GROOMING: Ted's Grooming Room - Ted in the City

Anyone who has read previous posts where I get my hair cut will know that I have a rather strong and unhealthy fear of hairdressers, so much so that my hair grows out and to stupid lengths before I build up the courage to finally sit down in the barber chair. Sadly, due to illness I was unable to attend the launch of the latest Ted's Grooming Room near St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, but managed to wangle a visit a couple of weeks ago to see the new store and what they could do to make me look respectable again after some six months of hair growth.

Before going I likened my hair to a Darth Vader helmet and to be frank, my eyebrow (there was only one) looked as though a hairy caterpillar had crawled across my face and died. The look was not a good - being blunt (am I ever anything but?) I looked a right state.

As always, I opted for 'The Full Ted' of a wash and cut, a beard trim and some much needed threading of the brow. Bearing in mind I was off work at the time I visited, I had partied a little too much the night before so was delicate to say the least. On arrival I was sat down, given a much needed strong and sugary Turkish coffee (it was lush) and had a brief chat on what sort of style I wanted to go for. I opted for an undercut, but one that gradually cut under my flowing hair on the top, with that thinned out and trimmed so that I could sweep it back and manage it easily. 

While struggling to stay awake while my hair was washed (it's so relaxing) the cut itself did take some time, about 50 minutes but that was mainly due to the massive amount of hair on my head and the care taken in trimming my barnet. At my age watching the grey hair fall to the floor is a bit scary (I'm getting old) but even without my glasses on I could see the style taking shape and about ten minutes in I was grinning from ear to ear and the nerves I'd been experiencing (read nausea) has evaporated. Good stuff, good stuff.

As the cut went on the lovely staff continued to talk to me about the theme for the new store. In the store just off The Strand there is a TV theme, but here in The City its Pearly Kings & Queens and when they mentioned that they had had real ones along for the opening I knew I'd missed out on a good night.

After the cut was finished there was another wash, a careful style and a few snips here and there as the barber searched for perfection. He found it very quickly! 

Rather than go for a full clean shave due to Movember I asked what he could do to make the moustache stand out without removing the beard (the other half says that removal of the beard is grounds for divorce). The suggestion was a tapered trim that brought out the hair around my mouth and chin while retaining a reasonable length on the sides gradually getting shorter as it approached my ear. It looked the bees knees when finished.

They say they leave the best until last, I dispute this, they left the pain until last. I may be going soft in my old age, but when I had my brow first threaded back in October 2015 when visiting the Holborn branch I hardly felt a thing, the second time it stung but this time, ouch, it battered. It felt as though my face was being ripped off. The pain was worth it and in all fairness, they did have a lot of hair to remove from the brow and then to separate them properly. The end result, two brows, perfectly shaped and looking spot on.

And here are the before and after shots - it's hard to disagree that they know their craft!

Ted's Grooming Room never fail to turn what I call my hobo-chic grooming efforts into something that looks amazing, well kept and as though I've spent hours perfecting my look. I love my hair, I was impressed with the attention given by the barber to make sure every last hair was cut and trimmed perfectly and best of all, on leaving I felt on top of the world. 

My acid test for hair salons is how I feel when I leave - in this case I felt about a foot taller, felt more confident and genuinely liked the pictures I took of myself on the way home just so that I could see the style again. That speaks volumes in my book, and means that I can't help but recommend this new store and the talented folk who work there. Top marks, top marks.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Ted's Grooming Room
9 New Change Passage
St Paul's
EC4M 9AG

Open Monday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Telephone: 0203 397 9966

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Ted's Grooming Room - #TedonTheStrand

If you read this blog on a regular basis you will possibly have seen back in October of last year that I had a grooming changing experience thanks to those lovely people at Ted's Grooming Room after visiting their Holborn Branch. Fast forward to a wet evening in March and after being invited to the launch of their tenth store just off The Strand in central London I had the chance to once again be pampered and groomed.

The new store is located at 19 Lancaster Place, Charing Cross, London, WC2E 7EN and opened for business on 10 March. 

Offering a walk in service like the other Ted's Grooming Rooms this one has a television theme (it being located close to former BBC offices). For those not familiar with the offer from Ted, this is what they say about themselves here:

‘Ted might be a colourful character, but he has always been struck by the stars of the silver screen. Ted's Lancaster Place Grooming Room is a stone's throw away from the original home of the BBC, and is inspired by the dapper dandies of television's golden era. The slick suits and razor sharp side partings of those bygone years may seem remote but one thing's for sure; a visit to Lancaster Place will have you ready to step out onto any red carpet.’

So, after being invited to attend for a complimentary treatment my trusty sidekick (sorry Ben) and I ventured through the pavement hordes of tourists and made it to be greeted by the lovely Clodagh. 

Knowing that I would be attending I decided to offer up something of a challenge and left my beard for five weeks (the brow had been left for months). This left me looking frankly awful in the old face department and in need of some serious grooming treatments. Originally I opted for the Full Ted, but with a busy press day and with time quite limited I instead took the advice of my barber and had my hair tidied up around the back followed by a beard trim. After that had been done I then sat back, gritted my teeth and had the bushy brow (there was only one brow as it had joined again) threaded.

The pictures speak louder than words. I basically hated the way I looked before I entered and within 45 minutes I had been transformed and looked (in my opinion) highly respectable and dare I say it, much sharper. Hey, maybe even a little dapper!

Considering that my hair had only been tidied, after styling (without what looked like minimal effort) it actually looked like I had new hair. It was awesome, I just wish I could style it like this as easily as my barber did it!

This is my second visit to a Ted’s Grooming Room and on the night it was nice to see so many faces that were familiar, including T who was the first person to ever rip my eyebrows from my face. Far from being a pretentious barber that costs the Earth and treat you like a cash cow you can have a laugh and joke with the barbers and best of all, leave looking and feeling like a million dollars. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

As an aside, nobody told me that threading hurts a lot more the second time you have it done! 

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Ted Baker - Ted's Grooming Room

I’ve been writing this blog for over eighteen months and it has seen a wide variety of beauty and grooming products reviewed, which included a large number from Ted Baker’s Grooming Room. So when I was asked if I would like to go and try out one of their legendary salons I couldn’t wait, and asked if there was anything they could do with my hair, eyebrow (I say eyebrow as I’ve had a mono-brow for about thirty five years) and beard.

After being booked in for ‘the works’ it was simply a case of turning up – in my case in particular I opted to go along to the shop tucked away in Holborn on Theobald's Road, it being just a twenty minute walk from my office. You can see a full list of their locations, plus their new premises on Commercial Street here.

Upon arrival I thought I’d got the wrong place – while looking effortlessly cool with a number of barber’s chairs and a hive of activity I wondered where the luxurious experience was going to take place. After giving my name my photographer in chief (aka beautyqueenuk) and I were guided downstairs into a cool, and rather open area.

After being offered a complimentary cocktail (I declined wanting to keep a clear head) the other half jumped at the chance and after trying it I really wished I’d gone for one – it had rich flavour and a kick like a mule! Anyhow, we weren’t there to get sloshed, we were there to sort out my face…..

‘T’, my barber for the evening was given carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to my hair, but the sad fact was that it was actually too short to do anything drastic to the style and as I have quite straight hair we settled on a much shorter style than usual, down to the bone at the back and sides with a very short messy top – a sort of cross between bed head and spikes. What struck me first was that rather than reach for the clippers to shave around the back and sides everything was done using scissors and the look of concentration was intense as the scissors snipped away. Clearly a man with symmetry on his mind, T really knows his craft and within thirty minutes my hair looked perfect – I was delighted, but this was just the start of my happy surprises.

The moment I had been dreading arrived – the treading of the brow (yes, dreading the threading)! Christ it hurt and I could hear a light cackle coming from the direction of the missus (who was filming at this point). It actually wasn’t that bad, the worst part was when T uttered the words “so you did want them looking feminine?” and my heart stopped! He was joking and within a minute my brows has been separated and shaped without completely altering how I looked. Nice, neat and tidy and something I will have done again.

After the brows (it still seems weird talking about them in plural) came the beard – I opted for a trim rather than cut throat shave and this was done without incident, the beard being trimmed and shaped properly (for the first time ever). This followed with the hairs in my ear being burnt away. I admit seeing a flame getting so close to my face had me getting a little bit nervous but it was painless and the inside of my ears are now incredibly smooth (like you needed to know that!)

Finally, and this really sealed the deal for me – for months I’ve had a trapped nerve in my elbow which has caused mild numbness in my left hand. Step forward T with the most relaxing massage – a hot towel was placed over my face which nearly sent me off to sleep and then crack! I have no idea what he did to my arm but ever since the numbness has gone and I feel like a new man! Awesome!

The full treatment would have cost £75 and I have to say, just the massage alone and removal of the pain in my elbow makes this worth it. Add in the fact that my hair looked and still does look neat and tidy with a nice twist on my usual style and you have a winner here. It’s strange having two eyebrows, and I’m sure they will take time to maintain but I think the whole package has improved how I look, which ultimately is the point of such obsessive grooming!

I have nothing but praise for T and the folk at Ted’s Grooming Room – it was an experience I’ll never forget and I will be back again in a few weeks when my hair and brows need doing again. This may have been provided gratis but I wouldn’t hesitate to stick my hand in my pocket and pay for this myself.

FORGET THE REST, TRY THE BEST

You can see the full list of treatments available here.

  

You can read more of my reviews of the Ted’s Grooming Room range by following the links below:

• Ted's Grooming Room Face Scrub
• Ted's Grooming Room Shave Gel
• Ted's Grooming Room Post Shave Balm

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