UKC

For no particular reason we were talking about "hair-dos" and it occurred to me that, in recent years, the only decent beard trim I've had was in Pokhara. Following the Annapurna circuit several of us went for hair cuts, shaves and, in my case, a beard trim.

The lad who "did" me was faultlessly meticulous and used scissors and a cut throat razor(from a sterilised pack.

After paying the princely sum of about 100 rupees I left the shop feeling thoroughly clean and refreshed.

Barbers in the UK never seem to use cut throats nowadays and the general feeling of a haircut seems to have declined. Years ago barbers seemed to have an almost artistic way of using scissors but nowadays seem to rely on electric razors.

Anyone had a decent REAL haircut and/or beard trim in the UK recently? If so, where?

In reply to mypyrex:

Some time ago I had a sit down shave and the barber told me that a modern razor gives a much better shave than a cut throat and that an open razor was just for show.

In reply to mypyrex:

Kurdish / Turkish abound in London and many larger metropolitan towns in the U.K. I rarely shave myself, preferring a weekly visit to the barbershop.

D

In reply to DaveHK:

Have heard the opposite and that they require more skill to strop and use properly. Maybe that was his real reason for(presumably) not using one.

In reply to mypyrex:

In my 20s I used to go to Martin's barbers. 1 chair with a horseshoe worn in the lino round it, all the men in the village went there.
You could have short back and sides or short back and sides and a shame with a cutthroat that lived in a jar of disinfectant.
Unfortunately Martin retired and it's now the urban man hair salon.

In reply to mypyrex:

I ha a proper shave before my wedding and have done so on a couple of other occasions. At one barbers it involved a few "head wraps" to soften the bristles. I found it so relaxing, I nodded off I the barber's chair. It's a dying art but some places keep it alive, it just now costs a fortune and it's hit or miss whether it's a poncy man-scaping place.

On the hair cut from, the hairdresser never uses clippers but I'm fighting a losing battle on the coverage front so trips to the hairdressers will soon become a thing of the past.

In reply to mypyrex:

If the seat is held together by black maskers then you're in the right place.

In reply to all:

Must admit that since my locks grew back again I've kept it fairly short and I now just ask for a "number 4" but I'd love to have a decent beard trim a la Pokhara

In reply to mypyrex:
When my dad went to San Francisco he had an enthusiastic Chinese lady shaving at his beard with clippers and grabbed her wrist in panic at feeling like it was going to vanish. It was very short and my mum thought it looked good.

Go to San Francisco

In reply to mypyrex:
you just need to go to the right places, i asked my barber why it was only turks could give a decent shave and hereckoned the brits were eventually cottoning on, but i disagree, the brit barbers are a bit too metrosexual for my personal 50 something taste.
if he told you the straight edge was no good it was because he couldnt use it. To me the straight shave, towels etc is a great pamper... never had the balls for a nose and ear wax though.

In reply to Seocan:

Have you tried asking in a specific way what you'd like - and pausing them halfway through if they need directing towards what you'd like to have?

In reply to mypyrex:

Nice thread for the weekend ,Sir?

In reply to mypyrex:

There's a Turkish barbers in barnsley that do cut throats, hot towels and that weird ear wax burning thing too, there also open on a Sunday too.

In reply to mypyrex:

Go to "Bonds Gentleman's Barbers" on Bournemouth High Street - they do proper cut throat shaves. The guy who runs it is the Director of the British Barbers Association and trains barbers all over the world how to do them. Highly recommended. I've even had my ear hair removed with a burning taper. And it didn't hurt

In reply to mypyrex:

Italian barbers. Can't beat them. There's quite a few round where I live in Surrey but I've been going to the same one for about 5 years. Use to have a wet shave once a weak (with proper straight razor/cut throat) but now I'm bearded I get a scissor trim. I'm so confident in him that on a couple of occasions I've asked for a change of style and just let him get on with it and have always been happy with it.

Generally I've always had this level of service in proper Italian barbers but never in English barber's

In reply to mypyrex:

Had a great haircut and 'cut-throat ' shave in Pitlochry in 2012. Taking the old fashioned approach a step further, it was followed up by a singeing of ear hairs.
It was quite a culture shock because it took place when I was out for nearly 4 months walking the 3000 footers in Britain. Until Pitlochry, I'd been hacking at the beard with the scissors on the smallest of the swiss army penknife. I left the barbers feeling like a scraggy hill sheep that 's just been sheared

If he's still going, and you pay a visit, be warned; the owner is a Jason Donovan lookalike may try and press you to perform a karaoke duet with him. It is difficult to refuse when you're in the chair and he's standing next to you with various sharp things.

But that's not all. It gets worse. In my case, once I was in the chair, he replayed his duet with the previous customer on a monitor above the mirror. To the backing of Hot Chocolate 'I believe in miracles', he camply gyrated, massaging his bared abdomen with one hand whilst theatrically licking the other.....
Don't say I didn't warn you.

In reply to llechwedd:

Thanks for the warning. One of those memories that will last for ever for you.

In reply to elliott92:

Best shave I ever had was in a Barbers in Rome somewhere near the Pantheon. It was a real treat albeit expensive although I didn't feel the need for a shave for at least 3 days.

In reply to mypyrex:

Mine was in Skardu, which seemed like a good way to get rid of 4 weeks growth until sat in the barbers chair and saw in the mirror what looked like Osama bin Laden's younger and shorter brother approach with a cut throat razor and a determined look. Best shave I have ever had but I chickened out the next time in Skardu and did it myself in the K2 Motel. (reading this the last bit sounds like a quote from a Leonard Cohen song).

In reply to m0unt41n:

Kaz's Turkish barber on Botchergate in Carlisle is the real deal, singed or waxed ears.

Waxed nose hair and a great catch up on the local gossip.

So good that my 14 yo won't go anywhere else.

In reply to Timmd:

Go to San Francisco

If you do, make sure you wear some flowers in your hair: youtube.com/watch?v=7I0vkKy504U&

In reply to mypyrex:

Simply go to a barbers run by hirsute men. Turks, Italians, Iranians, Afghans would seem to be the pick of the bunch. The opposite holds, too: I once went for a shave in Indonesia where men are pretty fresh faced and it was a disaster.

In reply to llechwedd:

Sounds great

In reply to mypyrex:

Have you ever trekked in the Himalayas?