James Bond’s sexy wet shave in Skyfall has sent new men reaching for the cut-throat

According to those in the know about these things, Harris has “a terrible technique”, but the smoking-hot scene has led to a surge in interest in the traditional art of the cut-throat blade, with both barbers and retailers reporting a huge rise in demand. At Ruffians barber shop in the West End of Edinburgh, Australian-born master barber Ian Fallon now handles several requests for a cut-throat shave every day. “You do need to take time for a cut-throat shave. It requires more patience and more precision and it is more of a ritual,” he says. For £35, clients at Ruffians are treated to a shave which can take up to 45 minutes and which involves a succession of hot towels, face cleaning, moisturisation and massage before clients are finished off with the application of ice-cold towels to close the pores. The end result is a super-close shave and the male grooming ritual is so relaxing, clients have been known to fall asleep in the chairs, which are specially imported from Japan. “It is a job a lot of men don’t enjoy doing, and to have someone do it for you is quite relaxing,” he says. There’s been lots of chat in the Ruffians chairs about Skyfall – and the shaving scene in particular. “Everything Daniel Craig’s James Bond does becomes cool. And the fact there is a whole scene devoted to cut-throat razors is brilliant.” Ruffians, which opened in Edinburgh in March, is hoping to open its first London branch, probably in Shoreditch, in March next year. At the end of this month, and to mark the end of “Movember”, Ruffians is moving into Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh to open its first pop-up shop. Things are moving fast, says the firm’s founder Andrew Cannon. “It is amazing how something like a scene in a Bond film can change things so quickly.” Cannon himself shaves at home with a cut-throat razor passed down from his great grandfather. It needs constant sharpening and lots of care, but he has come to love the super-close shave it gives him. Barbershops such as Ruffians, or the more traditional Turkish-style wet shaving shops, use a variation on the cut-throat which uses a disposable blade. If they didn’t do this, they would have to use hospital-standard sterilising equipment between customers to ensure there is no risk of passing on infections. Traditional single-blade cut-throat razors also need a lot of care – with constant cleaning and sharpening. But the effort is not putting people off, according to Brian Mulreany of the Glasgow-based Executive Shaving Company. The company has grown by 250 per cent since he bought it, with sales up by 50 per cent since 2011, and turnover in 2012 expected to be £1.1 million. “Shaving used to be something your father would take you into the bathroom and teach you, but now people are learning how to do it on the internet.” says Mulreany, who offers online support to customers as “the shaving expert”. Since the release of Skyfall, Mulreany has noticed a flurry of interest, particularly from women wanting to buy cut-throat razors for Christmas and hoping some of that James Bond glamour will rub off on their men. The Executive Shaving Company has doubled its sales of the razors since the film was released and enquiries are running at four times the rate they were last year. A good-quality cut-throat razor with accessories can cost around £300. The cheapest single-blade razor available costs around £60, but if you want to use one you will also need to buy the kit to look after it, which includes a leather strop and a honing stone. There is also the commitment required to learn the techniques of cut-throat shaving. It takes several months to master the technique, which according to Mulreany is “all down to a light touch”. Master barber Ian Fallon also recommends using internet videos to learn the technique, but warns that once you start using a mirror you have to be careful not to try to do things in reverse. It’s also a good idea to use gel – rather than foam as used in Skyfall – because then it gives you a chance to get a better look at the way the hair is growing. Both Cannon and Mulreany say that a wish to avoid skin problems is one of the main reasons for a return to wet shaving. They say a lot of enquires come from people with skin problems arising as a result of using electric razors. But the need to re-establish a traditional male grooming ritual is a trend which was notable before Bond did his bit for the cause. “It is not just Bond, it is also Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire,” says Cannon. He is grateful for the revolution in men’s grooming. “Barbers shops had a reputation for being relatively grubby, with no particular finesse. We wanted to change that. We feel very lucky to be right at the front of the trend.” «