The Art of Shaving

Friendly enough, nice atmosphere but after the barber took his straight razor to my nose… I wont be back… Left a cut that wouldn’t stop bleeding!

Almost in tears right now… I’m on my way home knowing I’m going to have to shave my mustache off. I’ve had a handle bar mustache for over three years. I’m not talking about that dinky thing that guy walking down the street is calling a handle bar mustache. I mean a full blown Wyatt Earp stache. My fiancé bought me a shave and trim from this place for my birthday and unfortunately, I went. I’ll try to break this down the best I can without crying.
The shave– I got the royal shave, which is a $ 55 service. Let me say right now that the shaving experience was okay. Apparently it differentiates itself from a normal shave because they wrap your face multiple times with hot towels scented with lavender and lemon. Don’t know if it’s worth that amount, again, it was okay.
The trim– now is the sad part. I usually never let anyone touch my mustache but I figured this place is in the business of facial hair so hey, why not let the pros do their job? Boy was I wrong. I asked to maintain the volume and simply clean up the loose hairs. What I got was that dinky thing that guy walking down the street is calling a handle bar mustache. Lost all volume. asymmetrical. took off way too much from the top of each side. and then left a patch of my goatee beneath either side of the handle bars. Looks disgusting.
Customer Service– I won’t name any names because I don’t believe its necessary to get my point across. I will say my barber seemed more professional than the other guy and quite frankly it was distracting listening to the other barber talk. Not relaxing at all.
After mourning in the Burger King down the street for 30 minutes, I decided to call. I spoke with the manager who immediately offered to fix it and refund the cost of the service. I was embarrassed to go back and ask for a refund but I didn’t want to pay $ 100 (tip and wax) for something I’m going to go home and cut off. Plus, I didn’t want the barber to feel bad but my mustache is just not salvageable.
It’s just hair right? It’ll grow back, right? Well, I grew this mustache out 3 years ago while my dad was in the hospital. Before he got sick he was planning to grow a mustache but when he became very ill the nurses had to keep shaving it so they can attach the ventilator to the skin on his face. So I grew it for him. After 81 days in the hospital my mustache was pretty solid.
If you care about your facial hair and have any emotional attachment to it, then I would suggest trimming it yourself. No one is going to pay attention to detail more than you. This place will simply give you your money back and go on to the next appointment, while you cry your way home thinking about how much time and care you’ve invested into this. If you’re looking for a complete shave where they can’t mess anything up and you want to over pay for a hot towel, then go for it.

This place is hit and miss and obviously is geared for tourists and not San Franciscans. Barbers change monthly, no consistency, along with a mediocre sales staff and get this, no bathroom. They told me to go to Macy’s. Wtf. $ 55 for a shave and no public bathroom?

Great shop, has everything you need for a classy shaving, staff is super friendly and helpful, it is a bit pricy, but definitely worth the markup. It is a great solution for men that are slightly enthusiastic about shaving. Kinda like those guys at
are with clothing.

Went to try a straight shave for the first time and absolutely loved it! Emmett Wills was friendly and professional. I will definitely recommend him to anyone who travels to San Francisco.

If the amazing and respectful staff doesn’t woo you than leave it to the masterpiece these gentlemen can create with your face. Reasonable price $ 35 dollars. Can’t ask this place for anymore even providing knowledge and advice for your skin and hair care I can confidently state if you come here and leave ugly you’re just ugly. Hahaha.

Got a pretty terrible shave here last week! It was both not close and not smooth. I came away looking like I hadn’t shaved in 2 days AND I had nicks. I could tell the barber was rushing through it, but I wasn’t about to micromanage a supposed professional who happened to have a blade on my face. When I left I had to correct the shave with a disposable razor, since I was in from out of town without my shaving tools.
I like TAOS products (balm, alum block), but I’m definitely not going to get a shave with them again. What a waste of $ 40 and a half hour.
Update: TAOS refunded me and sent me a free travel kit. Very customer friendly of them!

I was takinen care of royally by Don Luis who was a total gentleman and treated me like one. And I can’t wait to make a new appointment totally recommend if you want to royal shave in royal treatment…

Gentlemen, it’s our turn for a little TLC! Women pamper themselves all the time with an occasional manni and peddi (whatever strange ritual that is). It’s our turn to spoil ourselves… and what better way than the simple luxury of a professional shave. And Emmett at the Art of Shaving in Union Square is just the man the doctor ordered.
As a gift, my wife got me a gift certificate to The Art of Shaving and told me to, and I quote: «get out of the house and go do something nice for yourself.» Like a lot of men, I just don’t take the time to «do something nice for myself.» And wow, am I glad I discovered Emmett at The Art of Shaving. First time there, I had a full head shave (yes, you can safely assume I’m bald) as well as the Royal Shave. What an experience. It’s like a mental massage for the brain with the added bonus of getting a shave old school, cowboy style. Relaxing is an understatement. What an incredibly simple luxury.
Today, I stopped by for the Royal Shave and I have to tell you, Emmett is the man. A ninja with the blade. A quick wit with a steady hand. A philosopher… while removing follicles. Emmett makes the entire experience that… an experience. From applying the pre-​shave hot towel and oil to the hot shaving cream to the artful way he works the blade, Emmett explains the entire process as he goes along, educating you to the purpose of the oils and how they work, why you use hot saving cream and a cold compress when you are done. Even the post shave mask serves a medically cosmetic purpose. Not only is the shave way cool and way relaxing, the entire experience is educational as well. And not to mention, Emmett is just a cool guy. The guy you want to hang out and have a cigar with after.
Whoever came up with the idea of reintroducing the old school shave — pure genius! And Emmett — you’re the reason I’ll be coming back and not to the local barber two blocks from my house who also does old school shaving. You’re «the man.» Thank you my friend.

Ellis is the bomb! He’s great! My boyfriend loves his haircut and beard trim! If you go to this location ask for Ellis! The whole store is so friendly!

First time to Art of Shaving. Amazing experience. Great service. It is a cleansing of the face. Mr. Luis is top notch! All dudes must go even if you do not have much facial hair.

It is unfortunate that this place cannot provide a simple men’s haircut. Luis was my barber and I just wanted a regular men’s haircut. Nothing out of the ordinary. After 45+ minutes of playing with my hair and very little cutting, Luis proclaimed that he was «close to be done». I am thinking he must be kidding. Anyhow I just asked him to use the clippers. I get that it is difficult to cut short hair with scissors. But I am talking about incompetency here. He did not even know how to use clippers.
And they do have poor customer service. I had a complimentary haircut voucher that was given to me at a G-​Star store. The voucher had no expiration date. I handed the voucher before getting the haircut. The guy at the reception gives me a skeptical look when I present the voucher and makes a statement…“do you have any more of those, people who gave those out were fired”…does he really think I care? Just honor the voucher and give great customer service!
This place can be a whole lot better if they hired some talented folks.

Ellis is a phenomenal barber. He’s very experienced and knows exactly what he’s doing. Best haircut in the city.

Ask for Charles he always takes care of me I highly recommend him over 20 + years experience. hands down thee best, treat your self to a royal shave it’s well worth it.

This place is the place to go if you looking for great experience, efficient price and very responsible and amazing customer service.
They don’t have low quality cheap Items.
They know their stuff.
They took unexpectedly perfect care of me fixing some inconvenience from the past.
Recommend it to every men who don’t want to regret about the buy.
New manager Sean doing his best in this place.
After my experience with this place I am proudly speak with confidence this place deserve to locate in Union Square and bring positive emotions to tourists and locals.

This place is outstanding come get a shave ask for Ellis the Gentleman he will take care of all your pampering needs in about an hour you will be on your way to greatness with a stylish haircut and then you will crest history with a royal shave…

See Charles. You won’t be disappointed. He will get you fixed up! Relaxing place. Awesome colonge.

Luis is the man!!! You really should do yourself a favor and get either a cut or a shave from him. I went for the standard shave and haircut combo ($ 10 less than each separately) and it was 100% worth it!
The service in the front of the store was friendly, and the young lady (whose name I did not get, apologies) described herself as a «shaving nerd» and I had dealt with her prior to Christmas, so I knew she knew what she was talking about. She set me up with an appointment the same night, and then Luis worked his magic!
Both the shave and the cut left me and my girlfriend incredibly impressed (she was allowed to sit in one of the super comfy barber’s chairs and observe), and Luis’ treatment of my sensitive skin was exceptional. He had great recommendations for my head shape and style for the cut, and the shave was exceptional.
In summation, you need to have Luis give you a shave and/​or a cut. Get after it Luis, and I hope that finger heals up soon!

Found this shop by accident. I would have loved to have had my beard shaped, but I thought USD 55, — (plus tax and tips) would be a bit too extravagant.
I did walk in to have a look at their beard care products.
The shop assistant was very friendly and took all the time to explain about sal the products I showed an interest in and about products she’d suggest for me.
I told her about me wanting to have my beard shaped. She told me that the barbers didn’t come in in Sundays and Mondays. But she also suggested I’d wait at least two more weeks so there would actually be a ‘need’ to get the beard into shape. She didn’t push a suggestion to get an appointment for Tuesday. I liked that.
She let me properly try out some products, not just a tiny bit of something but a good amount. Also she didn’t mind opening several packages so I could choose a particular comb, as each is slightly different in colour, as they are made from horn.
All in all I spent a lot more money than anticipated, but it was a very pleasurable experience and if the products turn out to be nice after having used them for a while I will certainly come back next time I visit San Francisco.

Biggest fail — they sell modified Gillette razor for $ 195.
This place is the worst.
Will never buy from them again.
Very tricky sales approach, I ended up buying almost nothing but spent $ 550