Barber Shop in Westminster

Did you know that we’ve opened a new barber shop in Westminster?

Fitted out to the usual high standards of Pall Mall Barbers, the new salon in Central London has all the traditional barber shop features whilst still offering all the modern men’s hairdressing and shaving services you’d expect.  You can also get the full range of Pall Mall Barbers eponymous hair styling and shaving products, featuring the masculine scents of sandalwood and clove.

The new barber shop in Westminster has been featured in Professional Hairdressers latest news and we’re really proud of the new addition to the Pall Mall Barbers family.  If you live or work in the area, you can now get a first rate haircut or luxury wet shave without having to travel far.  And we’re easy to find – right next to the Palmer Street exit of St James’ Park tube station.

With the new barber shop in Westminster being the 3rd salon – our other barber shops are at Trafalgar Square and in Fitzrovia, Pall Mall Barbers is growing due to the increased demand for quality men’s hairdressing services in the capital.  No doubt, you’ll be seeing more of our barber shops opening around the city in the near future too.

You can call the PMB barber shop in Westminster to make an appointment on 020 3267 0001 or via our online booking service, and as we’re open later each day during the week – until 7pm, we hope you’ll find it convenient to come and see us at a time to suit you and enjoy the usual barber shop skills, services and banter!

We look forward to seeing you at our barber shop in Westminster.

Best Barber in London

We know many claim to be the best barber in London, but who really holds that accolade?

Maybe we’re a little biased, but we’ve got lots of reasons to think we are in with a really good chance of claiming that title.. and it’s not just our egos talking.

So what would constitute being the best barber in London? Well, firstly, how about experience, knowledge and expertise?  At Pall Mall Barbers, we’ve definitely got those in bucketfuls.  With 3 barbershops in Central London – Westminster, Trafalgar Square and Fitzrovia, our barbers have over 300 years of collective barbering experience between them, in London, the UK and internationally. We’re often inundated with applicants from fellow barbers wanting the chance to come and work at Pall Mall Barbers, such is our reputation in the industry and amongst our peers.

It’s that reputation that leads to us often being asked for advice, tips or opinions from some of the leading media companies in the UK. We did a live shave off of Tim Lovejoy’s beard on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, one of our barbers had a part shaving Mr Selfridge on the ITV show when an actor couldn’t quite manage the bare blade shave required and the BBC have filmed numerous shows and interviews in our salons whilst the presenter enjoys a luxury wet shave.

We really seem to be the barber of choice for these companies.

And it’s not only filmed media, it’s the printed media too where Pall Mall Barbers are featured – we’ve been written about in Esquire, The Independent, The Telegraph, Men’s Health and even the New York Times, to name just a few. All features that were independently written by journalists and weren’t paid for articles.

Some of the media companies where we’ve been featured:

So the industry, our peers and the media seem to think we’re pretty good but really without customers there wouldn’t be a Pall Mall Barbers. Having recently opened our third barber shop in London, and a fourth on the way, our expansion has been bought about by demand. As we get busier and busier and word seems to spread, we’re looking to open more barber shops to meet our growing numbers of customers.

So, the best barber in London? We think we might just be.  To see what all the fuss is about, why not book an appointment and try us out for yourself? We offer the full range of men’s hairdressing, shaving services and products and you can book online.

Mens Grooming Tips to Survive Festival Season

Mens grooming tips to help you look your best throughout festival season.

That’s right festival season is upon us once more and the only thing the Pall Mall Barbers like more than cutting hair is listening to great music. The team at Pall Mall Barbers have been known to go to quite a few gigs and festivals in our time and here are our mens grooming tips to looking great during a festival. It is important for a Pall Mall Gentleman to look great in all scenarios (you never know who could be checking you out). So read on guys and let us know what look you are going for, at what festival and let us know where you would like our amazing pop up barber shop to visit next.

Check us out on Instagram and Twitter  or email dan@pallmallbarbers.com

Use Talc to Refresh and Cleanse
Ok, our first mens grooming tips is to rub a small amount of talc in a circular motion onto your hair. This will gather the product up into a small ball. This is also a great way of getting oil based products out of the hair. Start with a small amount - the last thing you want to do is look like a festival going ghost.

Always Wear Protection... on your beard!
Gentlemen with beards are prone to getting lucky at festivals (.. in our experience),  so make sure that you are protected with Pall Mall Barbers beard oil. It stops the beard from going fly away from any moisture in the air and leaves the beard smelling fantastic too. Our beard oil is in a handy “fit in your pocket” tube making more space in your bag for other essentials.

Like these mens grooming tips? Here are a few more..

Use Soft Non-Setting Products
Use a lighter product that does not leave a residue such as Pall Mall Barbers Pliable Clay, or Light Dressing Cream. Why? Well for one there are amazing products that have been formulated by the boffins at Pall Mall Barbers towers. But the main reason is that you can shake out a light product and style again in the morning, this is a great mens grooming tip because it gives you a massive advantage in looking fresher than the other guys there.

Wet Wipes and Moisturiser
A quick once over with non-scented wet wipes will keep you fresh as a daisy but lads it is so important to moisturise if you’re out in the elements all day. Try using our post shave balm, it is a double duty moisturiser and skin protector, so not only will your skin be moisturised it will be protected from the sun’s harmful rays.

Smell Good & Get the Girls
Different fragrances have different lasting factors. A good way of remembering this is
• Aftershave – fades the soonest
• Eau de Toilette – fades after a few hours
• Eau de parfum– Last the longest

The Pall Mall Barbers recommend our Sandalwood and Clove fragrance. It lasts for a nice amount of time and is not overbearing. Most of all the female Pall Mall Barbers find the smell attractive (needless to say the male side of PMB are now all applying it).

Freshen Up the Day Before
Our last bit of advice would be to visit the barbershop as close to your festival visit as possible. A good barber will give you a shave closer than what you will get at home with minimum irritation. Therefore your shave will last longer keeping you looking sharp throughout the entire festival. In regards to your hair cut there are no mirrors or hairdryers in a field so ensure that you have a style that is easy to style and wear. It may be time for a restyle Sir.

So there you have our mens grooming tips to help you survive the festival season.  Enjoy!

Gents Hairdressers in London

Are you looking for a gents hairdressers in London? Perhaps you’re new to the city, moved jobs to a different area or just had a nightmare experience at your usual barbers?

It can be quite a daunting task.  We understand that.  But how do you go about finding a good gents hairdressers that won’t rip you off or make a real hash of your hair? We can be a bit precious about our crowning glories, us men, so it’s worth taking some advice and ensuring you find the right gents hairdressers for you – one that not only makes your hair look good, but where you feel comfortable and welcomed.

If you’re new to an area, why not just have a stroll around it one lunchtime?  Gents hairdressers in London are not always located on the busiest streets, so have a wander and see what you find. Note the name of some places you see and then go online.  Check out their website, see what people are saying on social media about them and read online reviews.  If you’re active on social media, you could just pose a question out to your network. One of the great uses of Twitter or Facebook is to get recommendations from people you trust, whether that’s for a plumber, a restaurant or a gents hairdressers in London.

Most good gents hairdressers should have a chat to you before they start to cut your hair.  They’ll have a a look at your hair and will advise whether the style you want will actually work and give you tips on the products to use to get the look you want.  If you don’t feel comfortable at that stage with the person who’s going to cut your hair, make your excuses and leave! Seriously. Might be a bit awkward, but if you’re feeling uneasy at the very beginning, imagine how you feel when you’ve not the got the haircut you want.  Anyway, you never have to see them again!

This advice applies whether your looking for a gents hairdressers in London or elsewhere, but if you are in London and near any of the Pall Mall Barbers 3 central London barber shops, you should come and try us.  But take our own advice first – see what people are saying about us on social media.  We’re very active on twitter and facebook.  You can check out the rest of our website and see our barbers and mens hairdressers before you come in. And on top of all that we’ve got many, many endorsements in some of the most respected mens media in the UK including Esquire and GQ.  With some of the best barbers in the business, we’ve even been demonstrating our mens hairdressing skills on Sunday Brunch, the Politics Show and Mr Selfridge.

Maybe you should be booking an appointment and seeing what all the fuss is about with some of the best gents hairdressing in London.

Men's Razors

Men’s razors come in all shapes and sizes – a bit like men really.

But what’s the “best” one? Well, that really depends on you and how you like to shave.

Take the electric razor. As men’s razors go, it’s not one we’d recommend.  Yes, we know they make shaving easier and quicker – you don’t need any of the usual shaving gear like shaving cream, gels or even water and you can use them anywhere (even on the London tube – believe us, we’ve seen it!) But they won’t give you a great shave. With this particular type of men’s razor, you won’t get a very close or smooth shave even if it means your daily shave is less hassle for you in the morning.

Moving onto cartridge men’s razors. These are the Gillette Mach 3 type of blades. Cartridge men’s razors were developed to encourage men to make repeat purchases – Mr Gillette recognised that a blade that stayed sharp for a very long time wouldn’t make him much money, so he developed a more disposable one. And anyone who uses these types of men’s razors will know how much money that probably do make the manufacturers – these things are not cheap! But they’re easily available with every corner shop seeming to stock them and they’re very portable, even if they do cost a fortune!  And regardless of what the marketing hype tells you, the more blades there are does not mean the closer the shave. What it does mean though is probably more chance of skin irritation and surface cuts.

So, moving onto the men’s razors that we do recommend. It’s the safety razor… and we’re not just saying it because we sell them.  We use them, day in, day out.  Why?  Because they really do give the best, closest, smoothest shave.

The initial investment with this type of men’s razor can seem high, but over time that investment and the new blades required for it, pale into insignificance when compared to the cost of cartridge blades and disposable men’s razors. So, a better shave and less cost.  What’s not to love?

If you’ve not used this type of men’s razor before, it might take a bit of getting used to so you’ll need to find one that is comfortable to hold and easy to use – they do differ slightly.  Why not book in for a shaving lesson with one of our professional barbers (reputed to be the best in London). They’ll help you choose the right men’s razor for you, give you a proper wet shave with loads of advice and tips on getting the best shave and will demonstrate how to use shaving products to get the best out of them (like adding a bit of shaving oil to your shaving cream.)

You can book an appointment for a shaving lesson online for any of our central London barber shops or call in the next time you’re passing for some helpful advice.

Pall Mall Barbers and Barbering on the BBC

Pall Mall Barbers was the backdrop for a recent programme filmed for the BBC on the History of Barbering. With our salons styled in the traditional barber shop style with wood panelling, retro tiles and front facing sinks, they are the perfect location for a programme about barbers and how the barber shop developed.

Dr Alun Withey, one of the BBC’s New Generation Thinker was doing a feature for the broadcaster about barbering in the 18th century and decided to use one of our barber shops in Central London to film in.  The team were there for most of the day and we have some great shots of them filming.

Sporting his own impressive growth of facial hair, Alun took the plunge and went for a luxury wet shave when he came into Pall Mall Barbers in Fitzrovia after deciding to experience all the joys of a professional shave for himself.  So with Michael, a very experienced and skillful barber he was in safe hands and ended up with a smooth, hairfree face and soft moisturised skin. If you want to see the before and after pictures and learn a little more about the history of barbering, the programme is now on the BBC Arts website.You can also see the steps Michael goes through when he gives a luxury wet shave.

Or if you want to read more about the fascinating history of barber shops and their tradition of surgical services through the ages, then Alun’s got a longer feature on his blog.

And if you fancy enjoying the barbering skills of a Pall Mall Barber, why not book in for your own luxury wet shave. You can book online or call any of our Central London barber shops.