Simple pleasures

I'm not particularly fond of spas and massages. Perhaps it's because I would rather spend my money on movies and food :-).

"You need to pamper yourself every now and then, buy things that's worth more than you would normally shell out money for (like clothing and electronic gadgets)," says good friend Francis while we looked around for a pair of shoes at Glorietta one afternoon - I think he buys one every quarter). "You deserve to pamper yourself," he added. Good point.
Well, there's this Barber Shop near our office. Bruno's Barbers is what it's called. I usually get my haircut at Evangelista in Makati where it costs only 80 pesos plus tip. But one day I really wanted a haircut so bad I decided to try out Bruno's. Hector attended to me and I guess they're trained on how to make the customer satisfied with their visit. At barber shops, you get a complimentary massage after your haircut. Back in Evangelista, my barber massages my shoulders and back. At Bruno's, your chair gets reclined and you get a face and head massage, and then a back massage.

Last night was the third time I visited Bruno's and asked for Hector to do my haircut. It's great to have a regular barber because you don't have to explain at each visit what you want. It's not like I have to do a lot of explaining to do for my haircut, but it's great to just take your seat and get things done.

This is the interior of the barber shop. Spic and span. And look at the chairs! It's like sitting on sofa! So comfy! When the chair reclines, the footrest adjusts as well, and the neck gets a nice, solid support.
That's Hector. Nope, that's not me getting the haircut. I was actually trying to get a photo of the services they render. Most amusing is ear cleaning (150 pesos). People really request for such a service? Hmmm...
They also have massages (350 for half hour, 450 for an hour), hair treatment, etc etc. Haircut costs 150 pesos plus tip. Yup, it's about twice the cost of my Evangelista barber.

While waiting for my turn, I sifted through their magazine rack, and was surprised to find these! Wow, I haven't read Archie's for the longest time! What a treat.
Soon I was on the chair and after my haircut, Hector applied a menthol lotion on my face and did a face and head massage, shaved my 5:00 shadow, and massaged my back longer than usual.

The massage actually felt great! I was all smiles when I left the barber shop. It was so relaxing! I'm thinking of trying a massage service soon. My friends already have a couple of shops in mind (they said 350 for half an hour is too steep).

At any rate, I now alternate my haircut routine between Evangelista and Bruno's. And though a bit more expensive, I now find myself looking forward to my visits at Bruno's. Simple pleasures!

(When I was telling my friends what a nice time I had at Bruno's, Beth asked "Why do men get massages after their haircut? Why not for ladies too?" I don't have an answer to that, unfortunately. Massages are replaced with gossip exchange?)