Have You Shaved Someone Else?

mantic · Post by **mantic** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 7:40 pm

Hello gents--

I'm starting to work on a video about how to shave someone else. Not like a barber mind you, this would be more like shaving someone who couldn't shave themself due to age or disability. I want to make it a pleasant experience but probably not a BBS shave kind of thing (though perhaps with traditional soap/cream and brush with a 'modern' razor). I asked this in a post on my blog but I didn't get enough response I think.

Can anyone who has done this offer any advice?

M6Classic · Post by **M6Classic** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:00 am

Many years ago, while in Ghana, I stayed in a seventeenth century coastal fort from the slave trade. It was in the village of Dix Cove. The fort had no running water and no mirrors. Four men were in our group, so we set up a chair as a make-shift barber shop in the middle of the parade ground. We shaved one another in a round robin, using my brush and bowl of Old Spice and everyone supplying his own razor...I believe we all had DEs.

All I can say is that we saved slowly. This being the tropics, none of us were wearing facial hair, but one did want to avoid the inevitable infections from nicks and cuts. Not the best shave I have ever had, but my barber, Howie Weiss, went on to greater accomplishments in the computer field. The only advice I can offer is that the barber has to be in sync with his client, that is, make sure the neck is streched when you shave his neck. Also, do not ask for a fee, especially if you are next up.

Buzz

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:17 am

Its very difficult......and as Buzz says, getting in sync is important. After a few times it gets rather easy! razor wise i wouldnt use anything other than a fusion.

clive

jww · Post by **jww** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:49 am

I hope that my son or someone else close to me learns how to do this should I not be able to do so in my advanced years.

mantic · Post by **mantic** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:00 am

jww wrote:I hope that my son or someone else close to me learns how to do this should I not be able to do so in my advanced years.

You should ask now.

M6Classic · Post by **M6Classic** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:57 am

jww wrote:I hope that my son or someone else close to me learns how to do this should I not be able to do so in my advanced years.

My son who is off to college (university to our British brethren) on Sunday is already trained and equipped for the proper use of a brush and DE. I hope that in my dotage he has not graduated to a straight. However, I do fear that in his dormitory lav he will be labled a hopeless eccentric.

Buzz

jww · Post by **jww** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:54 pm

mantic wrote:
jww wrote:I hope that my son or someone else close to me learns how to do this should I not be able to do so in my advanced years.
You should ask now.

Seriously thinking about including that in my living will ..... I know, that might have been in bad taste but I couldn't resist.

Greenhouse · Post by **Greenhouse** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:42 am

I shaved my father for a while using a Mach 3. I was always too afraid to try a DE with him because you don't get the same feedback as when you're shaving yourself (i.e., it's not your face so you can't control the pressure as well). Plus, getting the right angle is difficult when shaving someone else.

I did try using a shaving brush with soap, but found that Barbasol was easier and served the purpose adequately.

There is a learning curve, but after a few shaves I had figured out how do do it pretty efficiently.

He's in an assisted living facility now and someone else is shaving him. I think they go back and forth between the Mach 3 and a Braun electric, depending on who's doing the shaving.

- Greenhouse

falcon43 · Post by **falcon43** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:21 pm

Years ago I shaved my wife's grandfather who was bedridden. At first it was tough for both of us. For him, he wanted no parts of it as my predecessors hacked him something terrible. For me,I just didn't want to hurt him. We finally found that happy place, he trusted me not to hack him up and took my time and was very careful. I just used his old double edge ( I have no idea what kind) and his canned shave cream. I did him every day not trying for a BBS. Both of us were happy with the results as was the family. As time passed, I learned what worked for him and the job could be done quickly and cleanly. As Greenhouse noted the feedback is not the same but you do get a feel for what works.

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:14 pm

Many, many years ago I shaved a dear friend of mine with my straight. It was my first attempt at shaving another person. He didn't like it and I don't blame him as I was not proficient.

However, some years later the same friend was dying of brain cancer and after his last operation his father asked me to shave him with the hospital razor while he was recuperating (it was plastic DE). It had been such a long time since he had been shaven he had quite a length of stubble. It was an impromptu request and I used the canned go and plastic DE at hand. I think I did ok but the discomfort was evident on his face. No cuts that I remember but that was the last time I shaved a man.

Every now and then my wife will ask me to shave her neck when she lets her hair grow longer. I shave her with my straight and she says my technique is excellent now and there's no pulling or discomfort at all. She claims it's better than when her lifelong hairdresser does it. Don't know how true that is but she keeps asking me to do it so I figure it can't be all bad.

Chris

Racso_MS · Post by **Racso_MS** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:21 pm

I find when shaving another person to "Slow Down." Use the warm wash cloth after washing the face, use a brush and cream/soap (they really like that) and build the soap on the face (they seem to like that as well).

Take your time and be very gentle. Don't try anything fancy and use your knowledge of technique. Use your hands to feel for stubble. Shave the excess very gently. Take your time and I assure you they will enjoy the experience.

Congrats to everyone who is helping someone feel like a man who just left a barber shop. Thank you for what you do. Some have even commented on having received a shave like they had from a barber years ago. It's worth it.

Don't forget to "Listen" to them, even though you have heard the story many times. It is a minor issue but makes them feel good. "LAUGH A LOT".

v/r

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:18 am

My late father was disabled for a few years before the end. I was able to get the job done with canned lather and my trusty Schick Krona. The brush would have been out of the question. Simplicity and great attention to detail were key. I learned to have a styptic pencil on hand at all times. He wasn't able to contribute to the process, so I needed to make every stroke count while avoiding any nicks. I know he felt better being clean shaven, even though I wasn't able to do it as often as he would have. I'm sure he would have done the same for me.

Scott_C · Post by **Scott_C** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:46 am

A good idea is to check and see if they are on any kind of "blood thinning" medications before shaving. If they are, be prepared with some styptic, alum bloc or ice to handle the bleeding from a nick or cut.

Bargepole · Post by **Bargepole** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 2:16 pm

Shaved someone else? Well of course I have. I remember the first time; we were in Paris and--

Oh. You mean another guy?

No.

And definitely no film at eleven, either.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:12 pm

That could be dangerous, to wit:

A Florida woman is in police custody after officers say she caused a two-vehicle car crash trying to shave her private parts while driving.

37-year-old Megan Mariah Barnes was arrested Friday after rear ending a pick-up truck on the way to Key West, Florida.

Barnes told police that she was going to meet her boyfriend in the vacation spot and wanted to be “ready.”

What makes the case all the more bizarre is that her ex-husband was in the car as well, holding the steering wheel from the passenger seat for her while she attempted to shave.

harper · Post by **harper** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:14 pm

Yes, only once. My father was in hospital following a heart attack and he had his electric shaver with him. He asked me if I would shave him before I left. I did and he died later that night. I have always been grateful that I did. He was a bit of a dandy and didn't want to be in the hospital needing a shave. Maybe he felt he was going to die that night and didn't want to meet his maker looking like he needed a shave.

Johnny · Post by **Johnny** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:08 am

I shaved my father several times before in passed away in 1974.

My Mom would wash his face, then I would apply a hot towel. Lathered his face with a boar brush using either Williams or Old Spice soap.

Used a Schick E3 making two passes, one WTG and one XTG.

Followed up with a warm damp towel rinse, then a cold towel, followed up with either his Mennen, Aqua Velva, or Old Spice after shave.

It was a very rewarding experience for me and a pleasure for my Dad.