While visiting Vegas I found that in between the Luxor and the Mandalay Bay is an Art of Shaving Barber Spa. Being that I loved my last head shave at the Art of Shaving Barber Spa in Manhattan, I decided to have another round at it.
For $35, you can get a complete head shave and for $55 a complete head and face shave. I decided to go for both the head and face.
When I showed up, I was greeted by the guy who works in the retail shop and offered a bottle of water and to take my sport coat. He then introduced me to Carol, the barber that would be taking care of me.
Carol sat me down in the barber chair and proceeded to cover up my neck and upper body with an apron and some tightly wrapped towels. She then proceeded to fill her hands with the unscented shaving cream out of the lather machine. After applying the lather to my head, she wrapped my head in a hot towel to soften up the hairs on my head.
After about a minute or two, she removed the hot towels and applied a layer of unscented pre-shave oil. She then re-applied another batch of the shaving cream from the lather machine and let stand for about 20 seconds while she prepared the blades.
When she finished setting up the disposable straight razor (they don't use the old school blades for obvious health reasons) she proceeded to shave the top portion of my head from back to front in order to stay with the grain. Once finished there she moved to the back of my head, keeping with the grain by going from front to back. Next it was the sides, shaving from the top to the bottom.
Here's where it got interesting. She then applied another layer of shaving cream and pulled out a razor with a Gillette Mach 3 blade. She used this to go over my head again, but against the grain this time. She indicated that it's easier to get a smoother shave this way than with the straight razor.
Once she was done going against the grain she wrapped my head in a towel soaked in cold water to close the pores and wash away the remaining oils and cream. This was followed by a spray of Hydrosol Rose Water and a layer of After Shave Balm. The Hydrosol is used to soothe the skin and prevent ingrown hairs.
Overall, this was a great experience and I would recommend that everyone try it once. Though, there are a couple things I should mention. They use "unscented" products, but they are in no way without a scent. They actually provide an old school smelling, musty like scent. It doesn't smell bad, just different. I also found the use of the Mach 3 to odd, but I forgot to ask exactly why they don't use the straight razor the whole time.
This was a very relaxing experience.
To learn more about the Art of Shaving Barber Spas you can go to
http://www.theartofshaving.com/taos6/barber-spa.php
