My first wet shave was in ‘96 at Truefitt & Hill on St. James in London. Straight razor, the works. Eye opening, an incredible shave. My second one was at their outpost in Las Vegas in 2008. It was an horrible experience. He used a shavette. The guy’s hand was shaking and I had terrible razor burn. How did he get that job, given their standards? Couldn’t believe the difference. If you decide to go to a barbershop, do your research. I am not surprised my experience in London was fabulous - it is the same barbershop Prince Phillip went to. And, frankly, I’m not surprised my second experience was terrible, because Vegas.
A shave at the barbershop
- Thread starter Leo501
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- #22
Thank you!
- Thread starter
- #23
@Leo501.
Let me try this again.
I re-read my earlier reply, and it really sounded like I'm Debbie Downer on something you expressed an interest in trying, and, if I remember how I felt when I had my barbershop shave, I was genuinely looking forward to it at that time too. Sorry, I was being too honest, but I hope you have a positive experience and enjoy your experience. This is a great hobby/passion, and there are many ways to enjoy our shaves. Good luck with your barbershop shave!!
Thanks! I appreciate all the honest answers and am doing my research on local shops and getting some opinions. It's helping me to create balanced expectations.
I had a wonderful experience a few years ago in the Fort Lauderdale area in Florida. My wife went into a local barbershop that did shaves and bought me one of their packages as a birthday present. She even picked out the barber who would shave me (what surprised me was that the barber was one beautiful lady)!
The day before my appointment the barber called me and we went over the details. She gave me the choice of buying one of their synthetic brushes or bringing in one of mine. She also asked me if I wanted lather made from shaving cream of soap. The latter statement surprised me because I expected them to use a lather machine. When I arrived the shop was somewhat busy and I was offered a glass of wine or beer while I waited. My barber was finishing up a haircut. I was given the whole treatment: a hot towel, oil on my face, and a very nice two pass shave. The lather was good and she used a shavette. Finally, a cleanup and a 5-minute neck and upper back massage. She took her time shaving and had a very gentle touch.
Two years ago we returned to Florida and I was disappointed to me that the shop was converted into a Sports Clips barbershop with no shaving services offered.
The day before my appointment the barber called me and we went over the details. She gave me the choice of buying one of their synthetic brushes or bringing in one of mine. She also asked me if I wanted lather made from shaving cream of soap. The latter statement surprised me because I expected them to use a lather machine. When I arrived the shop was somewhat busy and I was offered a glass of wine or beer while I waited. My barber was finishing up a haircut. I was given the whole treatment: a hot towel, oil on my face, and a very nice two pass shave. The lather was good and she used a shavette. Finally, a cleanup and a 5-minute neck and upper back massage. She took her time shaving and had a very gentle touch.
Two years ago we returned to Florida and I was disappointed to me that the shop was converted into a Sports Clips barbershop with no shaving services offered.
I live in orange county California and the woman who cuts my hair has the seperate licensing to do straight razor shaves. She is very dedicated to her craft and her shaves are and hour long luxury shave. so yes.. My barber cut my hair and i'll let her do it again. If you're in the area I'll give you her name.
They said the razors they used (Gillette Mach 3 if I recall correctly) produced better results than a traditional straight razor or shavette. I obviously know now that isn’t the case, but being young and dumb at the time, accepted what they said.
I went trekking in the Himalayas a few years ago up to Annapurna Base camp and apparently it's the custom that when you get back to Pokhara, you go for a shave at a barber shop. Of course you haven't been shaving on the trek because of water restrictions, carrying excess weight and too much crap etc etc.
Our group was mainly women, but I had been buddied up with another guy, Paul, and we decided to hit a barber shop after ditching the bags at the hotel and having a shower etc.
There were literally dozens of barbershops to choose from so we just picked the first one. Pokhara is of course in Nepal, and mainly Hindi/Nepalese culture so the barbershops are not like your usual Western affairs. I might add at this point that I had never had a cutthroat razor up against my neck before - so it was going to be interesting.
Paul and I were seated in chairs next to each other. The guy used a shavette and made up a lather etc and did two passes. He knew his stuff and from memory it wasn't a bad shave at all. Even got a hot towel!
I think he originally quoted us about ten bucks. However, he asked me if I wanted a should massage (Paul got asked the same question by his barber also). We said yes and ended up with a massage - shoulders, back arms. I think they wanted to keep going but said that's enough. The price went up a lot because of the massage, but it was still pretty cheap by our standards. The massage bit was a bit weird but the whole country was like that - just keep adding things to get more money out of you. They are pretty poor after all.
cheers
Andrew
Our group was mainly women, but I had been buddied up with another guy, Paul, and we decided to hit a barber shop after ditching the bags at the hotel and having a shower etc.
There were literally dozens of barbershops to choose from so we just picked the first one. Pokhara is of course in Nepal, and mainly Hindi/Nepalese culture so the barbershops are not like your usual Western affairs. I might add at this point that I had never had a cutthroat razor up against my neck before - so it was going to be interesting.
Paul and I were seated in chairs next to each other. The guy used a shavette and made up a lather etc and did two passes. He knew his stuff and from memory it wasn't a bad shave at all. Even got a hot towel!
I think he originally quoted us about ten bucks. However, he asked me if I wanted a should massage (Paul got asked the same question by his barber also). We said yes and ended up with a massage - shoulders, back arms. I think they wanted to keep going but said that's enough. The price went up a lot because of the massage, but it was still pretty cheap by our standards. The massage bit was a bit weird but the whole country was like that - just keep adding things to get more money out of you. They are pretty poor after all.
cheers
Andrew
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