29 March 2009

How Much Is A Haircut Worth?


Our PM in his 2006 National Day Rally Speech mentioned that a certain celebrity hairstylist charges $250 for a haircut:

"Some of you may know David Gan. He is a celebrity hairstylist. According to the newspapers, it cost $250 a haircut. He came here from Malaysia to work, he's been here 22 years. Recently he got his citizenship last December. He said it was the best Christmas present he had ever received because 'Singapore groomed me, gave me many opportunities. I've felt Singaporean in my heart for the past 12 years.'"


David definitely deserved to get his Singapore citizenship. After all, he groomed Singaporeans (their hair) while Singapore "groomed" him back in return. Fair exchange, wasn't it?

With Singapore's inflation rate of 2.1% in 2007 and 6.5% last year (see this article), David Gan could very well be charging $280 for a haircut today.

Well, I too had 280 haircuts nowadays. No, not by David Gan. Frankly, I would have to think very hard to have him cut my hair. Not so much because of my lack of money (or hair) but because I have never seen David's own hairstyle before. Have you? Now can anyone be assured of a hairstylist's skill if he doesn't even have his own hairstyle to show?


Well, my haircut costs only $2.80, not $280. And hey, it's not that "toot" (roughly translated as "ugly") at all, is it?


So while YG goes to JB for a $3.20 "toot" haircut, I prefer to stick to my 280 haircuts.

Besides, the shop is so near my place that it's only a 5-minute walk. I don't have to drive to a foreign land and possibly risk my personal safety.


However, I must say that although I have cut a tomato many times before, it's the first time ever that I have been cut by a tomato:


Read more about the $2.80 haircut in this article, aptly titled "Forget JB - all head for a snip at Snip Avenue".

13 comments:

yg said...

victor, a barber's own haircut is no indicator of his skill. if i go to a barber shop with two barbers, i will choose the one with a toot haircut rather than the one with a neat haircut. the two barbers cut each other's hair.

Icemoon said...

I think your link expired. Try this one - http://www.asiaone.com/Business/SME%2BCentral/Prime%2BMovers/Story/A1Story20080520-65941.html

Care to tell us who are the hairstylists??

Polytechnic student Jeff Lim, 18, who lives in Woodlands and usually pays $10 for his monthly haircut, said he was sceptical about the quality of cut at first.
'But the hairstylists are all very beautiful, so the haircuts here can't be that bad,' he reasoned

Icemoon said...

Who's the guy in the photo?? Looks like a NS man to me, slope leh. Is that your elder son Victor?

Alex G said...

Just visited their website. Apparently haircut is now S$3.80 nett, all thanks to your advertising. :(

Victor said...

YG, I think it is possible for a creative hairstylist to cut his own hair, just like how I took my own photo (read my reply to Icemoon below).

Moreover, a celebrity hairstylist should be very discerning in choosing his own hairstyle. If he got a "toot" hairstyle, I would have lost all confidence in his skills.

Victor said...

Icemoon - Thanks for pointing out the mistake in the link. I have corrected the error.

>Hairstylists are all very beautiful

Ah, I will leave that for you to find out. They say that "beauty lies in the eye of the beholder". Actually, it really depends on your luck. Sometimes you get a man (note: not "manly") hairstylist. Hehe.

Victor said...

Alex, I just cut my hair there 2 weeks ago. They are still charging $2.80 leh. Maybe only the outlet at my place.

Victor said...

Icemoon, the person in the photo is me. Why? Looks very young is it? :)

I took the photo myself by using the reflection in the mirror. Creative, right?

peter said...

have u tried lady-babers? what;s your take on this? I find my hair grows very quickly after they cut. not worth the $$$ but then people call that "style".

peter said...

victor, that's the back of your head. U got hylam tau - like me also.

Victor said...

Peter, your hair grew very quickly after it was cut? Could the reason be that it was unduly stimulated during the haircut? :p

Most times, I am assigned a female hairstylist at Snip Avenue. Generally, I find that they are more skilled than those "half-man" types.

Yes, that's the back of my head but I don't agree that I got Hylam tau. I am Cantonese.

xara said...

is this salon at BRR?

Victor said...

Yes, Xara. You are right.