What in the Hell is Barber's Itch?

It's staph on your face. Well, technically, it could be another bacteria, but Staphylococcus aureus is usually the culprit. Barber's Itch is a variation of folliculitis known as folliculitis barbae. Along with its cousin, the much sexier hot tub folliculitis, Barber's Itch has been making white heads pop up around hair follicles for centuries. Folliculitis is the result an infection of the hair follicles by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. When a fungal infection occurs, this is known as tinea barbae, and if the infection goes deeper it earns the more menacing title of tinea sycosis. The common name for tinea is ringworm, a condition well known among shower-averse high school wrestlers. Follicles of the face can easily be damaged by the slow drag of a dull razor, and an infection can ensue if the damaged area is exposed to a pathogen. Before sanitation laws were enacted, barbershops were not always the cleanest of establishments. Dirty towels, lather brushes, and barber's fingers could leave a man with a shave that would last in a not so fun way, this is where the term Barber's Itch comes from.


Barber's Itch is not a life threatening condition (that name is way too euphemistic). Mild cases tend to go away on their own, and persistent or recurring cases can be treated with antibiotics. Now, there were no antibiotics to treat Barber's Itch in nineteenth century barbershops. There were prescribed medical treatments available, but many men had no knowledge of these treatments. What's more, the further West you went in the US, the less likely you were to find a doctor. In some places, Barber-Surgeons, were still regarded as the community medical experts. What many barbers did have was Dr. Chase's Recipes or Information for Everybody, published in 1866. Under the heading Teeter, Ringworm, and Barber's Itch, the good doctor lists a curious remedy: To Cure - - Take the best Cuba Cigars, smoke one a sufficient length of time to accumulate 1/4 or 1/2 inch of ashes upon the end of the cigar, now wet the whole surface of the sore with the saliva from the mouth, then rub the ashes from the end of the cigar thoroughly into and all over the sore, do this three times a day, and inside of a week all will be smooth and well. I speak from extensive experience; half of one cigar cured myself when a barber could not undertake to shave me. I wonder if Dr. Chase made house calls with that mixture of spit and ash smeared on his face?


Dr. Chase's book is now an artifact, and Cuban cigars are still illegal to import into the US. Luckily, that whole modern medicine thing has allowed men to treat Barber's Itch without breaking the law and looking like a full ash tray left out in the rain.