So, 2 weeks ago, I was in London for work, and now I'm (unexpectedly) back again. On the first trip, I did the hot towel shave at Truefitt & Hill, and just came out of Taylor of Old Bond Street this morning. On to the comparison.
Truefitt & Hill
I made it here, courtesy of British Airways, so to speak. I had a jam-packed week of meetings, with no time to get away at all. On Thursday, I checked in online for my Friday @ Noon flight. An hour later, I got an email that said it was cancelled, and "call us". I ended up having to stay until Saturday, which left me a whole day in London without a lot to do.
My appointment was for 9am, and with a tube delay, I was 5 minutes late. They were very understanding and totally cool about it. My barber was an older Italian gentleman. A bit tough to understand at times, but overall, a nice enough guy.
He started off by rubbing my face down with their Ultimate Comfort pre-shave oil. Then, on with the hot towel. After a few minutes, he replaced the towel with another. Next, he face-lathered me with some Grafton cream. He went to work, did a single pass, and finished up with another hot towel. Then, he did some moisturizer on my face, and really rubbed in in good and hard. At one point, he was sort of lightly slapping me. It was a very odd sensation. Another towel, then the Grafton aftershave balm. Total time was about 30 minutes, and £39.
What was good? Good, but not amazing quality shave. Probably a tiny bit better than I get with my Weber and a new Astra SP installed. I've done better on my own.
What turned me off about the T&H guy was how dismissive he was when we were discussing my beard's growth pattern. My neck hair (aside from the center line of my face) grows out toward my ears. It's weird, for sure, but that's how it grows. He told me that's not true, since hair on the neck grows down. Not really looking to get into an argument with a man standing above me holding a sharp object, I elected to just say "uh, sure."
End result? Not again.
Taylor of Old Bond Street (Jermyn Street Barbers, in the rear of the shop)
This trip was a bit of a surprise, and I had time early this morning, so I called on Saturday before I left to book. I had an 8:30 appointment at Jermyn Street Barbers, who operate in the back of TOBS at 74 Jermyn St. I had an older English gentleman for my barber. Much better conversation with this guy. Not an issue for some, but I see value in that.
I arrived a few minutes early, and he was late, due to a public transit delay. Only late by 10 minutes though, so no big deal. I had a nice chat with a couple of the sales staff in the store while I waited. My meeting wasn't until 10, and was only 15 minutes away by tube, so no big deal at all.
He started off with a hot towel. After the first hot towel, he rubbed in some of the TOBS pre-shave oil. On with another towel. Meanwhile, he built some Jermyn St lather in a bowl (I requested Jermyn St, he was going to default to Sandalwood), and put it on my face.
He did 2 passes, an alum block rub on my face, and a final hot towel. Then some moisturizer, and aftershave. Time was again about 30 minutes and was £35.
My only complaint - he let the top of the towel rest on my hair, which made it stand up on end. We fixed this before I left, but it was a tiny bit annoying. That's the only negative thing I experienced.
End result? I was BBS all over, and he was an amazing barber. I'll be back. At £35 a shave, I won't be doing this a lot, but I can see myself doing it once per trip to London.
TLDR: Go to TOBS. It's worth the trip.
Truefitt & Hill
I made it here, courtesy of British Airways, so to speak. I had a jam-packed week of meetings, with no time to get away at all. On Thursday, I checked in online for my Friday @ Noon flight. An hour later, I got an email that said it was cancelled, and "call us". I ended up having to stay until Saturday, which left me a whole day in London without a lot to do.
My appointment was for 9am, and with a tube delay, I was 5 minutes late. They were very understanding and totally cool about it. My barber was an older Italian gentleman. A bit tough to understand at times, but overall, a nice enough guy.
He started off by rubbing my face down with their Ultimate Comfort pre-shave oil. Then, on with the hot towel. After a few minutes, he replaced the towel with another. Next, he face-lathered me with some Grafton cream. He went to work, did a single pass, and finished up with another hot towel. Then, he did some moisturizer on my face, and really rubbed in in good and hard. At one point, he was sort of lightly slapping me. It was a very odd sensation. Another towel, then the Grafton aftershave balm. Total time was about 30 minutes, and £39.
What was good? Good, but not amazing quality shave. Probably a tiny bit better than I get with my Weber and a new Astra SP installed. I've done better on my own.
What turned me off about the T&H guy was how dismissive he was when we were discussing my beard's growth pattern. My neck hair (aside from the center line of my face) grows out toward my ears. It's weird, for sure, but that's how it grows. He told me that's not true, since hair on the neck grows down. Not really looking to get into an argument with a man standing above me holding a sharp object, I elected to just say "uh, sure."
End result? Not again.
Taylor of Old Bond Street (Jermyn Street Barbers, in the rear of the shop)
This trip was a bit of a surprise, and I had time early this morning, so I called on Saturday before I left to book. I had an 8:30 appointment at Jermyn Street Barbers, who operate in the back of TOBS at 74 Jermyn St. I had an older English gentleman for my barber. Much better conversation with this guy. Not an issue for some, but I see value in that.
I arrived a few minutes early, and he was late, due to a public transit delay. Only late by 10 minutes though, so no big deal. I had a nice chat with a couple of the sales staff in the store while I waited. My meeting wasn't until 10, and was only 15 minutes away by tube, so no big deal at all.
He started off with a hot towel. After the first hot towel, he rubbed in some of the TOBS pre-shave oil. On with another towel. Meanwhile, he built some Jermyn St lather in a bowl (I requested Jermyn St, he was going to default to Sandalwood), and put it on my face.
He did 2 passes, an alum block rub on my face, and a final hot towel. Then some moisturizer, and aftershave. Time was again about 30 minutes and was £35.
My only complaint - he let the top of the towel rest on my hair, which made it stand up on end. We fixed this before I left, but it was a tiny bit annoying. That's the only negative thing I experienced.
End result? I was BBS all over, and he was an amazing barber. I'll be back. At £35 a shave, I won't be doing this a lot, but I can see myself doing it once per trip to London.
TLDR: Go to TOBS. It's worth the trip.
