0 Comments You have now EVOLVed sir

I remember when I was a young kid, I never really cared what I looked like. That’s because I had not really known of this phenomenon we refer to as “girls”

However, as I got older I realised that in order for these “girls” to in fact “like” me, I would need to do more than use my mothers shampoo, and I would need to do better than to go a kids hairdresser. However, for years I went through this whole grooming thing like a little lost soul. I was 14 and yet no supermodels wanted to date me, shocking! The problem was that I was going to a hairdresser who seemingly knew nothing about hair. I would come out of that place thinking “I look fantastic, I have just been to a respected hairdresser.”

Before: I look like hell! AUDREY! This is bush. Bush league.

However, looking back on those photos it looks like I had gotten broken on box wine the night before, slept on my front lawn, and my father had ridden over my hair with the lawn mower. Times needed to change and as I got older, girls got sexier and seemingly wore less clothing. Inside me there was a Tom Jones crooner waiting to sing “Sex bomb” to all these girls. But my exterior was far from sex bomb. Tom Jones can get away with looking like hell because he IS TOM JONES! And he actually sang Sex Bomb originally. I, on the other hand, needed to look good. In fact, I NEED to look good.

So a couple of years ago when this whole male grooming trend took off, I heard that a new place had opened called Evolv. Apparently you could go there and have your haircut while sipping an ice cold beer and watching TV. This seemed to be the ticket for me. Originally their store was in Canal Walk, but it has now moved to SHG House opposite the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The new place is great, and you can park upstairs, take a little stroll down, past a super expensive car dealership, then take a left and find yourself at Evolv.

I personally get my haircut by Shareen, and it has changed my life. I actually trust Shareen remarkably well and last time she wanted to give me a mohawk of sorts, I was a little hesitant. Anyway, I let her go ahead and she threw a few chemicals on my hair, put some or other treatment on it, blow dried it, put some wax on and…well shoot me down! I looked good. I’m not going to lie, I looked like I could wear a suit with confidence. I mean…I looked real good

I wanted to shout “Come on everybody…Come and see how good I look!”

I actually don’t really say that, nor do I intend to. It’s for the purpose of this article.

After: Shareen bent my hair like Beckhams

Wearing a mohawk with a suit tells the ladies “Yeah…I might be an investment banker by day, but by night…by night I’m a party animal and a Lionel Ritchie crooner. I run this city” Unfortunately, I never wore the suit, but it would have been awesome I think. I should try it next time. Maybe even pull out the old tweed suit, which when paired with a mohawk says “I might be of the old school, opening doors for the ladies, taking their coats off(Um…at the restaurant of course…not…ok whatever) and complimenting them on that lovely new set of earrings. However by night…by night I’m a rock star. And a crooner”

Evolv offer all sorts of things now including haircuts, shaves, massages, skin treatments and nail treatments. Hell, you can even bend it like Beckham and get waxed at Evolv. Painful.

The place is fantastic and it always feels like home when I am there. I usually arrive a little bit early, and then sit on the leather couch reading a GQ or whatever else is on offer to read. As soon as I sit down I am always offered a drink, and then I just relax there watching TV, on their projection screen TV. The only problem is that when the sun is shining brightly, it is a little hard to see the projection on the wall. Other than that, I could sleep at Evolv. Everyone is friendly and people are always chatting, Shareen always smiles when she sees me(Only because she knows she can abuse me into doing some other hairstyle) and it’s just a really awesome experience.

I think that is the key these days, to offer more than just a haircut. At Evolv you don’t merely go for a haircut, you go there for the experience. You go there to relax and take a bit of time out. I used to hate going to the hairdresser, as it did not feel very relaxed. I was always thrown on the chair, my hair was chopped off and I was sent out the door.

With Shareen, I sit there chatting, laughing, seeing my hair being worked into shape, as opposed to being chopped, and I can feel confident that if GQ had to ask me to do a fashion feature, I could appear as the model. Well, my hair could anyway.

I really would recommend Evolv to any guy out there wanting to charm the ladies. The looks they can’t help you with, but with a hairstyle like the ones Shareen cuts, no one will even notice your face. I mean, people have not commented on my face in ages, but the hairstyle…well that’s another story.

Give them a call on +27 21 418 0533

And definitely pay them a visit at: 2 Lower Loop Street SHG House Cape Town

Click HERE for a map

Or visit them on their website

Sean Lloyd

Editor