Poor man's facial

A shave here is Dh 10 - 15 (less than $5).  I found a place that does a shave AND a facial massage for Dh 20 ($5.50)  Some people get excited for a lower back massage or a foot massage.  I get excited to have my temples massaged and the back of my neck.  And I can get that plus a shave for $5.50!  Sign me up!

Of course, I liked it enough that I always gave at least a $5.50 tip.  When they found out how much I tip the relaxing massage part went from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.  Now the whole thing takes an hour - a very relaxing hour.  

First comes the shave.  A jelly is applied as a moisturizer and then a straight edge blade does the shave.  That is usually followed by traditional shaving cream and another shave.  That is followed by putting on baby powder and using an electric razor to get anything that is left.  For hours afterward I'm as smooth as a baby's bottom.  They will also shave around the ear and the back of the neck.  

Then they apply some type of oil/hair tonic on my head and massage that in.  Although they speak very little English I made it clear that rubbing the back of my neck is something they could do for hours.  

Then they apply a mild exfoliant and spend 20 - 30 minutes rubbing it in.  That's me in what looks like the clown makeup below.

After that my face is washed off, soaped up, washed off, shampooed the hair and washed off.  Then at least 100 Kleenex's are used to dry my head and face (fortunately, I have little hair or it would take more Kleenex's).  A moisturizer and a whitening agent is then applied.  They don't seem to get that I have absolutely no need for a whitening agent but there's no way I can communicate that easily.

From in the door to out the door it is an hour.  I am getting an hour because I'm paying $11.  If I paid $5.50 I'd be out in half the time.  

This shop has four guys.  One guy sucks.  Another guy is very uneven (once great, another time not-so-good) and two guys who are obviously new to the world of cutting hair - aka saloon as it is called here.  I got one of the new guys on his second day on the job and he basically shaved my head back in January.  The new guys are the best so I have been sticking with them for the past month.

I didn't start the facial wash until March when I decided I needed to start using a moisturizer in this really dry country.  I bought a bottle and never used it.  I realized I'm not willing to put it on myself but I have no problem if someone else does it for me.

For a shave + exfoliant + moisturizer + face-head-neck massage for $11 it is hard not to go every day.  I limit myself to four five times per week.  Oh, the sacrifices.

When I paid per visit I found myself often giving Dh 50 - 60 ($13-15).  It took some explaining but now I pay in advance  Dh 200 ($55) for five sessions.  It saves me money and takes out the hassle.

Spending $44-$55 per week on shaves/head massages is insane; I know that.  I feel much less guilt knowing that I'm paying guys who make virtually nothing so my extra business is literally feeding one of the guy's child back home in Pakistan.  

All was well and good until one of the two I regularly go to ripped me off.  I allowed it to happen but it made me very sad.  I tried to teach a lesson but as is always the case with me, the lesson didn't work out quite as well as I hoped... at least not yet.