SHAVING
1.Backhand Stroke: Razor position and stroke used in 4
of the 14 basic shaving areas 2,6,8 and 9
2.Close Shave: The procedure of shaving facial hair
against the grain during the second-time-over
3.Cutting Stroke: The correct angle of cutting the beard
with a straight razor
4.Freehand Stroke: Razor position and stroke used in 6
of the 14 shaving areas 1,3,4,7,11, and 12
5.Neck Shave: Shaving the areas behind the ears, down
the sides of the neck and at the back neckline
1.Once-over Shave: Single lather shave in which the shaving
strokes are made across the grain of hair
2.Reverse Backhand Stroke: Razor position and stroke used for
making the left sideburn outline and shaving the left side
behind the ear during a neck shave
3.Reverse Freehand Stroke: Razor position and stoke used in 4
of the 14 basic shaving areas 5, 10, 13, and 14
4.Second-time-over-shave: A close shave
5.Styptic powder: alum powder used to stop bleeding of nicks
and cuts
HISTORY
• SHAVING WAS INTRODUCED BY MACEDONIANS DURING THE MIDDLE
AGES
• BARBERS WERE KNOW AS BARBER SURGEONS
• SYMBOL OF BARBER POLE – RED = BLOOD, BLUE = VEINS, WHITE =
BANDAGES & THE BOTTOM SYMBOLIZES THE BASIN USED TO CATCH THE
BLOOD DURING A PROCESS KNOWN AS BLOODLETTING
• BARBER IS DERIVED FROM THE LATIN WORD “BARBA” MEANING BEARD
HISTORY CONTINUED
• EARLY BARBERS USED CRUDE INSTRUMENTS LIKE FLINT AND OYSTER SHELLS TO SHAVE
• IN EARLY YEARS THERE WERE LOST OF SUPERSTITIONS – SOME PEOPLE BELIEVED YOU COULD
BEWITCH PEOPLE BY SAVING THEIR HAIR CLIPPINGS. THEREFORE IN SOME CULTURES ONLY CERTAIN
PEOPLE WERE ALLOWED TO CUT THEIR HAIR SUCH AS A PRIEST OR MEDICINE MAN OF THE TRIBE.
OTHERS BELIEVED IN BURYIN HAIR CLIPPINGS SO NO EVIL SPIRITS COULD BOTHER THE PERSON THEY
WERE CLIPPED FROM
• OTHER CULTURES BELIEVED LON HAIRED PEOPLE POSSESSED MAGICAL OR MYSTICAL TRAITS
• SOME EARLY GENERALS ORDERED THEIR MEN TO BE CLEAN SHAVEN TO AVOID THEIR BEARDS BEING
SEIZED IN BATTLE. HENCE THE TRADITION IN THE MILITARY FOR “BUZZ” CUTS
IMPLEMENTS
• IMPLEMENTS SHOULD ALWAYS BE OF SUPERIOR QUALITY,
THE BARBER IS NO BETTER THAN THE TOOLS HE OR SHE
USES
• PRINCIPLE IMPLEMENTS USED: RAZOR, SHEARS, CLIPPERS
• ACCESSORIES: HONES, STROPS, COMBS, BRUSHES AND
LATHERIZERS
PARTS OF THE STRAIGHT RAZOR
BALANCE OF THE RAZOR
• REFERS TO THE RELATIVE WEIGHT OF THE BLADE AS IT
RELATES TO THE HANDLE
• PROPER BALANCE – THE WEIGHT OF THE BLADE SHOULD =
THAT OF THE HANDLE
TEMPER
• REFERS TO THE HEAT TREATMENT GIVEN BY THE MANUFACTURER
WHICH GIVES THE BLADE A CERTAIN DEGREE OF HARDNESS
• HARD – HOLD AN EDGE LONGEST BUT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SHARPEN
• SOFT – EASY TO SHARPEN BUT DOES NOT HOLD EDGE VERY LONG
• MEDIUM – IN BETWEEN
• NOTE THE MOST POPULAR IS SOFT
SIZE
• REFERS TO THE LENGTH AND WIDTH OF THE BLADE
• THE WIDTH IS MEASURED IN EIGHTS OR SIXTEENTHS OF AN
INCH (MOST GENERALLY IN 8THS)
• THE 5/8 AND 9/16 ARE THE TWO MOST COMMON SIZES
STYLE
• THE STYLE INDICATES ITS SHAPE AND DESIGN
• THE MODERN RAZOR HAS A STRAIGHT, PARALLEL BACK
AND EDGE, A ROUND HEAL, A SQUARE POINT, A FLAT OR
SLIGHTLY ROUND HANDLE
• TO PREVENT SCRATCHING THE SKIN THE BARBER USUALLY
ROUNDS OFF THE SQUARE POINT, BY DRAWING THE
POINT OF THE RAZOR ALONG THE EDGE OF THE HONE
GRIND
• REFERS TO THE SHAPE OF THE BLADE AFTER IT IS
GROUND BY THE MFR.
• 2 TYPES =
• CONCAVE – WHICH COMES IN FULL, ½ AND ½ CONCAVE
• WEDGE – GOOD FOR COARSE BEARDS, HARD TO
SHARPEN
• CONCAVE IS MOST PREFERRED
FINISH
• THE CONDITION OF THE SURFACE
• 3 TYPES=
• PLAIN STEEL
• POLISHED STEEL
• METAL PLATED (NICKEL OR SILVER)
• MOST POPULAR IS POLISHED STEEL (CROCUS) LASTS
LONGEST & DOESN’T RUST
HONES
• A HONE IS A RECTANGULAR BLOCK OF ABRASIVE MATERIAL USED TO SHARPEN
A RAZOR
3 TYPES OF HONES:
1. NATURAL HONE- DERIVED FROM ROCK DEPOSITS. THEY MUST BE USED WET
(WATER OR LATHER) THEY ARE CALLED “WATER HONES” THEY PUT A VERY
SHARP EDGE ON THE RAZOR AND ARE USUALLY BROWNISH IN COLOR.
THESE ARE SLOW CUTTING HONES.
2. SYNTHETIC HONE – MAN MADE PRODUCT; THERE ARE 2 TYPES “SWATTY” &
“CARBORUNDUM”. THEY CUT FASTER THAN WATER HONES, CAN BE USED
WET OR DRY. THEY GIVE A FINE CUTTING EDGE QUICKLY
3. COMBINATION HONES – 2 SIDED; NATURAL HONE IS GLUED TO A BLOCK OF
SYNTHETIC. THE SYNTHETIC WOULD BE USED FIRST & THE NATURAL LAST
CARE OF HONES
• ALWAYS CLEAN BEFORE AND AFTER USE WITH 70% ALCOHOL
• AFTER SEVERAL USES THE STEEL PARTICLES MUST BE CLEANED FROM THE SURFACE USING
PUMICE STONE AND WATER
HOW TO HONE
• A RAZOR IS HONED ON THE BLOCK USING A FIGURE 8 MOTION
STROPS/ STROPPING
• A STROP IS INTENDED TO BRING THE RAZOR TO A SMOOTH WETTED EDGE. IT IS USED TO
FINISH THE SURFACE OF THE BLADE AFTER IT HAS BEEN SHARPENED
• STROPPING IS THE ART OF SMOOTHING AND SHAPING THE RAZOR’S EDGE INTO A KEEN
CUTTING IMPLEMENT
• THERE ARE 5 TYPES OF STROPS
1.FRENCH OR GERMAN STROP
• USUALLY A COMBINATION STROP W/ LEATHER ON 1 SIDE AND A LINEN ON THE OTHER
2. CANVAS
• MADE WITH A HIGH QUALITY SILK OR LINEN WOVEN INTO A FINE OR COARSE TEXTURE
• FINE TEXTURE LINEN IS MOST PREFERRED FOR PUTTING A LASTING EDGE ON THE RAZOR
3.COWHIDE
• AKA – RUSSIAN
• USUALLY MADE OF COWHIDE USING THE RUSSIAN METHOD OF TANNING
• CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST IN USE TODAY
4.HORESHIDE
• 2 TYPES
• A- ORDINARY HORSEHIDE – MEDIUM GRADE AND HAS A FINE SMOOTH GRAIN – NOT
RECOMMENDED FOR PROFESSIONAL USE
• B- RUSSIAN SHELL – HIGH QUALITY LEATHER FROM THE RUMP OF THE ANIMAL; THIS IS
CONSIDERED THE BEST AND DOES NOT REQUIRE BREAKING IN
IMITATION LEATHER
• HAS NOT PROVEN SATISFACTORY – AVOID THIS STROP
CARE OF STROP
• MUST NOT BE FOLDED OR BENT
• SHOULD BE HUNG
• THEY CAN BE TREATED AND CLEANED WITH STROP DRESSING
• ACCUMULATED GRIT SHOULD FIRST BE REMOVED BY RUBBING WITH LATHER
• AFTER LATER, RUB THE STROP DRESSING INTO THE STROP
USE OF STROP
• FIRST STROKE:
• START STROKE AT THE TOP EDGE OF THE STROP CLOSEST TO THE CHAIR
• DRAW THE RAZOR PERFECTLY FLAT WITH BACK LEADING STRAIGHT OVER THE SURFACE OF THE
STROP
• BEAR JUST HEAVILY ENOUGH ON THE STROP TO FEEL THE RAZOR DRAW
• SPEED WILL COME WITH PRACTICE
USE OF STROP CONT’D
• SECOND STROKE:
• TURN THE RAZOR ON THE BACK OF THE BLADE BY ROLLING IT IN THE FINGERS WITHOUT
TURNING THE HAND
• USE A LONG DIAGONAL STROKE WITH EVEN PRESSURE FROM THE HEEL TO THE POINT
• DRAW THE RAZOR AWAY FROM YOU TOWARDS THE CHAIR
TESTING OF THE RAZOR
• ON A MOISTENED TIP OF THUMB NAIL DRAW THE RAZOR
• A DULL EDGE PRODUCES A DRAWING FEELING
• A PROPERLY EDGED RAZOR THAT IS KEEN WILL TEND TO STICK AND NOT SLIDE ALONG
• IF THE EDGE PRODUCES A DISAGREEABLE SOUND IT IS TOO COURSE AND REQUIRES EXTRA
STROPPING
• A PROPERLY EDGED RAZOR SHOULD DIG INTO THE NAIL WITH A SMOOTH AND STEADY GRIP
THE SHAVE
• IS CLASSIFIED INTO 3 SECTIONS:
• THE PREPARATION
• THE PROCEDURE
• THE FINISH
PREPARATION
• SANITIZE HANDS
• DRAPE CLIENT
PROCEDURE
• APPLY HOT TOWEL
• OPEN AND SANITIZE RAZOR
• APPLY SHAVING CREAM USING CUSHION OF FINGERTIPS IN A ROTARY MOVEMENT
• SHAVE THE 14 AREAS USING THE CORRECT STROKES
• HOT/COLD TOWEL
• APPLY ASTRINGENT
• APPLY TALC USING MITT APPLICATION
FINISH
• REMOVE TOWELS AND DRAPE
• CLEAN UP WORK STATION
• COMB CLIENTS HAIR
LATHERING – IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP PRIOR TO
SHAVING BECAUSE:
• CLEANS THE FACE BY DISLODGING DIRT
• SOFTENS THE HAIR AND HOLDS IT IN AN ERECT POSITION
• AFFORDS A SMOOTH, FLAT SURFACE FOR THE RAZOR TO GLIDE OVER
• RUB LATHER BRISKLY INTO BEARDED AREA USING ROTARY MOVEMENTS WITH THE CUSHION
OF THE FINGERTIPS (ONE HAND ONLY)
STEAMING
• SOFTENS THE CUTICLE OF THE HAIR
• PROVIDES LUBRICATION BY STIMULATING THE ACTION OF THE OIL GLANDS
• OPENS THE FOLLICLE TO ALLOW FOR A CLOSER SHAVE
• SOOTHS AND RELAXES THE CLIENT
• NEVER APPLY A STEAM TOWEL (OR SHAVE) IF FACE IS SENSITIVE,
IRRITATED, CHAPPED, BLISTERED OR COVERED WITH ACNE
4 STANDARD SHAVING POSITIONS & STROKES
Freehand – face your client, stroke toward yourself
#1,3,4,8,11,12
Backhand – stroke away from yourself #2,6,7,9
Reverse Freehand – stand behind client & stroke toward yourself
#5,10,13,14
(Reverse Backhand – used only on the left side back of neck )
INGROWN HAIRS
• HAIRS THAT HAVE GROWN BENEATH THE SKIN CAUSING A LUMP IN WHICH PUS FORMS.
USUALLY CAUSED BY VERY CLOSE SHAVING OR THE RUBBING OF A SHIRT COLLAR
• CURLY HAIR PEOPLE ARE MORE PRONE TO INGROWN HAIRS
HOW TO MAKE A POWDER MITT