Tasha Does Tulsa.

Remember when you were little and one of the highlights of your stays at Grandma and Grandpa’s house was getting to watch Grandpa shave in the morning?

How Grandpa looked like Santa with all that shaving cream on his face; how he’d make every facial expression known to man as he twisted and turned his face around the safety razor he’d had since he got out of the Army;  how the bathroom smelled like warm towels, Barbasol and Old Spice practically until lunch time. It didn’t matter that you couldn’t even see over the bathroom counter. You just wanted to hang out while Grandpa prepared his face for the day, not knowing that together you were making one of most vivid and comforting memories of your entire childhood.

The players in this quintessential coming-of-age tale in my house right now are my husband and our son. He’s just two-and-a-half, but he loves standing on his tip-toes and gripping the edge of the counter with his chubby, starfish-like little fingers so he can watch his dad lather up and shave.

Shaving is a popular topic over at one of my very favorite Oklahoma-based blogs, The Art of Manliness, penned by Tulsa bloggers Brett and Kate McKay. In fact, it’s how we found the site in the first place. Thanks to my husband’s curiosity-turned-Google-search and their article, Learn How to Shave Like Your Grandpa, we not only had a new read we could both enjoy, but now our son will get to learn to shave how we remember our grandfathers did.

But even if you know how to give yourself a shave that will have your face in fair competition with a baby’s bottom, it’s nice to head to a locally-owned barbershop as often as the budget will allow to have a real professional do the job.

Before last Thursday, my husband had never had a professional shave before. He’s not exactly a barbershop regular. For nearly 10 years he served in the Army National Guard, where a buzz cut of a quarter-of-an-inch or shorter is military policy. Fortunately for our budget and my sick sense of adventure, it’s easy for me to maintain his hair cut at home with a standard set of electric clippers. And a guard or two. You know, for variety.

While I deeply enjoy lording over my husband with a set of clippers once every two weeks, I just can’t get excited about learning to give a good shave. What if I give my husband an epic case of razor burn? What if I slip and cause a permanent scar, rendering my husband’s secret dreams of a career as a supermodel crushed and broken?

What if I hit an artery? The risk is just too great.

Besides, with a barber in town like Mark Clay, owner of Clay’s Barbershop in the Fontana Shopping Center at 51st and Memorial, why reinvent the wheel?

My husband first heard about Mark from a co-worker, also a former Army guy, who returned to work one afternoon from an appointment at Clay’s absolutely raving not only about the shop and the service, but also about the barber himself. Once my husband heard that Mark is a retired Army colonel and that his shop is a veritable treasure trove of Army memorabilia, he knew that one day, their paths would cross.

That article from Brett and Kate McKay signed, sealed and delivered the deal.

When we arrived for our appointment last week, hubs was able to walk straight from the door to the barber’s chair.

Because having to wait even though you made an appointment is a real pain in the hind-end, right?

Right.

Look! An Army doll and a case full of challenge coins, right on the way to Mark’s chair.

It was home, sweet home for us at Clay’s from the very start. Because we have an Army doll and a bunch of challenge coins, too.

Birds of a feather, man. Birds of a feather.

First, Mark steamed hubs’ face with towels heated old-school style over boiling water.

Then, Mark put conditioner on hubs’ skin to open his pores and soften his beard. It also helped to lubricate the blade of the straight razor Mark was using.

Can’t I just say that again? Mark wasn’t using a cartridge. He wasn’t using a safety razor. He was using a straight razor. As in, practically a Samurai sword.

Pure. Skills. Mark is all that is man.

And that Mark wears a starched shirt everyday to work is utterly charming. It’s also highly appreciated. It gets old going to the barbershop or salon and having your hair cut by someone who obviously doesn’t give a rip about how they look.

If you’re going to be in the business of making people look good, shouldn’t your appearance be snappy as well?

Mark stretched hubs’ skin to work in a closer shave. He pulled a reverse backhand on the area underneath hubs’ chin, something he claims no other barber in town can do.

And I’m pretty good at believing whatever a guy with a straight razor to my husband’s neck has to say.

Mark used an after-shave lotion that chemically closed hubs’ pores. It’s formulated to soothe his skin and to ward off any skin irritation or unsightly acne I’d have to secretly restrain myself from picking at.

All told, after about 10 minutes, we were done.

See that chair hubs is sitting in? It’s seriously vintage.

In fact, Mark collects antique barbershop chairs.

I know, right? How could this guy possibly get any cooler?

This is a Depression-era chair whose base is cast of solid nickel. Mark said that it’s believed the rest of the set was melted down for the metal during those tough years. This couple turned up at auction years later. Now, they’re in Mark’s barbershop.

These chairs were turned out during a 1920s remodel of the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. A select few live on in barbershops across the country. Mark is the proud owner of a pair of the chairs.

See that red-and-white number out of which my son is jumping? President Obama gets his shave in a chair exactly like that. Cool, huh?

Just try and find that at Supercuts.

I can’t think of a better gift for a manly man than a professional shave or a facial. It’s relaxing, it’s luxurious and, duh, it’s highly manly. It’s also a great idea for any guy who’s headed to a job interview, that annual family photo shoot or, particularly, a hot date.

Because there’s nothing sexier than a relaxed, cleanly shaven man. Except for maybe the smell of a relaxed, cleanly shaven man.

Hey there, blurry husband. Hey.

If you want a shave at Clay’s, be sure to call ahead and make an appointment. There’s lots of preparation that goes into a shave, so it’s always nice to give the barber notice so that he can plan his day of appointments accordingly.

And also because the guy’s going to be holding a very sharp implement snugly against your jugular. All politenesses are encouraged.

Clay’s Barbershop
When: Tuesday-Friday, 8am-6pm; Saturday, 8am-3pm; Last man seated 15 minutes before closing
Where: In the Fontana Shopping Center at 51st Street and Memorial Drive
Call: (918) 859-9709
Web: http://www.claysbarbershop.com/
(There’s another Clay’s location at 61st and Sheridan, but they don’t offer shaves or facials.)

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