TRUTH IN TRAVEL
BRINGING OUT THE BEAU IN THE MAN

London's oldest barbershop, Truefitt and Hill, has catered to the Royal Family since 1805. (H.R.H. Prince Philip receives a weekly trim from a Truefitt and Hill barber.) Progressing with the times, the shop introduced London's first manicures for men in 1837, and today the well-groomed gentleman can get herbal facials and stress massages in the original shop on Old Bond Street.

Now that American men are discovering the restorative powers of being finely groomed and tended to, a host of new full-service men's salons has cropped up in the United States. Here's a selection of some of the best.

Truefitt & Hill had no competition in Chicago when it opened its sole branch there in 1989. Masculine throughout, the interiors were handsomely outfitted with marble and wood paneling, but the services, such as pedicures, were foreign to American men, who hesitated to indulge even thought they were attended to discreetly begin a Raj screen. They have since caught on, however: "Business is up twenty-five percent over last year," according to Kirk Merchant, the owner manager.

Truefitt & Hill's well-stocked apothecary (an 1878 mahogany antique brought over from Bristol) dispenses such traveler staples as Quies wax earplugs to muffle in-flight noise (900 N. Michigan Ave., Level 6; 312-337-8585; facial, $50).

Conde Nast Traveler, November 1991