Pay R40 for a haircut and hot-towel shave OR Pay R50 for a twenty minute fully body dry water massage at The Fine Gentlemen’s Grooming Club (save 50%)

Though many people are probably glad not to have to dress in drawstring breeches and neck-ruffs or take a stroll down to the well with a bucket whenever they want to take a bath or, there are certain things they just did better back in the proverbial day. Get a bit of old-school grooming and relaxation with a hot-towel shave and a haircut at The Fine Gentlemen’s Grooming Club for R40.

Though you won’t find a red-and-white striped pole outside the door, The Fine Gentlemen’s Grooming club is a throwback to the real old-school barbers that are so few and far between today. A stylish and atmospheric shop in the Andaluz Boutique hotel, TFGGC is more than just a barber; it’s a lifestyle choice for the guys who actually care about their looks.

Anyone who’s ever experienced it will tell you that there are very few feelings that compare to a proper hot-towel shave on the scale of awesome. Starting off with a hot-towel to open up the pores and a facial massage – because you need to be relaxed when someone takes a razor to your face – before they apply a pre-shave oil to make sure delicate skin doesn’t get damaged. After applying the warm lather with a brush, to soften up those finicky follicles and making them easier to shave away, you’ll get to experience a closer shave than even three layers of those fancy blades they advertise on television can promise. Finish off with another hot-towel and you’ll never look at your own electric razor the same way again.

Of course, it’s not just your face fuzz that needs a bit of taming every now and then. Though you might not be as strict with the hair on your head, looking neat and tidy never hurt anyone. Whether you just want the split-ends sliced away or your edges trimmed, TFGGC will make sure your mane is kept well-manicured.

If you’re the type that doesn’t mind rocking the five-day five o’clock shadow or letting your shaggy locks sway back and forth in the breeze, then maybe the twenty minute hydrotherapy is more your speed. Even though life and its little irritations and stresses are well known for turning muscles into stiff chunks of what feel like rocks, not everyone enjoys having even the most skilled paws kneading away at them. Free floating in 330 litres of water while computer-controlled manoeuvrable jets massage your mutinous muscles through the soft mats is nothing like the Swedish, aromatherapy, shiatsu-whatever massages you see everywhere else. Just as relaxing as floating in the backyard swimming pool on a hot summer day, without the need for a lilo and the added bonus of having all the kinks and knots driven out of your muscles by the steady pressure of the jets.

Whether you need to dapper yourself up for a night on the town, or you’re sick of feeling like your muscles are made of lead, The Fine Gentlemen’s Grooming Club is the ideal place to take some time off from the hustle and bustle of life.

The Straight(Razor) Truth: An avant-garde barber shop in Philadelphia specialises in artistic shaves like shaving barcodes into the back of a people’s head and turtles into their side-burns.