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Everyone in my shop swears by hot lather, but my clients keep telling me they like it cold
I read a comment on here last month saying cold shaving cream is for rookies and you need a hot towel steamer to be a real barber. I tried that for 3 weeks straight at my chair in Raleigh and half my guys flinched when the hot lather hit their neck. So I switched back to room temp foam from the pump bottle and nobody has complained once. One regular named Marcus told me the hot stuff made his skin break out near his collar. I get that tradition matters in this trade but comfort beats ritual if the guy in the chair is paying. Anyone else notice their clients actually prefer the simple stuff over the fancy setup?
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mason_davis4h ago
Kept a hot towel warmer going for two months when I first opened my chair, mostly because the old guys at the shop gave me grief about it. Turns out hot lather strips the oils off your skin and leaves it tight, which is why guys with sensitive necks get red and itchy right after. Room temp foam or even cold cream actually tightens the skin a little, which gives you a cleaner pass with the razor anyway. Marcus breaking out near his collar makes sense, heat opens pores and then the soap and bacteria sit in there. I keep a warm towel for the face wipe at the end because that feels good and doesn't cause problems, but the lather itself stays cool. Clients care about how their skin feels an hour later, not how fancy your setup looks.
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