Kevin's Weblog

9-10) Find a good spa/salon for men and get a manicure and a straight razor shave

Today I had an appointment at HairM. I got “The Interview” which is a haircut, shave (which I upgraded to straight razor), and a manicure (or “hand detailing” as they call it to make it more amenable to guys). Now, to be honest, when I first heard about this place, I was a little apprehensive that it might be, shall we say, a “Hooters experience”, where the emphasis is on the girls, rather than the quality of the services. However, I was reassured by others that that’s not the case, and indeed the place is very classy and professional. Honestly, if you didn’t look too hard, you’d never know it was a “men’s salon”. The stylists are all well-groomed and friendly, but that’s expected at any decent salon, and based on my sample of three, generally quite competent. With one caveat, I’d certainly go back.

I got my hair cut by Gina, whose name I remember because she was the only one to give me her card. As is my unfortunate habit, I forgot the other two names almost instantaneously (they started with C and R). She did a good job and had a nice manner. She seemed to enjoy the novelty of cutting long hair, which I found amusing. At $35, the “King’s Cut” isn’t super-cheap, but considering that you get a scalp and neck massage, and the beverage of your choice included, I think it’s pretty reasonable. Plus, you can drop in any time for a complementary neckline trim between cuts. Considering how infrequently I need a full haircut, that’s a real bonus.

I was sort of neutral on the manicure. Generally I take pretty good care of my nails, so my hands don’t look dramatically better. But, the included hand massage was nice. I could see adding this in occasionally if I’m there for something else, but I wouldn’t go for it alone.

Finally, the “straight razor shave”. A comparison is appropriate here. I’ve had a straight razor shave once before, at the Bellagio. I highly recommend it if you happen to be in the neighborhood. (And, for that matter, I highly recommend being in the neighborhood.) At the Bellagio, I was greeted by The Barber, who was utterly professional, with just a hint of British formality. He led me to the Shaving Salon, which is a dedicated room full of every shaving accoutrement you can imagine. I sat down in the chair, and for the better part of an hour my face was treated to hot towels, cold towels, massage, 18 types of lotions, ointments, cremes, and oils; oh, and incidentally, there was a some shaving in there too. He used what I think was a Feather disposable straight razor blade. At the time I figured they used disposables for sanitary reasons, but the Feathers are also known for being some of the most scary-sharp pieces of metal on the planet. When he was done, my face was baby’s-butt smooth with absolutely no irritation. It was unquestionably the best shave I’ve ever had. The closest I’ve ever gotten on my own involved soaking in a hot tub for about an hour first. At $55, it was definitely an indulgence, but still cheaper than a massage of the same length.

Honestly, I did not have the highest expectations of the straight razor shave at HairM, and I was not disappointed. I was greeted by a stylist who got my name wrong, and seemed a bit awkward or stand-offish. We went to one of the standard barber chairs, with a headrest attached that was a little wobbly. There was a lot of noise from the other stylists and clients. She applied a pre-shave oil, and then a cream using a brush. However, she didn’t seem to know the proper way to wield the brush, and was lathering it on side-to-side. With a brush, you want to go up-and-down, to work the cream into the grain of your beard and get all the hairs standing up. She used a traditional straight razor. One of the hardest parts of using a straight razor is sharpening it; and whoever was responsible for this razor doesn’t seem to be very good at it. It had that tugging feeling of a blade that is well overdue for replacing. After one pass, she explained that she was going to use a Mach 3 for the second pass, because my skin is too sensitive for a second pass with the straight razor (any shavegeek will tell you that the modern multi-blade razor is much harder on sensitive skin than a single blade). She then lathered on more shaving cream and did a quick once over with the Mach 3 before cleaning my face and applying an alcohol-based aftershave (ouch!). The finally result was decidely worse than my usual shave at home. Also, I seem to have picked up an ingrown hair, which hasn’t happened since, well, probably the last time I shaved with a Mach 3.

So, what you’re paying $40 for here is a superficial pass with a dull straight razor, basically just for appearances, followed by a shave with the same Mach 3 you probably have at home, done by someone who I’m guessing has a lot less experience shaving than you do. (Or, at least, experience shaving faces.) So, yeah, I won’t do that again. I’d still like to find somewhere in town that does a good straight razor shave.

I’ve ended up spending much more space on the negatives than the positives, but that’s usually the way it goes. I did have an enjoyable couple of hours, though, and I would recommend it. Except the shave. (And if there is some Portlander reading this who decides to check them out based on my review, please tell them I referred you; apparently I get some rewards points or something.)