2 Goldridge Drive
Kanata
613-270-9100
Have you ever had one of those days where you were so convinced you had done something that it didn’t even occur to you that it might still be on your “to do” list? Well, today was one of those days.
I have been to Planet Hair in Kanata three times now. The first time was on October 30, 2010. The second time was at the end of November when I took my son for a haircut. Today, I was much overdue for a cut, and so was our son. So we decided to make it a family outing.
We walked into the shop and, to my delight, there were no customers. Gustavo, the barber, was painting and looked up to greet us. He suggested that I go first so that our son would see me and be excited for his turn. As I sat down, I asked Gustavo if anyone had mentioned seeing a review about his shop. He said “no.” And I did something I haven’t done yet in my series. I revealed that I write secret barbershop reviews on a web site. Well, the woman at the counter asked my wife for the url and went on to look for the review. Turns out, I’d never gotten to actually transcribing the review from my notebook.
So today’s review is going to be unique for many reasons!
Normally, I start out with my first impression before proceeding to tell you more about the actual haircut experience. I generally like to be able to write my reviews in complete anonymity to preserve my objectivity. Today, I’ll do my best to recreate the experience, despite my accidental reveal. At the same time, you should know that I have kind of made Planet Hair my regular haunt. I will still write reviews of other places on occasion, but I am finding it harder and harder to find the time to seek out new places each month, especially with an ever-busier family life.
The shop is located in a little plaza at the corner of Kanata Avenue and Goldbridge Drive. There are three barber chairs, but only one was in use on all three of my visits. The shop is clean and quite colourful. There are two things that immediately struck me. One was the large painting on an easel, with a little table full of oil paints. The other is the fact that the main wall is absolutely covered in photographs of children who have had their hair cut over the years.
WHAT TO EXPECT: I`ll describe the October cut here. I sat down and explained how I wanted my hair to be cut. It wasn’t long before I asked the predictable question about the paining. Yes, it is Gustavo who paints. He paints from photos he takes. He explained to me that you need to do that, otherwise it is so hard to get the light right. He told me that people used to make sketches before painting so that they knew where the shadows were. “They change every five minutes.” He also told me how Van Gogh painted a famous night scene of the cafe in Paris by standing across a street and sketching, using candles on his head for illumination.
I found myself thinking back to when I launched this project. I remember thinking at the time about what criteria I would use to evaluate barbershops. One of the criteria I had considered was how good the conversation was. And, thinking back to all my reviews, only a few stand out. And certainly, I never expected to be talking about art and light and shadows with a barber. Gustavo is knowledgeable, engaging and passionate about things. He has an expressive and kind face.
I discovered that he has been in his current location for the past 10 years. And that he takes photos the first time he cuts a child’s hair. He has run out of room on the wall, so now they take digital photos and store them on a digital picture frame on the counter by the cash register.
Jumping forward to the November cut, its relevant to note that he does have considerable experience cutting children`s hair. So it was natural for me to want to take our son there. I sat on the chair and held our boy on my lap. Gustavo is very patient and, although our son did squirm a little, he had no complaints. And today, he was perfectly still and I didn’t need to do anything to distract him (he’s 21 months old).
THE CUT: I can’t really recall much about the cuts themselves. Because the barber is a good conversationalist, you really don’t spend much time staring at yourself in the mirror. I recall one thing about my first haircut. Gustavo pointed out to me that I tend to push my hair too far forward, which accentuates my receding hairline and so he showed me how to shift the bangs a little to one side to make the line appear more even.
COST: Adult cuts are $18.75 and kid’s cuts are about $12.
THE RESULT: My cut was nice and clean, both off the chair and after a shower. We’ve also been happy with our son’s cut on both occasions.
