surprised when I say “bald heads!”
Giving someone a bald head shave is one of my favorite services to provide. It’s a service which allows my client to shut down the world, turn off the phone, and simply relax.
It’s not about removing the hair
While it is counter-intuitive, the vast majority of the head-shave clients in my chair are not too concerned with taking the hair off their head.
With all the options that people have nowadays, like foil shavers, skull shavers, disposable razors, and even depilatory creams and waxes, if someone wants to shave their head bald at home, it is a fairly simple task.
Of course they want the hair removed, and today’s trimmers and shavers do a good job of touching up razor shaves.
It’s about relaxing
A head shave is more about helping my client to relax.I use a variety of skin and scalp moisturizers and treatments along with a procession of steam towels.
The moist heat of the towels opens pores and soothes the skin. It is not uncommon for a client to fall asleep during this process.
Steam, moisturizing, oils, and more
When someone sits in my chair, I remove excess hair and then begin massaging the scalp with a pre-shave lotion treatment. This lotion includes aromatherapy elements and soothing natural ingredients, and prepares the skin for the work which is about to take place. I steam this in with a hot towel until the skin is supple and open to allow the oils to take over.
I apply a generous amount of shaving oil whenever I perform a shave service. This oil is a blend of natural ingredients which provide a slick surface for blades to glide across and help the skin to avoid irritation. Then I add a gel on top which, when combined with the oil, produces the slickest and slipperiest shaving surface that I have ever experienced
After the shave, I apply an astringent after shave to clean the skin and microabrasions from the razor. Then I put a vanishing cream on the skin which cools, soothes, and moisturizes the skin, working it in with a final steam towel.
The sharpest razor blades
It sounds weird to tell someone that I use a razor blade which is even sharper than the one I used to use. However, a couple of months ago, another barber turned me on to the blades which I am currently using. They cut even better than the ones I was previously using, which were amazingly sharp, themselves.
Always trying new techniques
I am naturally curious about how other barbers practice their craft. I compare it to handwriting… we may all write the same thing, yet we will all write in different ways.
Barbering is the same..so I keep my eyes open for newer and better ways to do things, whether it is a new hairstyle, a different way to cut patterns into hair, or a new technique to use my tools – similarly to when I was turned onto a simpler way to execute a fade into a haircut. It is part of why I place a very high value on hair shows.