I’m over this winter stuff!
A couple weeks ago, I departed for a business trip to Romania. Upon my return, I headed to a local barbershop for a shave and a haircut ((“Two bits!”)). This was the longest and thickest and most luxurious my beard has ever become, and knowing we were about to leave Germany for a week of warmer climes, I thought a professional beard trimmer might be a good way to kick off a sunny vacation. Plus, thinking of all the border control measures, I look a lot more like the picture in my passport now.
This was my first-ever paid shave. A tiny Southeast Asian barber lady at the mall took good care of my face during the whole process.
- multiple confirmations before we got started: yes, really, please shave it all off
- lots of creams, oils, and salves before, during, and after
- warm towels, hot towels, cool towels
- gentle stretching of my face during the scrapey-scrape-scraping away of four and a half months of beard growth
I hold the record for the number of straight razor blades dulled during one shave job: 3 She never encountered a beard which dulled three razors before. I am oddly proud of that, somehow.
After the shave was completed, my skin was a little irritated, but she was very careful not to cut me, and after a few hours the redness disappeared.
On the way home, I noticed how cold the wind was for the first time this winter. I’m ready for Spring now.