I used to find that having my hair cut was a bit of a nightmare.
That was until I started going to Agassi in New Malden, and everything changed.
I used to try and get the cheapest haircut possible. I would estimate I have probably had about 200 different haircuts.
Typically they would be in the kind of barber shops where some old bloke starts hacking away at you with a pair of clippers, takes ten minutes to do so, then asks you for £15. I suppose those places are where most men would get their hair done without thinking too much. And I would agree that you can get a serviceable haircut. But you don’t get anything more.
Personally I like to have my hair washed before it’s cut. I feel like its not really clean until someone has thoroughly shampooed it. I love to have my hair washed in this way and I find it very relaxing. If I ever get the money I will install one of those sinks which you tilt your head back into so that I can get my hair washed in this way all the time.
They like to wash your hair twice at Agassi. The first time they did this I said I didn’t need my hair washed twice but the stylist was insistent. They do it towards the end of cutting your hair so that your hair is squeaky clean by the time you leave. They also give you a head massage that is very invigorating and feels as though your skin is being lifted from your scalp. You lean your head back and let the shampooist’s hand take the weight of your head in your hands.
Another very good thing about Agassi is that nearly all the stylists are Korean. So you won’t need to make any annoying small talk. The amount of banal rubbish you hear in most hair salons! Its particularly awkward when you step in to a salon for the first time becuase you feel that you should ingratiate yourself to the stylist by talking to them on their level. Often this is a case of thinking about what they might be interested and tailoring your conversation accordingly. So in most salons that would mean talking about TOWIE, Celebrity Big Brother or whatever annoying shit people watch these days.
But at Agassi tehre’s no need to do this because unless you’re Korean the stylist won’t speak any English anyway. SO you can relax, sip coffee and read the newspaper whilst she delicately snips away.
I should say that its not cheap, with a men’s cut costing £25. But most good things aren’t cheap. I would strongly urge anyone in New Malden to try Agassi for their next cut or style.