Mr Cheung – Hysan 95

Mr Cheung

Owner, Ambassador Barber Parlour

#Fashion #Nostalgia

I’ve worked here for over 50 years, 30 in this location and 20 in the last. I came to Causeway Bay in 1978 and when my old bosses retired, he asked me to continue the business as I was still young. I was trained in Hong Kong and have been a barber for a few decades. Training is easy in every field but it’s hard to become a professional. I learned the foundations and practised as I worked so it’s hard to say how long I trained for. You keep learning throughout the years even when you’re old and even now, I’m still learning. Hair trends change over time so it’s important to learn the fundamentals in order to keep up. For example, we had to learn from others how to do The Beatles hairstyle so when someone came to us, we would know how to cut it that way. Your hospitality and craftsmanship can help you become the best.

I was here when Hysan Place was still under construction, when they were still tearing down Hennessy Centre, where Mitsukoshi was. The buildings around that area haven’t been around for that long whereas the buildings here on Pak Sha Road have been here for 60 years. Before, there were three barber shops on the same street and two barber shops on Haven Street and now, not including the salons, only our shop is left. Many barber shops have closed down over the years – it’s hard to find employees and rent is a problem.

We set definite prices, unlike salons like the one upstairs that say HK$320-600 and that’s not clear. Shanghainese barbershops are more clear with charging their customers, while other salons charge customers with a range and by levels of hairdressers, depending on experience. We started as teenagers and now we’re in our 70s with 50-60 years of experience. It’s hard to find newcomers to join this field, The older barbers have retired and it’s hard to manage a shop with only a few staff which is why a lot of shops have closed down. There are a lot of young people who learn to become hairdressers but they want to work in salons because they don’t need to learn or do too much and they charge more there. Whether it’s cutting hair for a man or woman, they can pocket a few hundreds to a thousand dollars but here, we have to cut ten people’s hair to reach that price.

“I came to Causeway Bay in 1978 and when my old boss retired, he asked me to continue the business as I was still young.”

“We have some new customers like the young men who want to have a buzz cut because salons probably wouldn’t be that experienced in these styles.”

Shanghai has the most traditional products which is why I still get things from there. Before I would finish one of these hair products in a few days but now I can use it for one month because people don’t like it as much anymore. Even the traditional sinks here you won’t be able to find them as big nowadays.

We have some new customers like the young men who want to have a buzz cut because salons probably wouldn’t be that experienced in these styles – we have been doing these cuts since they were popular before. A lot of people hear about us through word of mouth. People say it’s as good as going to salon, yet the pricing is good. A lot of older clients still enjoy coming here but they need to be accompanied by someone and are often encouraged to go to somewhere closer to home. This is why we lose these clients. But thankfully there are some stylish and young people who come here now. You don’t need to make a booking and whoever’s free will help you cut your hair. We’ve always had female and male customers but the ladies like going to salons instead now. We charge them a little more because their hair takes longer to do. Only one hairdresser here knows how to cut women’s hair.