Shave Review: Art of Shaving vs. Truefitt & Hill

MagiAndrew · 07-03-2008, 02:27 AM

I just returned from Las Vegas where I visited both The Art of Shaving at Mandalay Place and Truefitt & Hill at the Forum Shops.

Short Review: Next time I'll just be visiting Truefitt & Hill.

Background: I'm new to straight shaving as I just started in January of this year. While I'm still not getting great results with a genuine straight, I've become quite handy with a Dovo Shavette, achieving close comfortable shaves on a regular basis. As barbers in Vegas have to use Shavette style razors, I figured I'd be in a good position to accurately judge the shaves I was to receive.

The review contains both information regarding the shaves as well as comments on the overall experience of visiting each location.

ART OF SHAVING: The service purchased was the "Royal Shave." I arrived and was greeted in a friendly manner. The barber escorted me to my chair and asked if I'd ever had a straight razor shave before. I said not professionally but that I had been practicing myself and would appreciate any pointers he could offer. He never offered information. Rather, he spent most of his time ignoring me and speaking loudly with another barber a few chairs over. This wasn't the relaxing experience I was hoping for. After the first hot towel, he lathered my face and the shave began. OUCH! He started digging right in with rapid strokes going with the grain of my beard. I was very surprised at the pressure he was using. After the first pass and another towel, he began the against the grain pass. It was equally uncomfortable. An additional feature of the Royal Shave, as opposed to the regular shave, is the application of a conditioning mask. The mask felt as if there was some sort of astringent on my face and was not comfortable. If returning to the Art of Shaving, I would skip the Royal Shave and go for the less expensive option. After leaving the shop, I went directly to the nearest mirror to check out my face. I could feel stubble on my neck in a few different locations and sure enough, when I got to the mirror, I could actually see stubble on my neck as well as blood in a couple of different spots. My neck was red and irritated for most of the day.

TRUEFITT & HILL: The service purchased was the "Hot Lather Shave." Upon entering the shop I was greeted by name (must have been a good guess as I was arriving on time for my appointment). The barber greeted me and showed me to the chair. She asked if I had ever had a straight razor shave before. I responded as I did to the AoS barber and was immediately met with several questions about my shaving experience thus far. She made recommendations regarding safety, technique and products. When I asked her about the blade she was using, she not only told me the brand, but offered to send a couple home with me so I could try them out. The shave was very comfortable. She used hot towels, shave oil and lather between each pass. The shave was polished of with a face massage with after shave balm and an ice cold towel (literally chilled with ice). She also shaved the back of my neck to the hairline (not offered at AoS). There was no irritation, redness or bleeding with this shave. It was also much closer than the AoS shave. While settling the bill, they offered 10% off all of their products and threw in some free samples of items they were out of. When the barber gave me the blades she promised, it wasn't just a couple. She gave me 22 blades complimentary. I left happy.

Closing: To be fair, my bad experience at Art of Shaving was not due to the company so much as it was the individual who performed my shave. I have seen rave reviews online regarding the same location I visited. As the Truefitt & Hill barber stated, "You may very well walk in there tomorrow and get the best shave of your life." If you're planning a visit to their location, PM me and I'll tell you who to avoid.

One thing that disappointed me about both locations was the lack of product knowledge displayed by the front of house employees. They could not accurately explain the difference between the various safety razors, nor did they readily know the prices of their various items.

Overall, Truefitt & Hill seems like an authentic high-end barber shop, whereas Art of Shaving seems to be more of a retail outlet that coincidently offers shaves in the back room. In other words, you're not going to find a $150 vibrating five blade razor at Truefitt & Hill. Likewise, you might not experience a high level of tradition and class at Art of Shaving.

-Andrew

joke1176 · 07-03-2008, 03:38 AM

Nice thorough writeup MagiAndrew.

Sounds like T&H are going all out for an old school shave, good for them. Makes good business sense too.

sdsquarepoint · 07-03-2008, 04:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagiAndrew

I just returned from Las Vegas where I visited both The Art of Shaving at Mandalay Place and Truefitt & Hill at the Forum Shops.

Short Review: Next time I'll just be visiting Truefitt & Hill.

Background: I'm new to straight shaving as I just started in January of this year. While I'm still not getting great results with a genuine straight, I've become quite handy with a Dovo Shavette, achieving close comfortable shaves on a regular basis. As barbers in Vegas have to use Shavette style razors, I figured I'd be in a good position to accurately judge the shaves I was to receive.

The review contains both information regarding the shaves as well as comments on the overall experience of visiting each location.

ART OF SHAVING: The service purchased was the "Royal Shave." I arrived and was greeted in a friendly manner. The barber escorted me to my chair and asked if I'd ever had a straight razor shave before. I said not professionally but that I had been practicing myself and would appreciate any pointers he could offer. He never offered information. Rather, he spent most of his time ignoring me and speaking loudly with another barber a few chairs over. This wasn't the relaxing experience I was hoping for. After the first hot towel, he lathered my face and the shave began. OUCH! He started digging right in with rapid strokes going with the grain of my beard. I was very surprised at the pressure he was using. After the first pass and another towel, he began the against the grain pass. It was equally uncomfortable. An additional feature of the Royal Shave, as opposed to the regular shave, is the application of a conditioning mask. The mask felt as if there was some sort of astringent on my face and was not comfortable. If returning to the Art of Shaving, I would skip the Royal Shave and go for the less expensive option. After leaving the shop, I went directly to the nearest mirror to check out my face. I could feel stubble on my neck in a few different locations and sure enough, when I got to the mirror, I could actually see stubble on my neck as well as blood in a couple of different spots. My neck was red and irritated for most of the day.

TRUEFITT & HILL: The service purchased was the "Hot Lather Shave." Upon entering the shop I was greeted by name (must have been a good guess as I was arriving on time for my appointment). The barber greeted me and showed me to the chair. She asked if I had ever had a straight razor shave before. I responded as I did to the AoS barber and was immediately met with several questions about my shaving experience thus far. She made recommendations regarding safety, technique and products. When I asked her about the blade she was using, she not only told me the brand, but offered to send a couple home with me so I could try them out. The shave was very comfortable. She used hot towels, shave oil and lather between each pass. The shave was polished of with a face massage with after shave balm and an ice cold towel (literally chilled with ice). She also shaved the back of my neck to the hairline (not offered at AoS). There was no irritation, redness or bleeding with this shave. It was also much closer than the AoS shave. While settling the bill, they offered 10% off all of their products and threw in some free samples of items they were out of. When the barber gave me the blades she promised, it wasn't just a couple. She gave me 22 blades complimentary. I left happy.

Closing: To be fair, my bad experience at Art of Shaving was not due to the company so much as it was the individual who performed my shave. I have seen rave reviews online regarding the same location I visited. As the Truefitt & Hill barber stated, "You may very well walk in there tomorrow and get the best shave of your life." If you're planning a visit to their location, PM me and I'll tell you who to avoid.

One thing that disappointed me about both locations was the lack of product knowledge displayed by the front of house employees. They could not accurately explain the difference between the various safety razors, nor did they readily know the prices of their various items.

Overall, Truefitt & Hill seems like an authentic high-end barber shop, whereas Art of Shaving seems to be more of a retail outlet that coincidently offers shaves in the back room. In other words, you're not going to find a $150 vibrating five blade razor at Truefitt & Hill. Likewise, you might not experience a high level of tradition and class at Art of Shaving.

-Andrew

I can concur. I just had a shave at Trufitt and Hill Las Vegas on Monday June 23rd. Noe Hernandez was my barber. I believe Nikki his wife must have been yours. The hospitality is just as you say. Nine hot towels were wonderful. They come full of aroma therapy oils. I too was greeted by name. I love their product scents. MikeB

MagiAndrew · 07-03-2008, 05:09 AM

I was there the day after you. Yes, it was Nikki.

Mike_ratliff · 07-03-2008, 09:42 AM

Sounds like a worthwhile experience.
Thank you.
And I must add although I've never been to the AoS in Vegas, I've experienced the same lack of knowledge at a couple of their stores here in California.

I wonder if Trufitt and Hill would consent to using the customer's own straight...

JohnP · 07-04-2008, 01:54 AM

I had a shave at T&H Las Vegas a year or so ago, not by Nikki but I've talked to her almost every time I've been into the store, she is very knowledgeable and has been a barber for quite some time. The guy who did my shave seemed pretty young, but I didn't see his picture on the website last time I checked, so it is possible he moved on.
I wouldn't hesitate to go there again, although the last times I went it was to check out the products for sale...

John P.