Best Shops For Movember Supplies In The Bay Area
A contestant of the World Beard And Mustache Championships (credit: Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images)
The international movement calls on Mo Bros to register at Movember.com to "change the face on men's health" by raising awareness of men's heath issues. Are you in? Start clean-shaven on November 1st and grow your own. Movember co-founder Adam Garone and organizers say that what began as a dare in a bar has now raised more than $300 million since 2004. Meantime, the men's grooming industry in the USA is valued at more than $6.3 billion and rising.
Herman's Barber Shop & Supplies
525 Auzerais Ave.
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 292-5405
www.facebook.com/pages/Hermans-Barber-Shop-Supplies
Step into a barber shop museum. Herman's has been in the business of gentlemen's grooming since 1938. Meet the West Coast's largest largest selection of beard and moustache products. You'll find Imperial, Layrite, J.S. Sloane, Fiber Grease, Cool Grease, Shiner Gold, Bona- Fide, Rail Car, Slick Devil, Upper Cut, Admiral, Steadfast, Lockhart's, Bearded Bastard, Firehouse and Prospectors pomades. Three barbers are on hand seven days a week with no appointments needed.
830 El Paseo de Saratoga
West San Jose, CA 95130
(408) 871-9770
www.johnnydsbarbershop.com
These guys can wax poetic (pun intended) over the 50s glamour of old school barbering, evoking "the smooth feel of a straight razor shave, the invigorating smell of talc, the steady hum of hair clippers, the spicy scent of bay rum aftershave and the welcome topics of male conversation." Own brand Johnny D's "D" Luxe Pomade is on the shelf, together with products by Layrite, Reuzel, Fiber Grease, Grant's, Upper Cut and more.
Cable Car Clothiers
110 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 397-4740
www.cablecarclothiers.com
Wax nostalgic (again) about gentlemen's styling from the other side of the pond. This is San Francisco's British good stores since 1938, where Nicky the Barber is installed in a 1930's-style barber shop and shoe shine at the longtime family-owned and operated gentlemen's Union Square store, the city's oldest men's retailer. Find your made-in-England brands Kent (taming wild hair since 1777) and Geo. F. Trumper (direct from Mayfair's Curzon Street) men's grooming supplies.
Joe's Barber Shop
2150 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 255-9096
www.joesbarbershop.com
Talk to Joe. One of the Bay Area's most popular barber shops is a retailer for Firehouse Moustache Wax. If you're keeping the moustache after November, or for the care and feeding of a handlebar moustache, some say Firehouse Moustache Wax is just the ticket. Made by fireman John Pitts in Mississippi, you want to know how to store it, use it, apply it and wash it out. Pitts donates 25 cents from every tin sold to a number of charities.
Wingtip
550 Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 765-0993
www.wingtip.com
In the heart of the Financial District, the private club is upstairs and the shop is down. Stylish in every sense, the best-kept secret worth knowing about is master barber Joe Roberts at the barber shop inside Wingtip; just drop him an email for an appointment. When you're there, browse all sorts of shaving sundries: pure badger brushes, acrylic-handled razors, travel kits, shaving sets, toiletry kits and more. Men's grooming brands include St. James of London and Baxter of California.
