For the best-groomed guys

ANYONE WONDERING whatever happened to metrosexuality, that trend of the ’90s that had all the blokes buying cosmetics, can rest assured that it’s alive and well groomed in Bangkok. The ladies have long since become used to their men taking better care of their looks in the comfort of home and at unisex beauty salons. 

Now, though, the city has a few gents-only salons – complete with shots of whiskey and a cigar. If they happen to take their wife or girlfriend along, it’s the women’s turn to take a seat and wait while their guys undergo professional pampering from head to toenails. 

“Most guys feel uncomfortable being serviced in unisex salons right beside the women who are getting their hair blow-dried – they want their own exclusive place, akin to a gentlemen’s club,” says Sakorn Thavisin. He’s the owner of PS Grooming, the firm that runs Bangkok’s outlet of the British barbershop chain Truefitt & Hill.

The Guinness Book of Records certifies Truefitt & Hill as the world’s oldest barbershop. The Thai branch opened at luxury mall Central Embassy last month and brought along all the classic treatments – manicures, pedicures, hot-towel shaves.

Meanwhile Black Amber Barber, in an alley off Soi Thonglor, is an intimate, private and comfortable place for guys to get that Elvis Presley pompadour perfected – or any other style, really – while their shoes are polished and they puff on a cigar.

“The craze for vintage fashion partly led to the opening of these old-school but upscale barbershops,” says owner Chavin Nantaterm. “To be fashionable is to be well groomed, and men are increasingly aware that personal grooming is important.”

Some of the town’s best-tended guys – Surakiat Sathirathai, Police Colonel Kovit Sawaisaenyagara, Kanin Boonsuwan and Kosit Panpiemras – are patrons of the old-fashioned barbershop Blue Harbour in the K Village community mall on Sukhumvit Road. It’s a great place to get your beard trimmed, ears cleaned and hair cut or permed. The comfy sofas will probably convince you to have a manicure as well.

“Men never used to look beyond shaving cream and hair gel, and they certainly wouldn’t pay Bt1,000 for a haircut! But today men are willing to pay more to look smart,” says Nitis Sthapitanonda, who with his father, architect Nithi Sthapitanonda, opened Blue Harbour four years ago. 

 

 

Women who venture inside Truefitt & Hill will know right away that it’s not meant for them. It’s unabashedly British to its stiff upper lip, all plush carpet and a luxurious leather sofa in the reception area. Cupboards hold oils for applying before the shave and balms for afterward, alongside everything in between, as well as colognes. The barbers wear the same uniforms here as they’ve done at the shop on London’s St James’s Street since 1805.

Customers are ushered through four grooming stations, each with its own upholstered, reclining swivel chair with adjustable headrest. Their head is tilted into a sink for shampooing and popped back up for the snip and the shave. There’s even a private room if you need your secretary to accompany you so you can get some work done while being pampered.

The haircut with shampoo and blow-dry costs Bt1,100 (just Bt700 for kids!), a “shampoo and finish” (blow-dry) alone is Bt550, a manicure or pedicure Bt1,100 and a classic English shave Bt1,200.

“I normally have my hair cut at a unisex salon twice a month for about Bt700, but I’m willing to pay a bit more at a gents-only place if it’s all-in-one service, in such a classic yet comfortable ambience,” says first-time visitor Tanakist Kheetakarn, who works in advertising.

“It’s definitely a treat getting shaved with a straight razor,” he adds. “The hot towel, the scented shaving cream and the barber’s gentle movements make me fall sleep, it’s so relaxing! You couldn’t replicate anything like this at home.”

Sakorn, the owner, points out that a barbershop is the original male-grooming service. “When our hair is neat, we want to look good from head to toe. I’m personally willing to pay hundreds of baht for the finest shaving brushes and razors and aromatic shaving creams. Such finery inspires me to wake up in the morning to use the fragrance and the cream, which makes shaving so much smoother. It’s another form of appreciating life.”

Black Amber Barber occupies the first floor of an old four-storey shophouse. Owner Chavin designed popular bars like Iron Fairies and Circus Bangkok, so it’s no surprise to see his salon resembling an industrial loft, with bare-cement walls and metal shelves and stairs. He too has the leather sofas and retro barber chairs, though. 

“I’d been planning for four years to set up a social club for men with a barbershop, cafe, cigar bar and a tattoo studio under the same roof,” says Chavin. “You can bring your own cigars and whiskey to enjoy here, and we sell tea and coffee [Bt80 hot, Bt100 cold] and chocolates.”

Black Amber has three chairs and two regular barbers, plus a “guest barber”. A haircut costs Bt600, a hot-towel shave Bt500, a beard trim Bt300, a shampoo Bt100 and a shoe shine Bt200 to Bt300.

“I’m going to set up a private room on the mezzanine in the next two months, plus a tattoo station,” says the boss, though he admits that older men when they first visit sometimes hesitate at the sight of his own tattoos. How can this inked-up man and young barbers manage a classic shave and styling? They can, and there’s never been a dissatisfied customer.

“You can have an Bt80 haircut in any street barbershop, but here we use the finest products and we’re very attentive to the grooming, and we believe our prices are reasonable enough for customers to visit frequently.”

Blue Harbour’s decor matches the nautical name. The walls are faux-rusty, like the hull of a ship, and the ceiling is wood. Louvered, curtained windows separate the four cutting stations, for a bit of privacy. The chairs are old leather, fully adjustable. On sale are T-shirts, polo shirts, caps and towels, plus books on architecture, courtesy of the “senior partner”.

“Business is pretty good after four years,” says the junior one, Nitis, “which proves how widely accepted pampering time for men has become.”

Business ought to be good: Blue Harbour is where Savad La-ad works. He’s the barber who tends to top politicians, businessmen and celebrities – and he’s cut Nithi’s hair for 40 years. Not that’s he’s stuffy about styling. “I also do all the latest styles, like J-pop and K-pop, and any colouring,” Savad says.

Nitis explains that Blue Harbour’s location in a community mall means it can’t be “gents-only”. And the ladies aren’t merely welcome: There are two beds behind diaphanous white curtains for facial massages, a station for spa-standard hair treatments, and three leather sofas for sprucing up the finger- and toenails. A haircut and shampoo is Bt1,000, a wet shave Bt400, a moustache and beard trim Bt400, ear cleaning Bt300, and a manicure and pedicure Bt600.

 

BETTER FOR THE BLOKES

>>>Truefitt & Hill is on the fourth floor of Central Embassy (corner of Wireless and Ploenchit roads) and open daily from 10 to 10. Call (02) 160 5755.

>>> Black Amber Barber is in an alley between Thong Lor sois 5 and 7 and open daily except Monday from noon to 9pm. Call (081) 869 9393.

>>> Blue Harbour is on the second floor of K Village on Sukhumvit Soi 26 and open daily from 10 to 8. Call (02) 661 2901-2.