At the Babershop

Every man worth his salt knows the essence of having a single and trusted barber in his life. Barbershops are not like the ubiquitous salons where women go for gossip and the latest palaver. Barbershops are places where men have attachment to the guy who is shaving their hair. In a way, barbers are like the potters who mold clay into beautiful earthenware. Barbers on their part, give men the desired haircut and make them even more handsome. For repeat customers, a barber knows exactly the person's taste and preference when it comes to shaving.

So the other day I visited a friend in one of city estates formerly owned by the national housing. I met the dude who was now into academic writing having been briefly laid off from his duties in a body corporate I tend to think took advantage of him since he was desperately in need of a job. The vicinity of the area was full of many businesses. I found it uncharacteristic that most people had engaged in the same type of business. If there were not into running cyber cafes, it was either eateries or salons.

We went and sat next to a barbershop where hot palaver was renting the air. If you think women are petty when it comes to gossip, then men are worse at it. Men like gossiping. It is natural to gossip but they don’t engage in the past time long enough as they usually have engagements and businesses to attend to. I spent the whole day in the hood getting a new perspective as to what life is in general.

There was this dude who ran a business in form of an eatery. It was doing brisk business owing to the number of customers it got. He was however complaining about how one of his workers who was hell-bent on working for free for a vegetable vendor when asked to do so while he paid for the services she rendered.

I bet the many eateries in the area have a close relationship with the natural body physique of most women who had 'gordita' bodies or were pleasantly plump in comparison to the normal size. As a former economics major, if an econometric test is done to find out if there is a close relationship between the body weight of residents and the number of eateries among other variables, I am sure it would result in the rejection of the null hypothesis in this regard (my thoughts).

While seated outside the barbershop, I was able to make many other observations and my friend intimated that in this hood, a girl who was infected once decided to release a list of all the dudes she had infected with the virus. In her list she included men who had used rubber and those who had not. This reminded me of the blogs which have been highlighting the plight of girls who have infected dudes with the virus.

Ladies aside, one close look at the mirror was enough to tell me that I needed a haircut. Of late I was feeling kind of stingy and I was not going to spend what I considered a pretty sum on my customary barbershop.

I have to give it to my typical and accustomed to barbershop. It is one of a kind. The services are worth every penny and the treatment and service they offer is first-class. Though they charge for the extra services which include head and shoulder massage by a lady, it is worth it. There is also an electric massaging gadget which I must admit did tickle the hell out of me when it was first used on my hands and shoulders. That I fell in love with the barbershop is an understatement. 

As opposed to eateries, this hood had only one barbershop within the vicinity. The number of people who were frequenting the shop was encouraging and those from far away even came to be shaved by this barber. I got motivated and also decided to try out this barber who I thought was doing a good job.

Unlike my barber who is never in a rush to finish shaving my hair, this barber was kind of dashy in the manner he shaved. My barber is a stickler to detail and knows best how to shave with the skillful dexterity required of him. His shaving machine never pinches the skin and get unnecessarily hot while in use. In fact all the machines are sterilized before use in a small sterilizer they have.

In my usual barbershop, shaving has been taken to the next level. A small massaging brace is first placed on your neck then a clean shaving gown (sic) is placed on the brace. The barber then wears disposable gloves complete with a dust coat. You are then asked the style you would like if new and for usual customers, the barber is in the know of their needs.

The seat used is adjustable and when the barber wants to position your head to his desired position, you don’t need to be burdened. I usually have an experience every time I go shaving. Even the towel they use is usually for a sole customer to reduce skin infection. Again combs are never shared. After shaving, you hair is washed with shampoo in a sink while seating on another adjustable seat and then your hair is conditioned. The creams they use also leaves one smelling fresh and i have never had skin issues.

In this barbershop however, things are different. The barber uses methylated spirit to sterilize the shaving machines, towel is shared and the seats are not very comfortable. They also don’t have a brace that massages the neck to prevent shaved hair from reaching the body. As opposed to my barbershop which has good waiting chairs, this one has a chair like those found in local village church. It has only one mirror and there is no other person to collect shaved hair apart from the barber himself. Either way it was great being shaved by the barber and he did a commendable job. 

Sometimes it is the value of the service that makes one pay more for the service he gets. While my usual barbershop is offers extra services that are found in parlors, this barbershop only had the barber doing everything. I guess that is the reason why he charged a fraction of what I normally use plus he never even charged any extra.

SITUONANE.