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When it comes to getting the best possible shave, no disposable razor will do. You'll need a good barber to complete the task. Luckily, we bring you the world's best. 
Photo courtesy the Mandarin Oriental hotel
Truefitt & Hill, London. The formula for a straight-razor shave has remained virtually unchanged since the shop opened in 1805: two lathers, then four to five hot towels and one cold. Its client list reads like a who’s who of aristocracy, icons, and intelligentsia—Winston Churchill, Lord Byron, and John Wayne have all stuck their necks out for the smoothest shave in England. What’s more, the royal family owes their sharp haircuts to Dennis Hornsby, who has been with Truefitt for 25 years and serving the family for a decade. From $64; truefittandhill.co.uk The Mandarin Barber, Hong Kong. To enter the Barber, in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, is to return to 1930s Shanghai—masculine and intimate, as if being tapped to join a secret society. Hong Kong’s elite have been frequenting the shop since 1963, not just to get chamois-smooth skin, but also to escape the stress and noise in their offices. Master barber Angel Gonzalez, who was plucked by the Mandarin this spring from his salon in Los Angeles, knows he has mastered his shave when, he says, “my client falls asleep.” From $31; mandarinoriental.com/hongkong 
Photo courtesy Barber & Books
The Shave of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Upon entering the shop, a milieu of genteel sophistication welcomes you face first. “We took Aidan Gill and put it on luxury steroids,” says co-founder Adam Dishell, referring to the classic New Orleans barbershop. Dishell and his business partner, Bill Sanders, both former film-distribution execs, opened the shop in the heart of Beverly Hills in 2005 and made it a policy that women aren’t invited in back, where the blades take to the faces. The idea seems to have worked: The shop is a haven for the city’s best and brightest, with a growing celebrity clientele. From $50; theshavebeverlyhills.com Paul Molé Barber Shop, New York. Though the location has changed three times since the shop opened in 1913, it has always planted its roots on the same Lexington Avenue block. Barber Adrian Wood bought the shop from the third generation of the Molé family in 1973 but has ensured that it preserves the household name it has always been. And even though Mike Wallace and Dan Rather sit regularly among the 12 chairs, younger men are flooding into the shop too. $35; paulmole.com Comments (0)
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