Barber who's a cut above the rest

Wallis Wang

A mainland barber left a high-end hair salon in Taishan city, Guangdong, and moved to Hong Kong to offer quick haircuts at HK$90 a pop.

Ming was a senior barber in his hometown where he would charge his clients at least 268 yuan (HK$287).

Then he headed to Hong Kong in October last year as he wanted to spend more time with his family in the city. He spent a month setting up his own barber shop, RX Hair Cut, in North Point.

His shop is popular with students as it is cheap at HK$90. He also offers discounts to elderly customers, charging them HK$80.

He mainly offers "speed cuts" for male customers, without dyeing, waving or curling.

Ming said his business did not draw much attention at first, but then he learned about popular hairstyles among youngsters and used social media to show videos of him in action.

He went on the Douyin platform to say his shop was sometimes "paralyzed" by the large number of customers.

"Some have to wait for one or two hours to get a haircut, but there is nothing I can do about it as I've been so busy," he said. "My customers are supportive and they are willing to wait, but I feel guilty about it."

Ming said the shop is busiest from 4pm to 5pm as many students visit after school. Older customers prefer times that avoid a long queue.

But there is always a demand for speed cuts with many customers on the go.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com