Following my last visit to the hairdressers, it was time for my monthly trim. Or at least monthly is what people claim is adequate. Being the fashion-conscious British gent that I am, I prefer to allow my mane to reach mop-like proportions until a combination of profuse sweating, constant brushing out of the eyes, and ever-so-slight bending of the neck due to an imbalance of hair at the rear of my head force me inside.
That time had come and it was to take me to Sanlitun's London Loft in Gongsan Mall, and specifically to Ken's Barber, an anterior chamber and male-centric addition to the main stylists.
Now, if you've ever seen someone walking around town looking like a unicorn shat on their head, having just eaten a particularly exquisite rainbow, then there's a significant chance that they've been by London Loft. I'm pretty sure owner and manager Scarlet won't mind me saying that too much as she's quite bonkers, and ultimately, it's her wacky and brilliant mind that has founded these larger-than-life styles.
My very serious job at the Beijinger unfortunately does not allow me to undertake such coiffed psychedelic trials, so I politely declined a fuchsia mohawk and made a beeline to Ken's safe haven (and to also prove that London Loft can just as easily create low-key cuts).
As it turns out, Ken is not from the East End but is in fact a softspoken hairdresser from Dongbei, trained in the British hair cutting institution that is Toni & Guy, where he and Scarlet met. After a quick and adept consultation and wash, Ken quickly put my mind at ease that nothing too drastic was about to occur.
In all fairness, I can't comment all too much on the RMB 380 haircut I received other than it was exactly what I wanted, with a style that suited summer and much of the heaviness that had been allowed to cultivate taken out. I knew because the tell-tale crick in my neck had vanished. With the hair out of the way, it was onto the shave (RMB 180).
A good, close shave is reliant on a few factors: opening up the pores of the face and softening the hair, a well-kept razor, and the barber's technique. The first part of the process involved Ken carefully placing a hot towel on my face, gently wafting it so as to cool it down and ensure that it was comfortable, before being completely wrapped around my head and padded down for about half a minute. That is then repeated with a second hot towel following an application of shaving oils, which will assist the blade.
If you've never had a shave before, this part is about as close to bliss as Beijing will allow. Not only does the towel cover your eyes so you're left in complete darkness, with just a small hole to breathe through your nose, but the warmth completely soothes your head and soul. The shaving cream is then applied and the shave commences using a straight-edged razor. You're wiped up, given one final towel, and then slapped back into reality with a healthy dose of wince-inducing aftershave.
I came out of Ken's with a face that felt, as I hear it, as smooth as a baby's bum (expect to catch yourself admiring and caressing your face, no matter the place or appropriateness, throughout the day), and for a one-off treat there's nothing quite like the menthol cooling sensation that a good shave leaves you with. It should be said that if you go on a summer's day like I did, you'll also have a fair amount of life-affirming stinging for the next 12 hours as your sweat pores open up.
For what is still considered somewhat of a rarity in Beijing, a visit to London Loft and the adjoining Ken's Barber make for a great way to partake in the centuries-old tradition of a close barber's shave, or a one-off to brush up for a special occasion, or as they're known to say in East Larndarn, spruce up for a gay and hearty.
More stories by this author here.
Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tom Arnstein