Mr Anthony Bailey, APTC Fiji Country Manager, School of Tourism and Hospitality volunteered his time and beard last month at Totoka Hair Design in Suva, the hairdressing training facility of the APTC.

"It is not every day that I will submit to the ministrations of a student barber for a shave, but this was in the interests of providing students with an opportunity to see the somewhat forgotten tradition of the full shave in action," explained Mr Bailey.

Under the watchful and expert eye of hairdressing teacher Kylie Kersel, PNG student Mr Henry Rupe showed his classmates how to prepare and execute a men's shave, starting with the lather and finishing with a hot towel and application of aftershave.

Mr Rupe is a barber from Port Moresby and through the program at Totoka is being exposed to the full range of services a professional salon offers in today's industry.

"Many of the students had never seen a shave being performed before and looked on with eager interest, and perhaps a little trepidation on my behalf," said Mr Bailey.

After Mr Rupe "very deftly" completed the task and had taken questions from the interested students, Mr Bailey pronounced the finished work "an excellent shave", and explained to the students that it is no longer possible to visit a barber for a shave some countries, due to health and safety regulations.

The hairdressing students, who come from Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and for the first time, one from Vanuatu, talked to Mr Bailey about their previous experience and the hairdressing program.