Cutthroat business of Turkish barbers

NOT for the faint-hearted but a Turkish hot towel cutthroat shave is an experience of a lifetime, writes Tom Gillespie.

I first had the pleasure of such a shave in Istanbul while waiting for a bus to Bulgaria.

Being as bald as a coot, the barber looked at me twice and was happy when I indicated I just wanted a hot towel Turkish shave.

After carefully examining my bearded face, he set about with hot towels and lathered me up before he got to work with the cutthroat.

I didn’t have to shave again for three days. To say my face was as smooth as a baby’s backside would be an understatement.

Now the Turkish hot towel shave is available in Castlebar, where master barber Zacky has opened his Turkish Barber Shop on Main Street, beside Supermacs.

Zacky has been barbering for over 25 years. And he learned the trade the hard way.

He told me: "My family was very poor. I started barbering when I was very young. I went to school in the morning. When one o’clock came we ate and then I went to work in the barber shop until 11 o’clock in the night.

“After going to sleep it was back to school again, and the barber shop. I cannot remember when I had a full day off."

To master the cutthroat technique Zacky undertook an extensive training course of more than a year.

He continued: "When I started learning to use the cut throat I had to practice on myself. I shaved my legs maybe 20 times. You have to go very fast."

Zacky has been in Ireland for the past 15 years having worked in Cork and Mullingar. Prior to that he had worked for a period in Dubai.

"We specialise in the Middle Eastern cutthroat hot towel shave," Zacky explained. "Giving haircuts, everybody does there same."

But he pointed out: "There is no insurance cover in Ireland to cover cutthroat shaving. If you cut a customer the barber is the one with the problem. To work as a cutthroat barber you must not drink alcohol as you would end up with shaky hands."

Zacky opened on Main Street a few weeks ago and is delighted with the business so far.

He said: "I am very happy here. We open every day, even Sundays. You have to open every day to build up the business and get people to catch your eye.

"I chose Castlebar because there was no Turkish barber here. If there was a Turkish barber there I don’t go. There is no point is going to a town where there is a Turkish barber because of the competition. Whoever is there first gets the customers."

The Castlebar shop was designed by REM, who specialise in barber shop design, and Zacky also has a barber shop in Mullingar and a share in a shop with his friends in Tullamore.