Turkish barbers beyond beards — from past to present plus expert tips for shaving at home

By Lisa Morrow, CNN

Nihat Aram stands at the door of Turan Erkek Kuaförü, where he’s worked for 20 years, waiting for his next customer.

In the barbershop behind him, down a few stairs, square black chairs are positioned in front of an immaculately clean white counter, inset with individual washbasins for each customer. The decor is minimal, just a few photos on the wall, and the lighting is bright. Across the way, ’90s pop music plays over the speakers of a café while up the road groups of men sitting on low stools sip ruby colored tea from small tulip-shaped glasses.

This narrow backstreet in Kadıköy, on the Asian side of Istanbul, teems with men’s hairdressers. It’s not surprising because male grooming, particularly shaving, is on a level of its own in Turkey.

The rest of the world could learn a thing or two from the standard of personal care men observe here, and there are some techniques below worth replicating at home.

Becoming a master

Many men in Turkey visit their barber every week.

Establishments range from small local places such as this one to uberexpensive, upmarket salons and everything in between.

Although shaving dates back to the time of the Egyptians, little is known about the specific history of barbers in Turkey before the 16th century. Prior to that, shaving was haram, forbidden, and men grew their beards long in keeping with Islamic belief.

When Süleyman the Magnificent took over as Sultan in 1520, Turkish society changed. The first coffee houses opened up, providing public spaces for debate. Barbers were quick to see the potential and arranged with owners to set up in a corner inside. A few opened shops next door.

Would-be barbers most likely learned through observation and endless hours of practice, much like Nihat Aram.

“I didn’t go to a trade school. At that time, there wasn’t a trade school,” he said. Instead, he began an apprenticeship at 14 in Tunceli in eastern Turkey under an usta, a master. Aram’s first usta was Hüseyin Okyay, a highly disciplined and very exacting man who placed great emphasis on dressing neatly and well.

Aram was planning to complete another year of middle school during his apprenticeship, but his father became ill and he had to return to his hometown of Elâziğ.

Aram needed to work full time, and he started with a new usta, Kazım Alca. Aram learned honesty and morality from Alca, but it was another barber working at the salon that had the biggest influence on the 15 year old.

“His name was Mehmet … I saw that he was the best at cutting beards and hair … customers came to him from far away. I was impressed, because he was the best barber in that region.”

Mehmet encouraged Aram by giving him private lessons. Aram recalls how his usta inflated a balloon and shaved it. “It’s called a balloon shave. He had a knife sharpening stone and used a cut-throat razor. He had such a high level of skill.”

For two years, Aram watched and learned and practiced his razor skills at home, on his friends and sometimes even his mom, before becoming a master himself.

Master Turkish barbers not only pass on their expertise, they school their apprentices in an ethos based on customer-focused service and attention to detail second to none. With migration, their precision skills have been introduced to the world. Visit a Turkish barbershop in Istanbul, London or Berlin, and the experience will be the same.

Finding a good barber

When the trade began to modernize in the 19th century, barbers were considered part of the artisan class and had duties that extended well beyond hair and whiskers. According to research by a medical historian, barbers were often tasked with extracting teeth.

From 1840 onward, those who practiced tooth extraction had to sit an exam to assess their level of knowledge and skill. If they passed, they were allowed to advertise their services. Some of the more creative set up boards using teeth they’d pulled out to spell their names.

Thankfully, customers don’t have to worry about having their teeth removed when they go for a shave these days.

However, they should consider the attributes of the barber they choose. During the Ottoman Empire, candidates were tested to see how they reacted under pressure. Anyone found to be quick to anger and prone to making mistakes was ruled out. A good guiding principle, even now.

Aram believes devotion is one of the most important characteristics of a good barber.

“If you don’t love what you do, the results will be very bad … self-sacrifice is important, commitment, caring about and pleasing the customers, these are important characteristics.”

After more than 30 years working as a barber, Aram has learned to observe his clients carefully, to know how they are feeling and respond accordingly. They might be stressed about work or relationship problems. When he gives them a face or shoulder massage, another component of the barbershop experience, he also provides a sympathetic ear.

And trust between barber and client is essential. After all, one of them is wielding an open razor.

But the grooming process is not all about shaving.

Turkish barbers remove stray hairs from the face using ağ (wax) or the more old-fashioned threading method. This entails twisting a strand of thread held between the teeth and hands into a loop that opens and closes over the hairs in a scissor movement, plucking them out. Nasal hairs are briskly dealt with using wax or, less painfully, with a nose-hair trimmer.

Traditionally, ear hair is singed off. A taper soaked in spirits was lit and passed quickly over the surface of the ears, leaving them hairless but bright red for some time afterward. It looks quite dramatic and is, as Aram points out, slightly dangerous and now officially banned because the flame can’t be controlled.

Depending on the customer’s preferences, he uses wax or a cigarette lighter because it can be flicked on and off as needed.

What to know about grooming at home

The majority of Turkish barbers worked outdoors up until the end of the 20th century.

Mehmet Tekin, better known as Seyyat Berber (Nomad Barber), also works in the open and has been traveling Turkey on his motorbike since 2018, “making friends with his scissors by cutting people’s hair” along the way.

Seven years after he started working in the trade, Tekin completed two years of formal training and has worked as a freelance hairstylist since 2011 for fashion magazines, TV and film.

Like everywhere in the world, during lockdowns men in Turkey were unable to visit their barbers, and it was forbidden for barbers to go to their clients’ homes. Even Tekin had to stay put for a while. As a result, Aram and Tekin both fielded numerous calls from men wanting guidance on how to look after themselves at home.

Tekin in particular recommends men ask for advice from their own barber, rather than looking for a general solution because everyone’s skin type and beard structure (shape) is different. Knowing your individual skin sensitivities is important.

While Tekin and Aram prefer to see their clients for a proper shave, there are a few fundamentals of any good shave — whether in a shop or at home.

Type of razor? A sharp one.

The make and model of razor a man uses are less important than how skilled he is with it. When it comes to avoiding nicks and cuts, practice makes perfect, especially when using a straight razor.

The best way to learn, Aram says, is to “first practice and try many times without putting a blade into the razor. In training, barbers are taught to hold the skin with their fingers and stretch it slightly so we can shave the more difficult parts of the face more easily. This is particularly important to do.”

Aram uses a single blade razor with a handle and changes the blade after every client. Aside from the hygiene aspect, it guarantees a clean shave.

Back when he was an apprentice, he’d douse the razor with cologne and light it, but these days all the equipment is thoroughly sterilized in a professional UV cabinet. Nonetheless, after shaving a customer, he still pours white spirit onto the razor, ignites it and then lets it burn. Only when it’s clean does he insert the new blade. Men shaving at home would do well to do the same.

Water temperature? Hot.

“They shouldn’t shave with cold water. To have a better shave, they should do it after a shower if it is possible,” Tekin said.

Aram concurred on the question of hot water. “Using hot water is very important in case there are any microbes on the blade, and it makes the shave more comfortable and softer,” he said.

He also had a lot to say about type of soap that should be used. Using ordinary soap to create foam to shave “can cause allergies, can cause harm to your skin, rashes … fungal infections.”

To get as close to a Turkish shave as possible, he recommends using foaming soap in a packet, such as Arko, a Turkish brand. “Put [the] soap on the brush and into hot water, boiling water …. This is the most hygienic way.”

The bristles of the shaving brush should be a little soft, not hard. Men need to dip the brush into very hot water first, apply the soap to the brush and only then lather their faces. If they apply soap directly onto their face first, then dip the brush into hot water and use it to lather the soap on their face, they risk burning their skin.

Done using the correct sequence, after about five seconds, the heat from the bristles causes the soap to foam and in the process cools the brush slightly, making for a safe, smooth lather.

A final piece of advice

Both men know their customers are capable of shaving themselves at home, but as Aram points out, only a barber can “boost their morale” by lending a sympathetic ear.

“I say ‘get better soon’ for illnesses… it gets better, this is life, it continues. When they get up, they are happy, loved. When I am energized and motivated myself, I transfer it onto them.”

It seems nothing can replace going to the barber, at least in Turkey, where their skills go well beyond mere shaving.

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