Saturday 23 October 2010

My Hood - The Barber Shop

This is where I get my hair cut. It's not exactly the cleanest place, but they are super steady with the clippers, and can even line you up.

No offers of cafe lattes and magazines to read here. It's just straight into the chair and down to business.

After the cut, they wash your hair while you're still sitting upright. They somehow manage to put just enough shampoo and water on your head to create a lather without any of it dripping. And then they go to town with their fingernails!! It's f*cking PAINFUL! Feels like they're clawing your scalp open with one of these.

Then over to the sink where you lean over the basin and they wash out the suds. It's like I'm a kid again when my mom used to cut my hair.

Back into the chair where you're fully reclined for the shave. Hot towels, lather, and then the straight razor. I'm usually pretty nervous, cuz they are so damn fast with that blade, but I am still here typing, so they haven't managed to slit my throat yet..

In the rear of the shop, sometimes there's a bunch of old guys playing mah jong under a haze of cigarette smoke. People often just stop in to shoot the sh*t, or check out what's on tv. It's a very social place, like the old school barber shops in the U.S.

It costs $1.40 for the cut & shampoo, add an extra 30¢ for the shave. Bargain.

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