[Dixielandjazz] Shave and a haircut - What the razor blade companies don't want you to know.

[Bill Gunter]

Hi Larry and all,

You wrote (regarding the price of a shave and a haircut):

>So please let me know where I can get a haircut, much less a shave
>and a haircut, for six bits?

Actually, I don't think you can if you go to some commercial barber shop.  
HOWEVER . . .

I do my own shave and haircut (now that I enjoy male pattern baldness and my 
'state of the art' razors).

This brings up an interesting point.

How many of you guys still use shaving cream before go to the gig and take 
blade to cheek and shave off the offending whiskers?

(aside to Bob Ringwald) This is an "on topic" discussion directly related to 
your bringing up the subject of "shave and a haircut" in the first place and 
should in no way be considered a digression from our usual "acceptable" 
discussion topics.

Now . . . I used to always go out and buy that big aerosol can of Gillette 
shaving cream and I would squirt out a handful of lather and then smear it 
on my chops and then, using Gillette "Custom Plus" disposable razors, I'd 
hack off the beard.

One day, out on a gig at a distant motel, I discovered I had no Gillette 
shaving cream in my toilet kit so I just washed my face, used the miniature 
bar of Motel 6 Soap for a bit of lather and slapped some of that on my face 
and shaved.

I did not notice one single bit of difference between the shave with the 
shaving cream and without the shaving cream!   Go figure!!!

So I read the blurb on the Gillette Custom Plus razor package:

"Twin Gillette Comfort Blades are thinner to cut hair more easily-for an 
extraordinarily comfortable shave."

"Lubrastrip edge with Extra Lubricating Poweer, Vitamin E and Aloe."

"Soft Ultragrip handle for greater control."

Friends, Razor techology has come a long way since my grandfather used to 
use a razor strop to sharpen his folding razor blade.

Take my word for it. Modern razors are super sharp, ratain their edges for a 
longer period of time and will give a close shave without having to use that 
big can of aerosol shaving cream!

The deal is, the razor blade companies (Gillette, Shick, etc.) also 
manufacture shaving cream and it is not in their interest to advertize 
razors which are so effiecient that you don't need to buy the shaving cream.

Face it -- Shaving cream is redundant today!!! But it is still sold wherever 
they sell shaving supplies.

So here's the bottom line:

I haven't used shaving cream for several years now. I simply wash my face 
with some hot water and a regular bar of whatever soap is available at the 
motel or my home and then shave it off.

Trust me, there is no difference between the quality of shave with plain old 
hot water and a bit of soap (optional) and some fancy-schmancy shaving 
cream. Modern razor technology has rendered that stuff obsolete.

It is now easier to pack my toilet kit when I travel to gigs and my shaving 
time is reduced by a third to a half.  Women still throw themselves at me 
hoping I'll let them dance cheek to cheek with me because of my "baby 
bottom" smooth chops.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill "Baby Face" Gunter
jazzboard at hotmail.com

ps - go ahead, sheer . . . you are all the victims of an advertising scam!  
Hah!

extra ps - Ringwald doesn't shave anyway . . . he lets somebody trim his 
beard whenever it gets too shaggy.