Wednesday, November 26, 2014YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- With electric clippers and straight razors Wednesday morning, five barbers from Excalibur Barber quickly, adeptly and gently removed the hair eight men had allowed to grow on their faces this month. And with that, this year’s “Movember” came to an end.
The eight -- Patrick Wilson, Mike Case, Brian Laraway, Dan Ricchuiti, Jon Sherman, Jonathon Fauvie, Don Koenig and Dennis LaRue -- agreed at the beginning of November to not shave parts of their faces this month in hopes of getting comments about their moustaches, goatees and extended sideburns.
Wilson is an attorney with Harrington Hoppe & Mitchell; Laraway a financial adviser at Bury Financial Inc., Poland; Case co-hosts WFMJ-TV’s morning show; Fauvie is with the Mercy Health Foundation; and LaRue is copy editor and a reporter at The Business Journal.
The premise was that those these men met would react by commenting on their unshaved whiskers and the men would respond they were growing facial hair in support of Movember. Movember is the annual publicity campaign held each November to raise awareness about prostate cancer among members of the male sex and why men should schedule an appointment with their doctors for an exam. “Man up, Mahoning Valley. Don’t fear the finger,” was the Movember rallying cry.
Even female physicians and nurses sported fake handlebar moustaches within St. Elizabeth hospitals and clinics as part of the efforts to raise awareness, said Koenig, chief operating officer of the Mercy Health System Youngstown, formerly Humility of Mary Health Partners. St. Elizabeth’s is part of the Mercy system.
Neither Koenig, Fauvie, with the Mercy Health Foundation, or Dr. Ricchuiti, who practices at St. Elizabeth’s, could offer any hard data on how many men have scheduled visits with their doctors or had prostate exams this month, only anecdotes to support their sense that awareness had been greatly raised and more men are likely to schedule appointments.
Jon Sherman of Sherman & Associates, Warren, said he received many comments and inquiries about the salt-and-pepper goatee he grew. “I also went out of my way to inform people about Movember and the need for prostate screenings,” he said.
“Movember’ was conceived by the Movember Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in California whose mission is to “change the face of men’s health.” According to its website, four million moustaches have been grown worldwide as part of the event and $559 million has been raised to fund more than 800 programs in 21 countries.
The five barbers participating in Tuesday’s shave-off -- Jamie Decembly, Eithyer Ramos, Alex Sanchez, Jeffrey Gadison and Luis W. Carrasquillo -- stood ready to restore the men to their former clean-shaven and wholesome-looking selves before 9:30. They had lined up their chairs in the foyer of the St. Elizabeth Clinic in Austintown, had clippers, razors, shaving soap and balm, aftershave, aprons to protect their customers’ suits, neck papers and black latex gloves at the ready.
Excalibur, which has a staff of seven at the Southern Park Mall and sits near J.C. Penney’s and Joseph A. Bank, is locally owned. Ramos, a master barber who is also qualified to teach in barber schools, spoke to what it takes to earn a barber license in Ohio and why the shaves he and his colleagues provide are superior.
To become a licensed barber, one must complete 1,800 hours of training – as a master barber, Ramos has taken additional classes – and learn how to properly prepare the steam towels, “correctly apply the lather,” and learn how to consistently hold a razor at the correct angle. “There’s a correct way to prepare lather,” he said.
Where most men shave with the grain when they stand before their bathrooms mirrors, Ramon explained, a professional barber “is trained to go against the grain, giving an even closer shave.”
The closer shave “lasts a day or two longer,” Ramos said, than the shave a man can give himself with a safety razor.
While most men who visit Excalibur want a hair cut, the barbers agreed that each shaves one customer a week on average. Men come in the day they’re to be married. High school and college students visit the day of a prom or other major dance.
The barbers agreed with Ramos that a professional shave -- from the steamed towels to soften the beard, the application of the lather, the shave itself, finished with aftershave -- is an ideal way for a men to pamper himself and something every man should experience at least once.
Prices range from $15 for the standard cleanup shave at Excalibur to $35 for the Excalibur shave, Ramos said, a small price for the indulgence.
Pictured: Five of the local men participating in 'Movember' today are clean shaven, thanks to the barbers from Excalibur at the Southern Park Mall. From left are Don Koenig, Jonathon Fauvie, Jon Sherman, Dennis LaRue and Brain Laraway.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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