Is my barber spreading more than just gossip?

[Sutty]

Expecting high hygiene standards at Thai barber shops is unrealistic. I wish I could say paying a lot more guarantees better, but it doesn't.

It's similar to what goes on in most restaurants here. The awareness and concern is just very low.

I'm afraid I have to agree with you on this.

I go to what we used to call in England, a gentleman barber. He insists that customers remove their shoes when entering his saloon, but he never sweeps away the hair cut from his previous customers and found myself walking bare foot in the hair. On my second visit I wore socks under my shoes. Then he uses a cut throat razor on my sideburns and as yet have not seen him actually put a new blade in his razor handle or ever seen him clean his instruments. He always cuts my hair perfectly after having some dreadful bodge jobs from other barbers, he`s a real professional hairdresser and never rips me off, but his hygiene is practically non existent.

As times I enjoy to go for a foot massage and noticed that the staff never wash their hands when continuing from one customer to another. So if a customer has foot calluses or Hong Kong foot this is going to be spread like wild fire by the hands of the staff. It`s the same when we go for massages and even with dentists I am always hoping that there instruments, especially injections have been properly sterilised. And of course in restaurants, we never really know what goes on in their kitchens. We have our drinking water delivered, yet no one knows where it comes from or if it`s filtered properly.

So far since living in Thailand I`ve been lucky, but how can we be certain that these services are safe practices and if we do before ill or infected from poor hygiene standards, who we gonna call, Ghost busters?

So your barber doesn't run a clean shop yet you go back time after time. Foot massage is Un hygienic yet you still go. You worry about drinking water at restaurants why not order bottled come to think of it I've never been served water in a glass from any restaurant I've used always bottled and sealed. Me thinks you need to look closely at where you go for haircut/massage and food.

[cyberfarang]

Expecting high hygiene standards at Thai barber shops is unrealistic. I wish I could say paying a lot more guarantees better, but it doesn't.

It's similar to what goes on in most restaurants here. The awareness and concern is just very low.

I'm afraid I have to agree with you on this.

I go to what we used to call in England, a gentleman barber. He insists that customers remove their shoes when entering his saloon, but he never sweeps away the hair cut from his previous customers and found myself walking bare foot in the hair. On my second visit I wore socks under my shoes. Then he uses a cut throat razor on my sideburns and as yet have not seen him actually put a new blade in his razor handle or ever seen him clean his instruments. He always cuts my hair perfectly after having some dreadful bodge jobs from other barbers, he`s a real professional hairdresser and never rips me off, but his hygiene is practically non existent.

As times I enjoy to go for a foot massage and noticed that the staff never wash their hands when continuing from one customer to another. So if a customer has foot calluses or Hong Kong foot this is going to be spread like wild fire by the hands of the staff. It`s the same when we go for massages and even with dentists I am always hoping that there instruments, especially injections have been properly sterilised. And of course in restaurants, we never really know what goes on in their kitchens. We have our drinking water delivered, yet no one knows where it comes from or if it`s filtered properly.

So far since living in Thailand I`ve been lucky, but how can we be certain that these services are safe practices and if we do before ill or infected from poor hygiene standards, who we gonna call, Ghost busters?

So your barber doesn't run a clean shop yet you go back time after time. Foot massage is Un hygienic yet you still go. You worry about drinking water at restaurants why not order bottled come to think of it I've never been served water in a glass from any restaurant I've used always bottled and sealed. Me thinks you need to look closely at where you go for haircut/massage and food.

Me thinks you better read my post again, it`s not quite as you have interpreted it.

Me thinks you should be more careful where you buy your reading glasses.

[Sutty]

Expecting high hygiene standards at Thai barber shops is unrealistic. I wish I could say paying a lot more guarantees better, but it doesn't.

It's similar to what goes on in most restaurants here. The awareness and concern is just very low.

I'm afraid I have to agree with you on this.

I go to what we used to call in England, a gentleman barber. He insists that customers remove their shoes when entering his saloon, but he never sweeps away the hair cut from his previous customers and found myself walking bare foot in the hair. On my second visit I wore socks under my shoes. Then he uses a cut throat razor on my sideburns and as yet have not seen him actually put a new blade in his razor handle or ever seen him clean his instruments. He always cuts my hair perfectly after having some dreadful bodge jobs from other barbers, he`s a real professional hairdresser and never rips me off, but his hygiene is practically non existent.

As times I enjoy to go for a foot massage and noticed that the staff never wash their hands when continuing from one customer to another. So if a customer has foot calluses or Hong Kong foot this is going to be spread like wild fire by the hands of the staff. It`s the same when we go for massages and even with dentists I am always hoping that there instruments, especially injections have been properly sterilised. And of course in restaurants, we never really know what goes on in their kitchens. We have our drinking water delivered, yet no one knows where it comes from or if it`s filtered properly.

So far since living in Thailand I`ve been lucky, but how can we be certain that these services are safe practices and if we do before ill or infected from poor hygiene standards, who we gonna call, Ghost busters?

So your barber doesn't run a clean shop yet you go back time after time. Foot massage is Un hygienic yet you still go. You worry about drinking water at restaurants why not order bottled come to think of it I've never been served water in a glass from any restaurant I've used always bottled and sealed. Me thinks you need to look closely at where you go for haircut/massage and food.

Me thinks you better read my post again, it`s not quite as you have interpreted it.

Me thinks you should be more careful where you buy your reading glasses.

I have read your post twice interpretation is the same poor hygiene worried about water worried about foot massage with Un washed hands, quote so far I've been lucky unquote. Was pointing out that you need to change or you may as you put it be unlucky knowing there's a problem and not addressing it is silly

[recycler]

My wife cuts my hair, just to avoid any other woman touching my head... keeps the bugs away too

[Khon Kaen Dave]

I got a serious rash from a barber year's ago,Sheila Barber her name was,and she lived in,believe it or

not,in Clapham.As for letting your wife cut your hair? If she knows your ATM number and offers to shave

you,for f##ks sake dont let her do it with anything other that a safety razor!

KKD

[eldragon]

Why did I think this was going to be a thread about salon girls spreading their legs at night?

[eldragon]

I just got back from the doctor. Both the nurse and the doctor immediately diagnosed my rash as herpes zoster.

While my rash is nowhere near as severe, its characteristics are very similar to the below downloaded image of herpes zoster.

29533tn.jpg

According to both my doctor and the website http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1132465-overview#a3 it is entirely possible for this virus to be transmitted through barbering tools.

I can't say for sure whether I picked this virus up at the barber but going forward I am definitely going to pay more attention to this and plan to discuss this with him on my next visit. I'm also giving serious consideration to buying a pair of clippers and having my wife cut my hair.

Tough to say where a virus like this comes from. They can sit in your system for a long time and then show themselves when the immune system gets weak. The fact that it occurred on the back of your neck is b/c that's one of the areas where the breakouts tend to happen. Has something to do with nodes or glands or something. Anyway, you can pick these things up at gyms, from hand towels, at the massage shop, etc. And of course there's intercourse. It's scary when you think about it. A breakout could be in the initial stages and might not be very noticeable. Someone who has it could be spreading it without knowing it. Best thing to do though is keep your immune system running high and get rest when you start to feel ill. If you push yourself physically when you're immune system is already working overtime, you're more likely to get something, or have a breakout of something you already had.

Btw, it's in a barber's best interest to keep his shop and more importantly his equipment clean. Gets more use out of things that way. I wouldn't bother talking with the guy though. Thais typically don't want to learn things from foreigners, even when they ask for help.

Edited January 21, 2016 by eldragon

[elgenon]

On a other front, I got a bad infection around my fingernail after getting a manicure.

[connda]

Well, if Somchai has HIV and gets a shave, and then you get a shave after Somchai, yeah...you may need to worry.

Almost all, certainly my barber and every barber I have been too here uses a fresh blade for every shave. So...um..yeah thats BS.

Afraid not. You've not been around a lot. Sure, many mid to upper scale shops use single-use razors. Outside of that 'class' they still use straight razors, just like in my youth. Sorry you're sheltered. Call BS on it all you wish. It doesn't change reality.

[FruitPudding]

Well, if Somchai has HIV and gets a shave, and then you get a shave after Somchai, yeah...you may need to worry.

HIV doesn't spread like that. It would die on a razor almost instantly.

Up inside a syringe, where there isn't much (if any) oxygen, is a totally different story though.

[farang95]

I bought electric clippers in Mae Sai for 300 baht. Work very well, can do my own hair and beard because I don't worry about the clip-on combs. My Thai GF helps at the back a bit.

Haven't seen a clean barber shop here, don't expect to.

Just hope I don't need a work permit to cut my own hair.

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