Time was when I could walk in to my barber shop, get a hair cut, a beard trim and a head and shoulder massage and walk out in about twenty minutes. Fellows without beards and not addicted to massages, will do so in under ten minutes. The barber shop personnel would encourage the latter as turnover of customers was important, not fellows who sat around for hours.
Today, my visit to the barber shop takes even less time as I have much less hair on top. But what I do notice is that a lot of other guys come in and spend a lot more time than I do there. They are usually there when I walk in and are still there after I leave. Many of them have some kind of white paste on their faces, some have something bubbly on their heads, some are getting their hair dyed,and so on.
I was under the impression that it is an Indian phenomenon that men want to dandy up till I read this very interesting debate in the NYT.
What do you think?