It seems kids today have better things to do than taking razors to each other’s eyes.

Ever wake up feeling groggy and in a haze? It might be because you have a lot of gunk stuck between your eyelid and eyeball that’s clouding your vision in ways you may not even notice. It happens to everyone, especially as we get up in years, but getting it out can be tricky.

One method for doing so has a long history in China and can still be found today in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Here a traveling barber can be found on the street digging into his customer’s eyes with a razor and ensuring their peepers get as clean as a whistle.

▼ WARNING: Videos may not be suitable for the squeamish.

It actually looks a lot worse than what is really happening. It is said that techniques can vary, but basically the razor’s thinness is used to access the small gap in between the eyelid and eyeball. With the blade coated in lubricating eye drops, various foreign objects can be gently brushed out.

You could even argue that you’d be laying more on the line by getting a more conventional shave along the jugular than by this procedure. On the other hand, there are many other less-invasive methods for cleaning one’s eyes out such as flushing them with water or watching one of those emotional Tekken flip book animations.

In fact, some eye shavers do not work on people under 30 because their youthfully moist eyes are said to rarely have things trapped in them in the first place. The downside to this is that without knowing the apparent joys of getting their eyes shaved, there is a reported shortage in younger people willing to take up the age-old art.

It appears to be popular with the elderly though, suggesting that there may be a market for it in the aging population of Japan. Let’s see what people over here have to say about eye shaving.

“Guaaaaagh!”
“That looks like a kind of torture.”
“That’s messed up!”
“Iiiiiyaaaaaagh!”
“No matter how hard they try, I don’t think you can do that hygienically.”
“OHHHH, ho ho ho, no.”

Although fear was probably the most common response, there were some who were open to the process comparing it with the popular Japanese custom of getting one’s ears cleaned out with a wooden stick. So perhaps with the right celebrity endorsement, there is an untapped market potential over here.

Let’s hope so, because it’s always sad to see a traditional art fade away. If we loose eye shaving, can lighting eyes on fire to make them more beautiful be far behind?

Source: Narinari.com, My Game News Flash
Top image: YouTube/CHINA NEWS