Founded in 1805, at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar, London’s Truefitt & Hill is the oldest barber shop in the world. It has been offering luxury skin food, bespoke grooming aids and male toiletries for 200 years.
Actor John Wayne was a big fan as was actor and singer Frank Sinatra and as is Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The company founder, William Francis Truefitt, called himself “hairdresser to the British Royal Court”. His firm received its first royal warrant from King George III. In 1911, Edwin Hill set up a barber shop on old Bond Street in London, near to the royal neighbourhoods. H.P. Truefitt moved there in 1935. The other Truefitt outlets merged in 1941. The present location at 71, St James’s Street dates back to 1994.
Truefitt & Hill offers bottled British history
There are now locations in Toronto, Beijing, Canberra, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Signature goods include 1805, Trafalgar, No. 10 (Sir Winston Churchill was a user) as well as Spanish Leather, Sandalwood, West Indian Limes, Lavender and Rose.
Truefitt’s still supplies a number of traditional ‘hair management’ products such as Circassian, Melliflore Fibre hair creams, Julep Paste, Euchrisma hair creams, Tonic and C.A.R. hair lotion which was originally created for the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall. The products are presented in etched bottles.
An advert for the London barbershop circa 1820.As well as heritage shaving soaps and bath oils, the historic barbershop still sells beard oil and moustache wax using beeswax, shea butter, kukui nut, avocado, sunflower and aloe vera.
Colognes price from £65-82. With lockdown lifting, customers will soon be able to avail themselves of the master barbers employed by London’s historic barber shop and indulge in the “ultimate grooming experience” − a 60-minute (£130) pampering comprising haircut and shampoo, traditional hot towel and straight-razor wet shave. A 30-minute beard and moustache trim comes in at £40.
Truefitt & Hill offers bottled British history. West Indian Limes was the first citrus fragrance and floral fougère. Originally called Imperial Bouquet, it was especially made for Queen Victoria in 1876 when she became Empress of India.
Freshman Cologne is one of the oldest formulations. Clubman was first called The Exhibition Bouquet after the Great Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace in 1851. The Grafton range of pre-shave oils, bespoke shaving cream, post-shave balm and Eau de Cologne is named after the HMS Grafton battleships. Apsley (grapefruit, lemon and pepper) commemorates the first Duke of Wellington.
Truefitt & Hill has been caring for gentlemen for two centuries. It holds a royal warrant by appointment to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He may well have got some sophisticated, subtly scented and very English lather and aftershave to celebrate his 99th birthday as well as Father’s Day.