04 October 2006

Simple pleasures

I'm not particularly fond of spas and massages. Perhaps it's because I would rather spend my money on movies and food :-).

"You need to pamper yourself every now and then, buy things that's worth more than you would normally shell out money for (like clothing and electronic gadgets)," says good friend Francis while we looked around for a pair of shoes at Glorietta one afternoon - I think he buys one every quarter). "You deserve to pamper yourself," he added. Good point.
Well, there's this Barber Shop near our office. Bruno's Barbers is what it's called. I usually get my haircut at Evangelista in Makati where it costs only 80 pesos plus tip. But one day I really wanted a haircut so bad I decided to try out Bruno's. Hector attended to me and I guess they're trained on how to make the customer satisfied with their visit. At barber shops, you get a complimentary massage after your haircut. Back in Evangelista, my barber massages my shoulders and back. At Bruno's, your chair gets reclined and you get a face and head massage, and then a back massage.

Last night was the third time I visited Bruno's and asked for Hector to do my haircut. It's great to have a regular barber because you don't have to explain at each visit what you want. It's not like I have to do a lot of explaining to do for my haircut, but it's great to just take your seat and get things done.

This is the interior of the barber shop. Spic and span. And look at the chairs! It's like sitting on sofa! So comfy! When the chair reclines, the footrest adjusts as well, and the neck gets a nice, solid support.
That's Hector. Nope, that's not me getting the haircut. I was actually trying to get a photo of the services they render. Most amusing is ear cleaning (150 pesos). People really request for such a service? Hmmm...
They also have massages (350 for half hour, 450 for an hour), hair treatment, etc etc. Haircut costs 150 pesos plus tip. Yup, it's about twice the cost of my Evangelista barber.

While waiting for my turn, I sifted through their magazine rack, and was surprised to find these! Wow, I haven't read Archie's for the longest time! What a treat.
Soon I was on the chair and after my haircut, Hector applied a menthol lotion on my face and did a face and head massage, shaved my 5:00 shadow, and massaged my back longer than usual.

The massage actually felt great! I was all smiles when I left the barber shop. It was so relaxing! I'm thinking of trying a massage service soon. My friends already have a couple of shops in mind (they said 350 for half an hour is too steep).

At any rate, I now alternate my haircut routine between Evangelista and Bruno's. And though a bit more expensive, I now find myself looking forward to my visits at Bruno's. Simple pleasures!

(When I was telling my friends what a nice time I had at Bruno's, Beth asked "Why do men get massages after their haircut? Why not for ladies too?" I don't have an answer to that, unfortunately. Massages are replaced with gossip exchange?)

13 comments:

  1. we don't get massages after haircuts but we do get one after a hot oil treatment. :)

    but usuually, it's just a scalp and neck massage. kung masipag ang attendant, nag e-extend sya sa shoulders. :)

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  2. some parlors massage you after shampoo.. sarap! have to visit the parlor soon too, watson. to try another look.

    hehe

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  3. meowok: a ok

    Thanks leah!

    Dessagirl: so meron rin pala ... hindi nga lang widely practiced...

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  4. Anonymous1:21 am

    I was also lucky to found a hairdresser that suits me. She already knows what kind of cut I want and my kids like her too. And she just lives around the corner. She doesn't give massages though.

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  5. I was shocked when I went with my brother-in-law to a barber shop to get his hair cut and they gave him a massage afterwards. If my hair wasn't short enough, I would have jumped in the next chair for a trim and massage too. Here in the States, they don't give massages and they charge 1000 to 2000 pesos to cut your hair!

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  6. A haircut sure is one way of pampering yourself. :) Sound advice from your friend.
    I always get scared when they do the head snap thing to crack your neck.
    Ooooh... Archie comics! I've always loved Jughead and I prefer Betty over Veronica. :)

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  7. The first time a barber started massaging me after a haircut was in Turkey when I was entering my teens. I was so nervous about some dude rubbing on me that I was more tense after the massage than before. I have no problem admitting that I'm homophobic... I just cannot let a guy give me physical pleasure of any kind. Now, a female barber, NO PROBLEM! I usually tell her, "please feel free to NOT stop at the shoulders!"

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  8. Anonymous8:15 am

    ahh, i missed haircuts with the barber telling some "kwentong barbero" then massaging your neck and shoulders after the job is done...

    it's been years i haven't got any visit to those kind of places. :P

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  9. Niceheart, isn't it nice to start with the pleasantries instead of instructions?

    Ed: That's a ridiculous price!

    Alternati: Oh, me too! The barbers did that to me back in college. They don't do it these days. I haven't read Archies in so many years!

    Phil: wow, really? You're the first person I have known to be homophobic then.

    Jepaperts: uy thanks for visiting again. You didn't leave a link the last time... I guess you didn't again...

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  10. You're kidding me right Wat? Maybe not. I've noticed that most of us heterosexual American men have a problem with physical contact with other men. For instance, the idea of holding hands with a guy or standing too close to another man gives us a case of the jumping willies. The other day at school I saw two boys sitting in a stairwell, one behind the other, with the fella in front leaning back against the chest and "ano" of his buddy. I asked my classmate and he said they were't gay, just friends. It's times like that when I realize there is a very wide gap in our cultures. Yup, homophobic to the moderate level... that's me, a product of my Americanism.

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  11. Mama Jenn: oo nga naman hehehe!

    Phil: Yeah, it must be difference in culture. Barber shops here usually give a massage after the haircut and I've been receiving one since high school so I guess we don't think much about it.

    You guys get charged 1,000 to 2,000 pesos per haircut in the States? Wow, that's a lot of money. For a haircut, at least. I think.

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  12. That's for just a plain haircut Wats0n. I've heard of women who spend upwards of 5000 pesos on a perm.

    I agree with Phil that it is a cultural thing. I get uncomfortable in the RP with how close other males stand in line next to me and I would thing the two guys in the stairway were probably gay if I had seen that over here.

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  13. Anonymous5:36 am

    Going to the salon is one of my simple pleasures too. I've been going to Rever salon since I was college. Lucy does my hair and eyebrows all the time.

    Rach

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