Watched a barber in Austin use a straight razor on wet hair and it blew my mind

I was in Austin last weekend visiting my cousin and stopped into this old school shop on South Congress. This guy was doing a full head shave with a straight razor on wet hair, no lather or cream at all. He just kept dipping it in water and going for it, hair was flying everywhere. I asked him about it and he said it gives a closer shave and doesn't clog the blade. Has anyone else tried this or is it just a Texas thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph5291mo agoMost Upvoted

Maybe it's just me but this sounds like a good way to nick yourself up bad. I mean straight razors are already pretty sketchy, doing it on wet hair without any kind of protection just seems like asking for trouble.

sethmartinez1mo ago

Fair point @joseph529 but straight razors actually work way better on wet hair than dry. The wetness softens the hair and gives you a cleaner cut so you're less likely to snag and nick yourself.