The Art of Shaving

Unless you are already an avid «shaver», in which case you probably won’t go to Art of Shaving in the first place, do yourself a favor and do not come here with your questions or curiosity. Certainly not your money. Instead, take it slow.
These guys are gonna rip the money right out of your pockets. $ 250 blade? Check. $ 100 brush? Check. $ 70 crème? Check. Oh, and you’ll need a strop. $ 120?! Check.
That’s how my «professional consultation» went. I ended up spending about $ 500 ’cause I didn’t do my homework and trusted «the professionals».
The hand-​made in France two-​piece blade I bought was not honed. I started shaving and was wondering what the heck I was doing wrong. At first I thought «ok, I am a newbie so I just gotta keep trying».
Results kept being unclean shave, blood, pimples, stomps. Awful. Just awful shaves.
About 6 months later I got a professional shave down in New Zealand. The guy was from Pakistan, looked at my razor and said, this is some American trash they sold you.
Now, and for the last year, I am shaving with a $ 5 razor from Pakistan and single-​use blades from
.
Long story short, my shave is SO MUCH BETTER and I can’t even think about ever buying one of them $$$$ razors.
If you are beginning to shave or buy for somebody who is not a pro, do not waste your money here. I know it’s all shiny and what not but it is a money dumpster. Buy a neat razor for 10% the price from an amazon vendor or your corner barber and some blades from Wilkinson/​Gillette or else.
Another hint: For supply, I use the Japanese 7-Eleven’s home brand shaving GEL. Correct, GEL, not foam. You will be amazed by how much easier and smoother gel is over foam. To start with, you can actually see what you are shaving. You can see your skin, your beard, etc. With foam, you’re not seeing scrap. Think about it. No need to buy Japanese stuff. Just find a decent gel.
After shave: Mandom or any other Japanese after shave. And I use an Aesop after shave balsam. Spend your money on those things!

Worst haircut I have ever gotten + Average shave = will not be back again ever. AND IT COST 80 DOLLARS! What a joke
I gave very specific instructions on how I liked my hair cut and the barber (will not use names as he was a nice guy) mangled my hair. Went WAY short in the area I said leave full and left areas uneven all over the place. I will be going to another barber tonight to have this mess cleaned up. Not even kidding it’s the worst haircut I have ever gotten… no exaggeration
The shave was decent, but when he got to the straight edge section under my bear he recommended we use a regular, gilette style razor due to the fact I don’t shave often. Even though I get straight edge shaves all the time, I went with his recommendation (stupidly) and my face is now beyond agitated. And that was the reason he said to use the gilette!
Horrible experience that I would not pay 20 dollars for, no less 80. The Art of Shaving in NYC closed last year, I expect the same will happen here in the not too distant future

Ok guys i went to this place with high expectations after all the YouTube videos and knowledgeable salesmen. I went in for a hair cut and traditional shave, now expecting to come out with a sharp beard line and shape up. Lets just say i was disappointed with the amount of money spent and the outcome i received. I have had equal to if not better hair cuts and straight razor shaves from my previous barbers for a quarter of the price.
My experience felt as if i went to a regular barber shop but this time i had the luxury of a hot towel on my face prior to the shave.
No offense to the people that worked there as they where all very nice and could answer all my questions about the equipment. But the videos and website where mis leading. For anyone else that gives this a
Shot i would recommend not to set your expectations so high.

Service was really good, had a great shave and friendly barber as well! A little pricey but a nice experience.

Razors and accessories are a bit pricey, not sure why but I don’t know of anywhere else I could purchase a double sided safety razor, other than online. Service was great. We knew what we wanted so we didn’t need to be sold on anything. The associate was quick to box everything up for us nicely and didn’t try to sell us a bunch of stuff we didn’t need, which I always appreciate.

It’s what you typically expect of their excellent products, display and service, but the extra star is for their extra large room for shaving! 3 chairs for your private pleasure and barber.
Just like the old days ;) Except the higher prices of course… next time I’ll go for the Royal shave for $ 55, $ 20 gives you the spa-​like treatment, with moisturizer and exfoliating (just on the beard area).

Decent, yet overpriced products in a pushy sales driven environment.
I’ll be ordering my blades and shaving supplies online from here on out.

I’ve been here a handful of times and always gotten good, personal service. Wittie was a pleasure to work with and Art of Shaving makes great kits with good product in them (aside for maybe the Gillette blades, which don’t hold up).

Who would have known that shaving can be considered a form of art?!
I’ve always seen this place and always wanted to check it out. I had an idea of what to expect but didn’t know in detail and today I decided to give it a go. I thought they would mostly have facial products like moisturizers and lotion. They had a variety of blades to my surprise.
When you see the straight razor you can’t help but think of Johnny Depp playing Sweeney Todd. If you want a retro old school look then the safety razor is one you might consider. Even a old school and a touch of modern feel which is a chromed razor 3 razor by Gillette. Power razor pro glide is also available. Brush and razor packages are available. Many styles to choose from. You fancy huh?! There are 4 elements: prepare, lather, shave and moisturize. This place is the sephora version of shaving. Lots of lights, bright, mirrors and displays. Wooden shelves that give it that old school feel to it. Very gentlemanly! Makes you want to sit on a leather chair and read a book.
If you have any questions the staff is is not only helpful but knowledgeable. It’s not cheap to purchase these products but they should last. I heard the brush should last about 2 – 3 years. I love that straight razor! They even sell the leather strap for you to sharpen your blade. I love that old school feel and as I’ve gotten older my taste in things has evolved. I’m more into old school, dapper and gentlemanly things. Such as drinking whiskey, scotch or bourbon, dressing better, and even having a pompadour hairstyle. Maybe that Mad Men vibe per say. So having a set from here would fit my style. Add some style and class to the way you groom yourself. Put in that extra effort for the ladies or even for your lady. Women are attracted to a well groomed and dressed man.
I’m sure Barney Stinson (how I met your mother) owns a razor set from here! If you were to get a package of brush, razor, and facial products from here Barney Stinson would say you would «be LEGEN… Wait for it… DARY!»

Completely disappointed! Aside from the fact they charged me twice, I was also given a used display bowl for my fathers Christmas gift. I don’t recommend anyone shop here. This was my first and last time doing so! :(

My girlfriend wanted to buy me some new accessories for my shaving (I use a Merkur double edged safety razor with Derby blades and Taylor of Old Bond Street cream). We went to Art of Shaving for a shaving bowl. The retail space is small but very we’ll appointed and has a nice warm feel to it. I thought it looked very handsome, for lack of a better term.
Unfortunately, the staff member who worked with me really ruined the experience. We were looking at shaving bowls and to me, they all seemed small. The salesman came over and asked what we were looking for. We explained it, explained my concern, and he flatly told me that wasn’t an issue. He then seemed extremely annoyed to show me exactly how wrong I was. I am perfectly ok to be wrong (and I was) but he didn’t want to educate, he wanted to demonstrate his own shaving superiority.
He grabbed a bowl and asked what kind of brush I used. I told him boar (which is what I use on the road because it’s extremely durable) and he asked me why I didn’t use badger as if I was an idiot (I use a badger brush at home and I explained that as well). He asked what shaving cream I used. I told him I couldn’t recall offhand. «Well *that* is a bad sign» (eye roll) he replied.
So he continued to treat me like a child, condescending all the way. I ended up seeing the value if the bowl (he demo’d it well and had excellent technique there). At first we wanted black but decided on white. We
let him know as he was in the cupboard getting the bowl but was too busy talking to another customer to pay attention to us, despite just barely acknowledging us.
At the end of the whole thing, I just wanted to buy the darn thing so I could get away from the guy. Just an overall unpleasant experience. Oh yeah, and it turned out he gave us the black bowl as we found out when we got home.
If you want to get into traditional shaving, check out
and buy your stuff on Amazon. Much more pleasant experience and cheaper to boot!

The guys at this AOS are very fun, and the products are – well exactly what you’d expect form a previously boutique company which was purchased by a multinational conglomerate.
I’ve been using their products for a very long time though and I’ve been impressed. Their lavender shaving cream is awesome, as is their pre-​shave oil. It’s not cheap, but it’s also not super expensive.
One thing to note: They claim they have the best price on Mach 3’s which may be true – but if you’re a CVS Rewards member you can use your coupons or rewards dollars to get them cheaper there.

I came in here to buy a gift and was completely unaware of what to buy. The staff was super helpful, he told me all the things I should buy and gave me his suggestions and opinions on what they had.
The place is very very expensive, but that is to be expected, it is a very high end brand! They had in stock everything because the salesman said that this was a «stock store» or something, so odds are this place should have what you are looking for.
The space is pretty small, but it wasn’t very crowded, so it wasn’t too bad.

staff is kind of pushy… products are very good. came here to purchase one item. pre shave oil…
i actually purchase most of my shaving product from Nancy Boy on Hayes street
i have bought many things at AOS… hard to browse in this store without staff hovering over you.

Guys were very helpful, my buddy and I picked up some blades and shaving accessories. We will be back.

This is my new favorite shop for things to purchase for my fiancé. Nice selection of high-​end men’s facial/​shaving products. Yes, it’s not a cheap place to shop, but a great place to buy stuff to spoil your special someone.

Expensive… but very nice and knowledgeable staff and a very nice store front. They have everything out to look at and feel and are more than willing to explain the options. Sometimes the staff can be a bit pushy since it is a small store, so you can’t really just browse without feeling like you are being watched… but the service when you need it seems quite good.

Ok, so all these reviews talk about the products but none about the shop in the back. I figured I would give it a try once, before I started doing it on my own. It was over priced in my opinion but I figured one time would be ok. I even asked before about whether or not the guy would be able to go over some techniques with the blade and simple process.
Here Goes:
Absolute Bullshit!!!
First off the guy was not informative about the blade or products at all. The guy didn’t even do a very good job! They charged a ridiculous amount, the least they can do is have someone cutting the hair make sure he knows what he is doing. Looking past the fancy set up and decoration, it really comes down to how much that barber cared. He obviously didn’t care at all, because I had to go home and trim up areas myself. He made amateur, rookie mistakes like he was in the 2^nd grade! If the shop thinks they can charge such high prices for a cut then they better be able to back it up. They may be in touristy area’s so getting walk-​ins is ok. But «The Art of Shaving»? Acting like they are an authoritarian on shaving, trying to make a throwback to older style shops??? That is just an embarrassment! And other shop owners in SF must laugh at this shop every time the name comes up!

What a great business and wonderful products — highly recommended. This store is one of the reasons that have influenced me to write about the Art of Shaving as a Finer Thing in Life.

Excellent customer service!
Don’t be intimidated by the perfectly neat shelves and shiny objects everywhere,
the staff is extremely helpful and will answer any questions you might have.
Whether you need tips, are a first time, or a veteran looking for replacement blades,
they are really on top of it!
I’m generally hot a huge fan of perfumes, and all their products are lightly scented
just the right amount. I wish women didn’t always try to smell like vanilla, bergamot,
or raspberry.
I didn’t think the prices were that outrageous, especially given the nice packaging
and quality of the products (now I can tell the difference between a $ 20 and $ 100 brush!).
I also didn’t realize they had a very elegant barber shop in the back.
Not sure why I loved this place so much, but it’s going to be a favourite spot
to hit during gift-​giving season!

Been buying my shaving stuff her since they opened this store.
I have been experimenting with other products recently and nothing I have tried has equaled TAOS products…
The staff is very knowledgeable and very helpfull.
I will be back!!!

Need a present for your man? Dad?
This is the place.
If the man in your life likes high end razors, you’ll be in heaven. I think shaving kits start at about $ 100 and you get gold, silver, porcelain and all kinds of other high-​end materials.
Most of them take Gillette blades, so need to worry about specialty blades.
I can’t say enough about this place.
High-​end and definitely old-​school.