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| - I really enjoyed my haircut here. Most people come for the straight razor shave but as you might be able to see in my photo, I'm Asian & facial hair isn't something I really have to worry too much about. However having a MOP on my head is.
NO CAB RIDE FROM VENETIAN NECESSARY
I could have gone to one of 3 places:
- The Art of Shaving - Mandalay Bay
- Truefitt & Hill - Caesar's Palace
- Canyon Ranch Spa - Venetian
The fact is that Truefitt & Hill is convenient to walk to from the Venetian (as well as Harrahs, Imperial Palace, Treasure Island, Mirage, Wynn, Palazzo, etc.) because is on the newer end of the Forum Shops right on the strip. So no cab ride is necessary.
SERIOUS FRICKIN' EXPERIENCE
To be blunt - their barber has over half a century of old world experience as a barber. I sat down and Joe, the master barber, who was very polite and soft spoken with an Italian accent. He quietly asked what sort of cut I'd like and I told him briefly and so it began.
FIFTY YEARS AS A BARBER - JOE'S STORY
After a few moments of silence, I asked him where he was from. He said, "I was originally in Chicago. I came to America from Sicily." So I asked how long he'd been in Vegas, and he said, "4 years. I was retired but then I got bored so my wife told me that I should do something."
He sighed and continued, "I have been barber since I was 13 years old. In Sicily, you learn very young & you watch over shoulder of your elders. After several years, my parents take a little trip, and suddenly, I am in America."
I asked, "Wait - 13 YEARS OLD?" Joe was clearly an proud but elderly gentleman, & I was trying to do the math in my head when he said, "Yes -I have been barber for 54 years. I am 67 now. I had my own shop in Chicago for many years but I decided to retire and move here. But I didn't have anything to do Vegas."
He then said, "I tried to get job. I've been cutting hair all my life... so I want to... try something different, y'know? So I go to grocery store to take pretty much any job, but on resume, 50 years of barber does not look so good, y'know? So don't know what I'm going to do. I walk by Truefitt & Hill one day and ask, 'Do you need barber?' and I show my credentials & shopowner says, my experience good but credentials no good: I need Nevada license. So I have to read books again and take barber test."
RETAKING THE BARBER'S TEST @ 65 YEARS OLD
Astonished, I said, "You mean after 50 years of shaving & cutting you have to test again for a new state license? That must have been... insulting." He said quietly, "Yes, but law is law. So when I had to wait 2 month until next test available. You have to bring in person to cut hair. I brought in friend but they tell me that his hair must be hanging over ears & friend's is too short."
"I don't know what else to do, so I go across street, talk to a homeless man with VERY thick beard and long hair and ask him if he want haircut & shave. He says yes & so I go. Now they have a lot of young people... students... taking test after me, watching me cut this man's hair. His hair is very dry & coarse but I do good job. You are given hour & a half, but I finish in 40 minutes."
He smiled proudly, "All the students watched amazed saying, 'Oh look at that guy cut that man's bushy hair!'" He chuckled.
Then he talked about the people that came through the shop, the delicate nature of the straight blade, the people that fall asleep while getting a haircut, the change in business since the economic downturn, etc. He had story after story & even explained that some people like to hear his stories and others don't want to talk. He does whatever the customers want.
A REALLY EVEN, CLEAN, PROFESSIONAL CUT
Oh yeah. I forgot. By this point, the cut was over & I was getting a shampoo & rinse. The time went by REALLY quickly.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Perfectly even haircut with a block in the back & an smooth shave in the back... and it's probably the best cut I've ever had.
- Shampoo & rinse
- Not a SINGLE blade of hair under my collar
...this was actually FUN. I will definitely come back on my next trip to Vegas. Truefitt & Hill (and Joe) seemed to manage to make the barber shop experience a really good use of my vacation. Ask for Joe on Fridays & Saturdays. Sometimes he fills in for others but he's the real deal.
SIDENOTE:
One comment another review made referred to this as "pampering" and I think this is a somewhat unfair characterization of the experience here because it's nothing like a 'spa'. It's hard to put a finger on it but there's something very distinctly masculine about this shop and it's more than just the scent of of cedar and cologne. There's no girlie magazines or anything like that. I think because it's off in a corner of the Forum Shops, it's just quiet, serious, and solitary and there's not a lot of chatter around you. Just you and your barber. I like tthat.
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