To be honest, when I was first offered a ‘grooming experience’ I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. I’ve had hundreds of haircuts in my time, of course, but that’s it – a wash, cut and blow dry and twenty minutes later I’m back on the road. But ‘Grooming’ – that was something new!
So it was with a mixture of intrigue and trepidation (not to mention a full head of hair) that I walked through the doors of West and Hunter, the new Gentlemen’s Grooming Club on Chiswick High Road.
I need not have feared. Within minutes I was sat in a chair, a coffee, glass of water and chocolate in front of me, discussing my haircut, beard trim and facial with one of W&H’s senior stylists. She was delightful, professional and re-assuring. So after a brief discussion, I was ushered behind a discreet screen to the basin where I had one of the most comfortable hair washes of my life – together with a hot towel experience, which was a first for me.
Privacy and discretion is at the heart of W&H’s values. Indeed, when walking past, you may not even realise exactly what W&H offers. It’s both their unique attraction and their biggest problem – how to maintain privacy for their clients whilst still letting people know what they do. I believe that once word gets round that you can have a haircut and facial pampering whilst not being the centre of attraction in the window (as you are in so many local hairdressers), W&H will become ‘the’ place to go in West London.
The service offered is personal, unrushed and so after the discussed haircut with regular checks and minor alterations, my stylist moved on to the beard (a novel ‘graduated’ trim to even up the look as I’d clearly not done it well when doing a bit of home trimming!) followed by the offer of more excellent coffee and then a relaxing facial. . . and then a surprise!
To be honest, barbers tend to ask if I want a hair wash before they start. It’s usually done in what I perceive to be a slightly reluctant way. But at W&H the opening hair wash felt keen and expected. What took me by surprise was a second hair wash and hot towel experience once the haircut, beard trim and facial was finished. It was fantastic and although the hot towel experience made me look like an Egyptian Mummy, it felt amazing. And of course, I was discreetly hidden at the back of the salon!
So, after a quick blow dry and the offer of yet more coffee and chat I left the Gentlemen’s Grooming Club, smartened, refreshed, relaxed and feeling fantastic. It was an experience that felt personal, exclusive and memorable.
It’s certainly an experience that I’d love to repeat and if you’ve not ventured through the doors yet, I’d urge you to give it a try – you won’t regret it!
Full disclosure:
West and Hunter offered Chiswickbuzz the full experience in exchange for an honest and unedited review.