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Hair report
Shanghai barbers
edged out by modern hair salons
(Veeva Yang)
Photos & text by Eunice Ho, Barry Wu & Veeva Yang
When you want to change your hairstyle, you probably visit a modern salon for a layered cut, 3-D highlights, a perm or an anion straightening — that is, straightening by means of negatively charged ions. The phrase Shanghai barbershop is not even in your yellow pages under hair salons.
The luster of these traditional barbers has long since faded, because they are being edged out by competition from modern salons.
Things were very different back in the ’60s and ’70s. Business for Shanghai barbershops was good, indeed, thank you very much.
gan Wai Kwok, owner of Shanghai Sun Ngah Monalisa Saloon, reminisces about the good old days.
“At that time, it was popular for Shanghai immigrants to operate barbers, and the Shanghainese dominated the market,” said Mr. Ngan, who opened his barbershop 37 years ago in Reclamation Street in Mongkok .
He added that there was a great demand for the service because a Shanghai haircut was considered trendy. Some celebrities were frequent customers, and the shop was busy.
“Sometimes we were too busy to even have lunch or dinner,” Mr. Ngan recalled.
But as the hair care industry introduced new technology and techniques, business for Shanghai barbershops took a sharp and jagged snip.
Business declined due to a loss of customers. Mr. Ngan said Shanghai barbers do not offer the “casual” hairstyles that people now see as fashionable. They stick to the “gentleman” hairstyles — slick hair with uniformly cut length and tapered backs and sides.
“Nowadays, young people in Hong Kong don’t accept old Shanghai style barbers. In their view, our styles are outdated and our techniques unreliable. No one will come to us to be an apprentice, much less a customer,” said the 60-year-old.
He added that there is little new blood because young people are afraid of the harsh apprenticeship and long working hours.
Although most of Mr. Ngan’s staff, who are over 60, should be home living out their retirement, they continue to work at his salon. Some have even shut down their own Shanghai salons to join him.
They do this because they want to preserve the flavor of traditional hair styling.
“Many long-term customers come to us because they love old Shanghai styles. We not only provide old Shanghai hair styling and shaving services, but also give the customers a feeling of old-time Shanghai,” said Mr. Ngan.
Mr. Ngan’s shop remains divided into men’s and women’s areas because in the past, female customers were too shy to have their hair cut in front of men.
Unfortunately, this old-time Shanghai flavor is also offered across the border at a cheaper rate.
Said Mr. Ngan: “Many of my customers now go to Shenzhen to have their hair cut because the price is cheaper.
“Indeed,
it is sad to tell the fact, but I am optimistic about the future as
long as I still have some loyal, frequent customers.”
(Veeva Yang)
Left: (Barry Wu) ; Right: (Eunice Ho)
The tools, though bought in the '60s, still look brand new. (Barry Wu)