I remember when I was young that my dad and I had the same barber, Sal. My favorite part of going to the barbershop, other than the fact that I was spending time with my dad, was when Sal would take his scissors and slide them along my temple to trim the hair there. (This was, of course, when I actually had hair.) The scissors were cold and smooth, and it felt shivery when he would cut that part of my hair. I wasn’t really starved for touch as a kid, but that was my favorite thing for a while. The only problem was that I only needed about four haircuts a year; that, I think, may have actually made it more special.

Eventually Sal closed his shop and opened an Italian restaurant (which we also frequented as a family), and I went to other barbershops, but no matter which shop I went to it was that memory I could never quite recapture.

Now that my head is shaved, I enjoy going to the barbershop for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I’m lazy and it’s such a dang production to shave my head. At least the barbers are getting paid for it. But I also enjoy the physical touch of it. I’m definitely not starved for touch in my current relationships; any time I want to be touched I only need to ask. But there’s something different about going to the barbershop — especially when they do a razor shave. Only some of the barbers at the shop I go to will do that, and it’s glorious to go through the whole process.

When I went to the barbershop last weekend, though, the barber only used her foil shaver. Which is fine, I guess; it still got the job done. It just wasn’t the same. She didn’t touch my head as much as the other barbers do. I felt almost cheated.

This isn’t to say that I’m making something kinky or sexual out of it — not that there’s anything wrong with that so long as everyone consents. It’s just a feeling of being taken care of that I can only get from the barbershop — it brings up good memories, and it feels nice, and when I’m done my head is super smooth. I guess next time I go I won’t see that barber; I’ll try to see one of the ones who I know will do a razor shave. It was busy, and I was in a hurry, or I might have waited. I guess now I know I should.

My original first sentence of this post was:

I wonder how many people go to the barbershop simply because it’s the only physical touch they get.

The post didn’t go quite in that direction, but it’s still a valid question.