Men's hair salons in NYC
November 6, 2014 4:14 PM Subscribe
What men's hair salon in NYC (Manhattan) should I go to?
I'm 33 and I've been trying to get a haircut that works for me since I was about 23. I'm not sure why it's so hard, when I can afford to go to a salon and use product, and I'm willing to do anything to get a decent hairstyle. I've tried a lot of places in Manhattan during the few years I've lived here, and nothing has been working.
Ideally, I'd like to walk in and simply ask the stylist to do what s/he thinks would look good on me while going on a date, that would be slightly mussed but not too crazy, and would also look non-ridiculous with a suit and tie at work. (I don't have a public-facing or client-facing job, though, so I care more about looking good on a date.)
In my experience, if I just ask for something that looks good in the stylist's opinion, the stylist doesn't seem to take the invitation to be creative and exercise judgment; s/he just asks how long I want it on top, how long I want it on the sides, and whether I want it texturized. The result is that if I go to a new salon, I end up with a haircut pretty similar to what I got at the previous place, because the stylist is largely just turning back the clock about 4 weeks. But if I had been happy with the hairstyle I got 4 weeks ago, I wouldn't have switched salons!
It usually ends up either being too short (so it's reasonably neat but without much style), or too messy. I look more like I'm in my mid-20s than my mid-30s. So I think stylists might be thinking more in terms of what would be OK for a college student. They're not thinking that of me as a 33-year-old professional.
Dramatics was good sometimes and not so good at other times, but they delayed too many of my appointments for me to keep giving them my business. Robert Stuart Salon (on the Upper West Side) was pretty good, but my stylist kept being a no-show, and again I just can't accept that. Places that were disappointing: Shampoo Avenue B (Alphabet City), Rizza (West Village), Sam & Chris (UWS), NY Hair Co (UWS), Hair Date (East Village), Dickson Hairshop (which has closed down anyway).
Showing a sample photo hasn't been helpful — I'm not very good at judging whether another man's hairstyle would work on me. I've used Ryan in the earlier seasons of The Office as an example, but that didn't work. My hair wants to go in so many different weird directions that, frankly, it's hard to find anyone else with comparable hair.
I can afford anything that would make sense. If I see a place where the haircuts are $75 and up, and all the Yelp reviews are by women, I tend to think that doesn't make sense. I don't think those places are trying to cater to someone like me — the longest I can go between haircuts is about 4 weeks. But I'm open to anything if you can convince me it'll make sense.
Obviously, I assume that classic barbershops are not going to be able to give me what I want.
(Please note that my question is very specific. I'm not asking about how to tip at a hair salon, or how to wash my own hair, or anything that I haven't asked about. Also, I've read a lot of old AskMe questions about men's hair salons, so you can assume I've already the one you were going to post here — and the OP in many of those questions had some restrictions that don't necessarily apply to me.)
I'm 33 and I've been trying to get a haircut that works for me since I was about 23. I'm not sure why it's so hard, when I can afford to go to a salon and use product, and I'm willing to do anything to get a decent hairstyle. I've tried a lot of places in Manhattan during the few years I've lived here, and nothing has been working.
Ideally, I'd like to walk in and simply ask the stylist to do what s/he thinks would look good on me while going on a date, that would be slightly mussed but not too crazy, and would also look non-ridiculous with a suit and tie at work. (I don't have a public-facing or client-facing job, though, so I care more about looking good on a date.)
In my experience, if I just ask for something that looks good in the stylist's opinion, the stylist doesn't seem to take the invitation to be creative and exercise judgment; s/he just asks how long I want it on top, how long I want it on the sides, and whether I want it texturized. The result is that if I go to a new salon, I end up with a haircut pretty similar to what I got at the previous place, because the stylist is largely just turning back the clock about 4 weeks. But if I had been happy with the hairstyle I got 4 weeks ago, I wouldn't have switched salons!
It usually ends up either being too short (so it's reasonably neat but without much style), or too messy. I look more like I'm in my mid-20s than my mid-30s. So I think stylists might be thinking more in terms of what would be OK for a college student. They're not thinking that of me as a 33-year-old professional.
Dramatics was good sometimes and not so good at other times, but they delayed too many of my appointments for me to keep giving them my business. Robert Stuart Salon (on the Upper West Side) was pretty good, but my stylist kept being a no-show, and again I just can't accept that. Places that were disappointing: Shampoo Avenue B (Alphabet City), Rizza (West Village), Sam & Chris (UWS), NY Hair Co (UWS), Hair Date (East Village), Dickson Hairshop (which has closed down anyway).
Showing a sample photo hasn't been helpful — I'm not very good at judging whether another man's hairstyle would work on me. I've used Ryan in the earlier seasons of The Office as an example, but that didn't work. My hair wants to go in so many different weird directions that, frankly, it's hard to find anyone else with comparable hair.
I can afford anything that would make sense. If I see a place where the haircuts are $75 and up, and all the Yelp reviews are by women, I tend to think that doesn't make sense. I don't think those places are trying to cater to someone like me — the longest I can go between haircuts is about 4 weeks. But I'm open to anything if you can convince me it'll make sense.
Obviously, I assume that classic barbershops are not going to be able to give me what I want.
(Please note that my question is very specific. I'm not asking about how to tip at a hair salon, or how to wash my own hair, or anything that I haven't asked about. Also, I've read a lot of old AskMe questions about men's hair salons, so you can assume I've already the one you were going to post here — and the OP in many of those questions had some restrictions that don't necessarily apply to me.)
Response by poster: What makes you think a good barbershop could not do this for you?
What I said about wanting to be able to open it up to the judgment of a stylist rather than just asking for a certain amount off the top and the sides and so on.
posted by jejune at 4:49 PM on November 6, 2014
What I said about wanting to be able to open it up to the judgment of a stylist rather than just asking for a certain amount off the top and the sides and so on.
posted by jejune at 4:49 PM on November 6, 2014
Don't assume about classic barbershops. I've gotten great cuts at astor place haircutters, but if you must go fancy, I got a great cut here.
posted by jonmc at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2014
posted by jonmc at 4:56 PM on November 6, 2014
You and me both, sir. I need to get my hair cut by someone skilled (and who takes their time) or it looks terrible. When I lived in NY I had good results at Hairmates.
posted by seymourScagnetti at 4:52 AM on November 7, 2014
posted by seymourScagnetti at 4:52 AM on November 7, 2014
Go here: Suite 303. Its a little more expensive, but they do exactly the sort of thing you're looking for, and it will last longer than 4 weeks, so in the long run the money part will work out OK.
posted by spilon at 1:25 PM on November 7, 2014
posted by spilon at 1:25 PM on November 7, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by miskatonic at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2014