The Saga of the Sweater

My Father gave me many gifts. In addition to those many tangible things, he also left me with some good genes. My Father was pretty smart and so am I. My Father enjoyed movies a lot, and so do I. But, some gifts I never would have asked for.

It was no secret in our family that my Father was a hairy beast and when I was young I knew that I too would grow into a hairy beast just like him. And, it was true. (Hairy beast is an understatement)

Yes. I've got a lot of body hair. In the old single days, some women freaked out when they saw how hairy I was. To them I used to say: "Come on Baby! Once you go Furry you'll be back in a Hurry!" Sure, I got a lot of laughs with that line but it never did change the fact that I was a hairy beast.

Most of the hair I can deal with. Certain areas I take care of myself, doing man-scaping every month or so to take care of any out of control growth. But, I enjoy having a hairy chest, and Princess appreciates it. It makes me feel manly when she runs her fingers through my chest hair. But, the hair on my back makes me look more like a buffalo than a manly man. So, today, in true Beverly Hills style, I did something about it.

It is the service that everyone is talking about. Appropriately named "Sweater Removal" on the menu at The Shave Beverly Hills, the service addresses the need for men to purge unwanted body hair. And, purging is an understatement.

One proprietor of The Shave (Adam Dishell) and I have been exchanging e-mails for a couple weeks until my courage level, and the prodding by Esby, was ample enough to finally pull the trigger and schedule the appointment for today at 11 AM.

When Princess and I arrived, we were greeted by Adam. Princess, who was wearing her "I'm Blogging This" T-shirt and anxious to blog the event, was offered a glass of wine and was told to have a seat in the lobby. The service area and services at The Shave, for what I can tell, are for "Gentlemen Only".

I was asked to have a seat inside the services area and I was offered a drink. I turned down the drink offer and about 10 seconds into my browsing of a Robb Report, I was greeted by my esthetician. She took me into the Icon Room, hung a do not disturb sign on the outside, closed the door, and told me to take off my shirt. Answering with a prompt "Yes, Mam", I complied.

I got down on my stomach and she proceeded to use the clippers to shear me down like a sheep. After a brief paper change and some major hair cleanup, I got back down and she began to spread wax on my lower back. I felt warm from the wax and it was pretty pleasant. I then felt a brief rubbing, and then, RIP! Just like separating some Velcro, my first section of hair was pulled off. This was followed by another 10 - 15 RIPS! Then, area one was completed. OK... one down, three to go! It was about this time that I blacked out from the pain. (Just kidding!)

Now, I'm a really tough guy and I've been through some terrible pain in my life (For one that comes to mind, see my blog entry "Ouch! Damn Door Jams!"). I found the hair being ripped out of my back to be extremely painful, for about a half of a second. So, all in all, it was really no big deal. After a quick lunch at Hugo's, we came home and Princess pulled out a few (OK 40 -50) hairs that were missed with tweezers.

Just so everyone understands, Princess never forced or pressured me to get my back waxed. I'm pretty sure this is because she wouldn't want me to force her to get any sensitive parts of her body waxed. But, now that it is done, I'm pretty certain she is happy with the end result.

I was told to keep up my smooth, hairless back, the service would need to be repeated every six weeks. I've only got three of my commonly used words for that: Bring it on!

Peace out... :D
JH

The Shave of Beverly Hills

230 S. Beverly Dr.

Beverly Hills CA 90212

(310) 888-2898