Is the trade of the traditional barber dying?
Frank Hall visits Parnell Barbers Dublin who have been in business for 64 years.
The present Parnell premises is about to be pulled down by Dublin Corporation, however the shop will be moving to a nearby building in Aungier Street. In this ‘Newsbeat’ report Frank Hall gains an insight into the world of the barber.
John and Geroge explain how the advent of electric razors and safety razors has led to the death of cut-throat shaving. The current demand for haircutting and hairstyling has meant apprentices no longer learn how to give a shave. In fact, the majority of shops no longer offer the service.
While cutting Hall’s hair, John describes how a man can either be an easy shave or as he is called in the business
The cauliflower.
This poor individual
Has grains of the skin going this way and that way...you run the razor down, and the razor would top off it, and the hair is still there, and you’d have to come at a different direction to it.
Many customers wanting a haircut are not prepared to wait while another customer has a shave. On the other hand, the older generation come in to the shop to have a chat and kill some time.
Following his first shave in a barber shop Frank Hall quips,
I’ve never been shaved by a barber before and it’s also a wonderful thing to be able to say that I’ve been shaved by Parnell.
This episode of ‘Newsbeat’ was broadcast on 1 June 1966. The reporter is Frank Hall.
