Torrance Kim’s Barber Shop

The barber doesn’t accommodate any requests, they just sit you down and start cutting, even when I asked 3 times for shorter, he didn’t cut shorter, then the sign says 19 dollars and at the end she says 25 $ very unprofessional, very sneaky shady business, they pretend they don’t understand and they leave you –25 $ and a messed up haircut that you didn’t ask for. If I can give a negative rating I would.

I happened to be near by and having seen the place several time, I figured why not. I walk in, sit down and the guy just starts chopping away. Didnt even ask how I wanted it. Being the kind of person I am, I let him do his thing. Maybe I was like a Bonsai tree and he saw my inner beauty.
After he was done, the lady tags in and finishes you off by doing the edge work and using the straight razor. When she was done, SHE VACUUMS MY HEAD! Now honestly, I thought the vacuum part was pretty awesome.
When she was finished, I asked if I could have it shorter. They didnt seem pleased with my request but the guy came back and cut some more.
I was still not happy and it still cost me $ 16 plus the tip. I didnt realize how bad it was until my wife got home and saw the back of my head. It was the same length as the top and the sides were very short.
I had to go to my isual barber to get it fixed. In all I ended up spending $ 38 for 2 haircuts thanks to Kim’s barbershop.

I have used Kim’s barber shop since moving to LA four years ago.
They provide great walk-​in service and do very nice attention to detail on both the haircut and then cleanup as well.
A very small shop adjacent to a senior living facility looks somewhat unusual, but you can count on a great haircut if that is what you are looking for.
Dave

Hubby comes here almost exclusively to get his hair cut, even though we live 40 min away. That’s loyalty: P I’ve sat in this shop multiple times waiting for him, which never takes that long unless there’s a wait, maybe 20 minutes or so. This is a barber shop, plain and simple. The husband cuts the hair and his wife does more precision work with a razor. They don’t really speak much, though this could also be because hubby doesn’t speak Korean.
There’s a parking lot behind the shop, most of the spaces are for the hospital (?) but they have 3 spaces reserved for the barber. Nice shop, gets the job done for the hubby.

One never gets used to having a women put a straight razor to your throat. Kim’s is an old school barber shop that still uses a straight razor to do some of the final touches. Like other barbers they snip hair in unwanted places, ok only places above your shoulders and offer to give you a shave. Don’t get me wrong, Kim’s in many respects is up to date. In addition, to a whole rack of various scissors and corded shears, they also have a variety of cordless shears and a unique vacuum system that they use on their customers to clean them up.
It has been many many years since I’ve gotten a haircut at a barber shop, but recently I just could find a «salon» that I like or could afford. So yesterday I ended up at Torrance Kim’s Barber Shop; a barber that my dad used. With my busy schedule, I am always appreciative of being about to just walk in and without an appointment. In fact I wish there shop all around town so I could just drop in on my way to where ever else I was headed to. After coming out of Kim’s I wonder why I started going to salons that are usually run by women and are never quite as good in knowing what a man needs in grooming.
Kim’s is a tag team affair. There is a guy that I assume may be Kim? Then there is a woman that I assume may be his wife. Whatever, the guy does the main cut and when he is done he walks away without a word and in swoops the lady to do the finer trimming. He is fast and precise and she is detail and meticulous. The combo works well. The whole process took maybe 15 – 20 min. with maybe 4 words spoken between the three of us. «Same style»? I nodded. «$ 16». I paid and on my way to the next destination. No incessant attempts to make small talk — thank you.
Next time? Wonder how I would look with shorter hair…

I thought I’d give this place a try. I love living in Torrance and prefer to patronize the mom and pop stores then the big chains like Supercuts. Unfortunely, this place was a big disappointment after I looked at the above reviews. Perhaps the owners (Korean husband/​wife) are only adept at cutting «Asian» hair; now I have almost straight hair, but the barber couldn’t even cut a simple flat top! I had a bad feeling as soon as he asked what I wanted and I told him «shave the bottom, not shear, but leave some length on top, and square it up.» He looked confused and said «shave?!» then tried to put on his poker face. I should’ve left at that point but I wanted to be fair since the reviews said they can do conservative hair styles which obviously a simple flat top is the epitome. So starts shearing the back of my head and sides «ninja style» as if he was in a hurry to get rid of me, and doesn’t bother to shave as I told him. As soon as he finished and started with the top he broke out the scissors and barely touched or «sculpted it» before his wife hurried over and NOW breaks out the straight razor to barely touch up the nape of my neck and sideburns! She shaved my ears which I tipped her $ 3 for, but the husband is terrible at what he does. There was a Caucasian man with his Korean wife and half-​bred son there and they got the royal treatment! He hurried back to them after he fucked up my hair. Now, this smells of racism and total lack of professionalism in my opinion. So best bet, if you’re Asian or look remotely Asian or have a token Asain wife and/​or kid, go ahead and enjoy top notch service, but if you’re a big, Mexican-​looking dude like me and looking for a quality artisan barber who can cut a simple flat top, STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!

I don’t speak Korean, but I wish I knew how to say «Thanks!» Best taper I’ve had in a while, and I didn’t even have to say a word. I just sat in the chair and off he went! Afterwards, his wife very meticulously made the finishing touches. They didn’t use a straight razor, but I did get my hair vacuumed. It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen one of those, and I had forgotten how great they were. It’s not as good as getting your hair washed, but it does get more hair out than a brush.

Literally a mom and pop place, the barber runs the place with his wife. They are Korean so they know how to cut Asian hair. I came here a lot when I was in high school when I went with clean sides and spiked hair. It’s no longer my style so I go to Ziva salon across the street.
Haircuts are good but on the conservative side. Such as if you’re going for a military or politician style cut. The barber finishes your cut with a straight blade razor on your sideburns and edges to get that super clean and straight look.
The place is also kept super clean and you can tell he keeps his instruments clean as well.
Price is $ 16 for a cut, can’t really go wrong with that.

This is a pretty nice barber shop. Their haircuts are good, if conservative, but what do you expect from an old school barber shop.
And this place is old school. After they finish cutting your hair, they’ll ask if you want a shave and use one of those single blade razors to do it.
The only weird thing about this place, when they finish cutting your hair, instead of washing your head, they literally stick a vacuum hose to your noggin to get the loose hairs out.