Flickr Shot by dotsara
Dotsara was the one who told me about Floyd’s Barbershop in West L.A. and when she described it to me, I immediately thought of Rudy’s Barbershop on Melrose. It sure sounds like the same idea: old school barbershop but edgy with lots of photos on the wall and loud music on a kick-ass sound system and mohawked, tattooed stylists catering to your locks.
Created by Paul, Rob and Bill O’Brien in Denver, this barbershop was designed with the purpose of providing busy people with a place where they could get a stylish haircut without having to book an appointment and where it didn’t cost an arm and a leg for the experience.
Since I wanted a haircut now, now, now and didn’t feel like treking to West Hollywood during a rainy rush-hour, I thought I’d give Floyd’s a look-see…with dotsara in tow to offer emotional support and get her hair cut as well.
First I called to ask if they accepted walk-ins. “That’s what we do,” was the reply. And I knew that my chances of getting in the chair right away were good on this rain-soaked eve. But if you would feel better calling ahead, Floyd’s, like Rudy’s, will put your name on a waiting list and can hold your spot for 30 minutes. Or if you do walk in and there’s a wait, the shop has two computer terminals with free Internet access for you to play on.
This night I decided to refresh the red strips in my hair as well as get a cut to polish things up. My stylist Rebecca was very nice and listened to me as I presented her with an array of photos of Catherine Zeta-Jones with bangs.
We told her how LA.com suggested that since Floyd’s primarily caters to men that it would be a good idea for female clientele to bring pictures of the cuts they had in mind. Needless to say Rebecca scoffed at that assessment saying that after going to school for 1,600 hours she knows what she’s doing. Good point. But she did say that, yes, mostly men patronize the place and the stylists get really excited when women show up.
As Rebecca was cutting my hair after having washed the red dye out, she even told me, “I’m so excited that you came in. I was bored all day and this was the funnest thing I got to do today.” Aww!
After about an hour or so of listening to pop music blaring on the sound system and watching MTV Hits on the many TV screens, my do was done and I was pleased. For a color refresh, cut and blowdry my total was only $55. Dotsara was happy with how her cut turned out as well, saying that she never doubted they’d do a good job since the first time she went to Floyd’s was to repair a botched haircut from another salon and they impressed her then, too.
Floyd’s Cut, $19: includes “Floyd’s Cut,” straight razor neck shave for guys, finger dry for the girls and shoulder massage for all. (HEY! I didn’t get this!)
Long Cut, $22: Shoulder length or longer, one length
Layered Cut, $22 & Up: Above shoulder length, priced according to difficulty level of cut; shoulder length and longer, $27 and up according to difficulty level
Face Shave, $19
Color Services, $40 & Up
11431 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90025
(310) 231-7200
Cross Street: Butler Avenue
There’s also a location on Melrose: 7300 Melrose Avenue, LA 90046 (323) 965-7600
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-9pm; Sat 9am-8pm; Sun 11am-6pm
Yay for Floyd’s! (: And y’know, the music is loud, but it’s not obnoxiously loud. You can still, y’know, talk to your stylist. Unless there’s a hair dryer going, then you better speak up.
Huzzah! Floyd’s full-on trumps Rudy’s or that lame Standard chopshop. I’ve hit Melrose once and West LA thrice (different ‘stylists’ each time) and have yet to whine (though Melrose was WAY loud). My dude Rob said they plan on opening another spot or two in Venice or SM. I highly recommend the face shave, and the handheld massage ‘machine’ is a trip – it’s run over your neck, shoulders and upper back for just 5 minutes, but still turns you into a wet noodle. Niiiiice…
(you didn’t get one cause you didn’t have the Floyd’s cut – too much other stuff going on!)
What’s “Floyd’s Cut” anyway? Is it cutting it short? And I wish I could get a face shave but I don’t really need one.
This is from the Melrose spot:
Pros: They like Goldfrapp, cute interior, nice hair people, interesting clientele (again mostly male), great price for a cut, the vibrator at the end was perfect to top off a crappy day at the office.
Cons: They like Goldfrapp too much–my lady stormed off when someone announced “Who wants free Goldfrapp tickets?” And I think she was preoccupied by that the whole time…cutting my hair shorter and shorter.
But overall I liked it. But…My hair is too short–***it makes my face look too big**** and that is an old insult from my darling big sis’ that still stings to this day…
I guess its my fault for not being specific enough on what kind of cut I wanted. I said short on the sides…but that didnt mean short all over! Now I really need to lose weight.
Floyd’s is every busy and impatient Angeleno’s dream! There is nothing I hate more than making an appt. 2 weeks ahead to spend 5 hours in a salon. This place is genius. No appointments necessary. Walk in, sign my name on a clipboard, go on one of the computers available to check my MySpace while I wait 10 mins [tops] and rock out to the well-selected jams. Sweetness.