A Brave Shave

One word best describes Brandon Cunningham on this Monday afternoon at Mandalay Place: scruffy. A busy weekend without the plastic Bic razor will do that to a guy.

His prickly face, hairy throat and unruly sideburns yearn for the touch of a sharp blade but a disposable razor just won't do it today. Instead, Cunningham is getting the Royal Shave from The Art of Shaving. For someone who hasn't cut his hair since October because his "hair cutter" moved, Cunningham is in for some unprecedented pampering.

After plopping into a puffy leather chair in the waiting area and observing his surroundings, the 34-year-old decided he was in safe, masculine territory. The mahogany wood, Frank Sinatra tunes, musky scent and coffee table littered with men's magazines put him at ease, that is, until he recalled a memorable scene from "The Untouchables."

"I just remember thinking, 'If anyone could off him (Al Capone) it would be the barber,'" Cunningham said, referring to the shiny blade Robert Dinero's barber uses in the movie to remove his five o'clock shadow.

Five minutes later his feet were propped up in a barber's chair and Elliott Chester, master barber, prepared for the shave.

Cunningham laid back as his barber introduced him to the first step of a proper shave: a steamed towel. Once the pores were open and the cream was applied, the straight razor shave began. Chester was busy concentrating; Cunningham was busy hoping he was concentrating.

When Chester lifted his razor to clean it with the towel wrapped around his client's neck, Cunningham started in with the questions. Taking his cue, the barber began filling the loud silence with quick pointers. "Always shave with the grain before shaving against the grain;" "Never distort your face when you shave. Pull your skin with your own hand;" "This is a close shave but you'll still have to shave tomorrow."

Cunningham took it all in: the advice, the hot steam from the second towel, the rosewood eye patches, the algae mask, the uni-brow clean-up, the face massage and finally aftershave lotion.

Forty-five minutes later, hardly a scruffy attribute remained. And Cunningham was pleased with the outcome. "I sure feel pretty good," he said touching his baby soft cheeks. "I'd go there to get a haircut or get it for a friend on their wedding day, definitely."

He later added: "I don't normally like people touching me but (the Royal Shave) was kinda manly. It's not like going to the spa as a dude."

The Art of Shaving at Mandalay Place performs shaves seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Royal Shave costs $55.