Art of Shaving Barber Shop...Have U Been?

[bran]

My wife saw that AoS is opening a store in Charlotte. We take a long weekend at each of our birthdays just to get away and do something out of the ordinary.
She asked if I wanted to go to Charlotte for her b'day. She could get a spa day at Ballentyne and I could go to AoS for a royal shave and cut.

Have any of you ever been to an AoS barber? How was the shave and the cut? Would you recommend it to someone? I know each barber would be different, but I would hope someone who sets themselves up to be the ultimate in men's care would be good at any location.

What do you think?

 

[Isaac]

i recommend it for the pampering effect, but for a shave, I would pass.

 

[gswearengin]

I "discovered" AoS right before I moved (to Germany). I am cheap and usually not willing to pay $40+ for a haircut. However, I got my last haircut in the U.S. at AoS and I was really, really pleased with it. If I wasn't moving away I absolutely would have kept going there for haircuts. It was absolutely worth twice what I normally pay (which has generally not been my experience with fancy and/or expensive hairdressers).

I got my first (and only, so far) straight razor shave there a week before as I little birthday treat to myself. The guy used a straight and the latest vibrating Fusion with a flashlight, smoke detector, and Internet access. My face was BBS against the grain in all directions (something I can't get at home), but was on fire pretty much immediately. Afterwards, I was broken out so badly I couldn't shave for 3-4 days.

So, YMMV, but I would definitely recommend AoS for a haircut, but "proceed with caution" if you're thinking about getting a shave. I also think the shop itself is very nice, but I find their prices obscene and so refuse to buy anything there...

GS