.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Scott Sales may be onto a trend here. First it was a group of young men with the Mike Huckabee presidential campaign who wanted to get all spiffed up for the Iowa Straw Poll. Then the male contingent of a wedding party made an appointment that required Sales to come in to work on a recent Saturday morning.

They came to the Executive Forum Barbershop on the skywalk level of the Des Moines Building looking for a first-class shave. The kind of rewarding, relaxing experience Des Moines businessmen savored in the old days, before we made all of this progress.

It’s not unusual for Sales to slice off whiskers in the shop he has operated for the past two years. “I give a neck shave to almost everybody,” he said.

He appears to be an expert. Rick Johnson, president of Hammer Medical Supply, was in the chair when we visited, and gladly offered a testimonial. “I feel confident and comfortable with him using a straightedge razor on my neck,” he said.

But we probably should point out that Sales was using a razor on Johnson’s neck at that very moment. Might have been a testimonial; might have been more of a “think happy thoughts” situation.

It’s quite a process. First comes hot lather, then the shave itself, done methodically with a razor equipped with a disposable blade – the days of sharpening a blade on a leather strop are pretty much gone. Then it’s time for three hot towels, one after the other. A countertop heater gets the towels up to 175 degrees, but Sales shakes out a few BTUs before applying towel to skin – there’s manly tradition, and then there’s just being mean.

An after-shave cream finishes the shaving ritual, but if the customer wants a quick neck and shoulder massage, Sales has a gadget for that, too.

Then, sadly, it’s over. The customer rises reluctantly from the chair and trudges back to his routine, knowing that for the rest of the day, no one else is going to treat him nearly this well.

Up until now, it has happened one neck at a time. But now men are showing up in packs for the full neck-and-face shave.

Ten men came in from the Huckabee camp, and at 20 minutes per shave, it was a major time commitment for guys who were supposed to be out looking for votes.

Then came the Saturday session a couple of weeks ago, when the father of the groom, three other members of a West Des Moines wedding party and the photographer showed up to do some bonding. Another wedding party of six is scheduled for late October.

Well, why not? “The girls go out and get their pampering done” in preparation for a wedding, Sales said. Maybe men are ready to prepare for the ceremony in a more sophisticated way than they have up to now.

Meaning no offense to Central Iowa’s fine, hard-working strippers.

Sales is wondering if this is a marketable business concept. He’s even thinking of ways to ratchet up the experience. “I’m considering offering a catered breakfast,” he said.

Treating men like sensitive human beings, even when no women are in the room? Radical, but worth a try.