How The World's Best Hot Lather Shave Came To Be

How The World's Greatest Hot Lather Shave Came To Be

OK...let's get it out of the way first. I'm beyond biased. I believe and know that our Grooming Lounge Barbershops are the best Barbershops in Washington, DC and Northern, Virginia. But, I really think the Hot Lather Shave Grooming Lounge provides in our Washington, DC and Northern, VA Barbershops is the closest, smoothest and best shaving experience a gent could ever have. Ours is a bit unorthodox, but it delivers. Let me tell you how it came to be...

In 1999, before our locations or even our web site debuted, I embarked on a mission to find the world's best hot lather shave. I knew we were going to perform such a service in our Barbershops once opened, but had been uninspired by the half dozen or so shaves I had received previously during trips around the country. I knew there had to be a better way.

So, brand new wife by my side, we headed to Europe with the sole intention of getting shaves at some of the world's most-renowned barbering institutions (I was getting the shaves -- not the lovely Wendy -- just to clear things up). We visited more than a dozen highly-touted destinations and I got a shave at each and every one, sometimes even doubling up on a morning and evening shave.

The results were many enjoyable, yet remarkably unspectacular shaves. In fact, after several of the shaves my face looked like a complete and bloody disaster.

Unwavering in the desire to ensure the Grooming Lounge Hot Lather Shave be "worthy of a king," we contacted a renegade Barber based in New Orleans named Aidan Gill. A Barber's Barber and a delightful gent to boot, Aidan shed new light on the traditional wet shave, demystifying the notion that one needed to use a straight-edge blade to get close.

In fact, as Mr. Gill told us "why would I use a tool invented hundreds of years ago when you can use the latest technology to make the shave even closer and the experience even better. That straight edge stuff is spaghetti western propaganda." Aidan Gill is quite a character -- the type of guy anyone would enjoy having a whiskey with or getting a haircut from.

Building on this notion and in conjunction with some of our first hires at Grooming Lounge, we created a Hot Lather Shave that incorporates equal parts of tradition and technology. The tradition comes in the form of the application of seven steaming towels and three applications of hot lather and shaving oil. The technology presents itself via the use of a fresh triple-bladed razor and the application of a state-of-the-art post shave soother. Oh yeah, the shave also features an ice-cold towel at the end -- a step that's certain to close up pores and wake every freshly shaved guest up from his relaxing experience.

In the end, it's 40 or so minutes of pure bliss and what many of Grooming Lounge's guests have deemed "the greatest shave in the history of the world."

We invite you to stop by for a shave if you're in the area, or visit any of these shops. While we can't guarantee their shave is as great as ours -- we're confident you won't be disappointed. Aidan Gill For Men, The Gents Place, The Art of Shaving, Truman's and Blind Barber.

This article was written and appeared on mike@groominglounge.com. Grooming Lounge and our Founder, Mike Gilman, were quoted a lot, so we borrowed the article. Giving them credit -- hope it's OK.