Back in mid-1900's america, barbers and tattoo shops were often close together, sometimes even sharing a store-front. any average blue collar man looking for work in these days needed to look their best to get any job, meaning they had to cover up tattoos, be clean shaven, hide the black eyes (shiners) and hangovers from the prior night on the town. so the barbers and tattoo shops would help the everyday blue collar man by offering the “black eye special”. this service included a haircut, a hot towel straight razor shave, and depending on the barber, a tonic scalp treatment. then the tattoo artists could make good side income by helping the day laborers hide the effects of their drunken escapades from the night before. so shiner's with the intention of paying homage to the odder side of the tradition of barbering.