Andrew Kay: A close shave

The joy of wet

That thing that hangs about on my upper lip has been there some time. I was never a hairy bloke, to be quite honest, I didn’t need to shave until I was 25 years old and until then my face was a smooth as… well let’s not dwell on that.
By my mid-twenties I was starting to tire of being asked my age in pubs and bars and at the first sproutings of a moustache I was quick to nurture it. To be honest it was pretty feeble and I did resort to shading it darker with and eyebrow pencil, well why not, I had to do the same to my sparse blonde eyebrows if I wanted them to be seen!
The result was that I looked like a baby-faced Flash Harry, the iconic spiv from the St. Trinians films as played by George Cole.
I liked it though and as time passed I was able to develop the ‘tache. By my early thirties it was substantial enough to curl and wax. It became a pretty permanent feature, shaved off from time to time when the sun came out and I felt the need to go naked.

More recently I grew the beard, not a bad effort and whiter than white, rather good when having to dress up as Santa (and yes I did, for charitable purposes).
The whole beard scene has grown crazily and Brighton’s beardage can now be measured in kilometres. Not one for blending in I decided it was time for the fuzz to go. I rummaged in the bathroom cabinet and found the necessary tools and off it came, well all but the ‘tache. That would take more thought.
It was a surprisingly tough job too, like clearing thicket, not pleasant. That very same day I had to go into to town to buy a gift. I rather like Molton Brown products and often assume that friends will too, so I nipped in and, having made a purchase, they asked me if I would like to return for a free wet shave that Friday. Well the timing could not have been better and I of course accepted.
Two days later I was in the chair having the most marvelous pampering, a facial followed by a steam shave by Mr Peter Joannou, a local barber of skill and crooner to boot. For my personal steam shave and facial experience Peter used the following products: Molton Brown Deep Clean Face Scrub – with African whitewood extract to tighten your pores and dissolve excess oils while jojoba wax beads slough off dirt and ingrown hairs.

Molton Brown Moisture Rich Shaving Soap – blended with coconut oil, this shaving soap creates a creamy lather, great for softening facial hair growth. For the first shave.
Molton Brown Razor-glide Shaving Gel – a luxurious gel with notes of mandarin and African whitewood extract for the second close shave. This was followed by Molton Brown Post-shave Recovery Balm – blended with barley extract with notes of sandalwood and musk to help rebuild your skin’s moisture barrier.
He went on to apply Molton Brown Anti-Fatigue Bai Ji Eye Gel – great for hydrating, cooling and soothing the delicate eye area and Molton Brown Extra Rich Bai ji Hydrator to moisturise and nourish and soften your skin.
With a spritz of Molton Brown’s Shisur Fine Fragrance and the offer of a glass of Bison Beer (declined) I headed off much refreshed. Shaving since has been so much easier. I plan to visit Peter at his salon at least once a month and I must go back to Molton Brown for some shaving requisites.

Molton Brown Brighton 60 East Street, Brighton BN1 1HN
01273 730115
Peter Joannou, 40 Middle Street
Brighton BN1 1AL 01273 328799