Chinese Barber Has Perfected the Art of “Shaving” Eyeballs

When people think of barbershops, the first thing that comes to mind is an aproned man holding court with a comb and a pair of sharp shears snipping at hair. Most often the aproned man also gives a close shave and doles out a relaxing head, shoulder and back massage.

Countless brethren of these aproned men exist around the world. They’re known as barbers and they are best friends with well-groomed men (and quite a number of women) everywhere. In fact, some of them are known to specialize in spectacular feats of bravery, like cutting hair with multiple scissors simultaneously.

Others choose a less trodden path.

Like this barber who shaves eyeballs. In the streets. Without an apron.

Yes, you read that right. Xiong Gaowu from China is an expert in the art of scraping men’s ocular apparatus.

He’s chosen to excel at walking on the wild side with a sharp razor blade that can just as easily scoop out his customers’ eyeballs.

Only he doesn’t. He uses his paper-thin metal blade to scour his customers’ eyelids and eye rims, scraping all the dirt and residue off.

His customers are probably too lazy to wash their faces in the mornings.

Xiong Gaowu claims to have 40 years of experience shaving people’s eyeballs, and according to him, he has never hurt anyone. Which offers a theory that his many customers must either be possessed of iron-clad mettle, very high pain thresholds, or heavily calloused eyeballs.

Like this guy enjoying the Xiong Gaowu special.

Eyeball shaving isn’t a new trend. It’s a practice used in early 20th century hospitals to treat trachoma, a bacterial infection that’s the most common cause of blindness around the world.

The respected practitioner, called a barber, uses a sharp blade to scrape away ulcers and scar tissue to help treat the infection.

Eye shaving also stimulates the tear glands to secrete moisture and lubricate the eye sockets. Because nothing screams healing therapy more…

…than dirty fingernails wielding a blade against ulcerous eyes.

…or sometimes even plunging sharp, pointy rods deep into the lids.

Sadly (or fortunately, depending on how sensitive you are about your eyesight), the art of eyeball shaving is slowly dying off. More and more people prefer to consult ophthalmologists and other eye specialists for their ocular issues instead of visiting the nearest sidewalk eyeball shaver.

Because this just reeks too much of the horror film “Saw”.

But 62-year-old Xiong Gaowu, who does his business in Chengdu’s open air, appears unaffected by this trend. He continues to have loyal customers who keep coming back for his services.

Apparently, he also has quite a few rapt lady fans, as well.

For 5 Yuan ($0.75), Xiong Gaowu continues to perform his ocular cleaning specialty that will rival cool haircuts and color jobs offered by sophisticated air-conditioned barbershops.

He helps his customers keep their eyes peeled. Literally.

So if you’re after a unique experience and aren’t quite squeamish about losing all your lashes in the process, you can drop by Chengdu and ask for Xiong Gaowu.