Cut-throat razor, hot towels, the full ritual
Hot towel shave
The traditional cut-throat razor shave: hot towels to open the skin, pre-shave oil, lather with a badger brush, two passes with the razor, a cold towel and a balm. Thirty minutes you will not want to end.
It is called a cut-throat shave and it is the most relaxing thing we do. Nobody has ever fallen asleep in the chair, but several have come close.
You recline, the chair goes back, and a hot towel goes over your face for a few minutes to open the pores and soften the beard. Pre-shave oil, then a lather worked up with a badger brush, then the first pass with the grain and the second across it with a fresh blade. A second hot towel, then a cold one to close everything, then a balm. Thirty minutes. It is the closest shave you will have had and your face will feel it for two days.
Head shaves get the same treatment with hot towels and a balm. A shave before a wedding, with the groom and the ushers in the three chairs, is a Saturday-morning speciality: book it.
What is included
- Reclining chair and hot towels
- Pre-shave oil and badger-brush lather
- Two passes with a fresh cut-throat blade
- Cold towel and balm
- Thirty minutes, £26
- Head shaves and wedding parties
What it costs
Hot towel shave £26. Cut and shave £40. Head shave with hot towels £22. Every price on the board includes the wash, the hot towel and the product. See the full price board.
Questions about hot towel shave
Is a cut-throat shave safe?
With a trained barber and a fresh blade, yes. Bethan has done about four thousand. We use a new disposable blade for every shave, which is a legal requirement and common sense.
Walk in, or book a chair.
Two chairs take walk-ins in the order you arrive; the board shows the wait. The third chair is booked online for a set time, a shave or a wedding morning.