Hair Raisers: Tom Yuen, Celebrity Stylist and Creative Director of Hair and Beauty by Hummingbird
Hair’s a big deal to most people. (That’s what our balding friends tell us.) The problem in Beijing is that hair care, with its myriad local providers and the language barrier, is just another reason to pull your hair out. We rounded up some of the city’s most respected friends of the follicle and asked them everything you’d ever wanted to know about getting a good haircut. Here's what Tom Yuen had to say about some hairy topics.
A woman once asked me to spit on her hair before cutting it.
Have I ever made a client cry? Whenever I told my customers that I was leaving the country or city for good.
I am passionate about creating a new look. My least favorite part of the job is dealing with indecisive customers.
The most challenging thing I’ve ever done for a client was to straighten Afro hair.
The biggest mistake customers make is going to the wrong hairdresser, who is unable to understand the requirements and to deliver what the client seeks in the first place.
The biggest mistake I’ve ever made? “Mistaken identity”! I thought she was a man. Anyway, she loved her new men’s haircut and has been back since.
To evaluate another stylist’s ability, I would ask: “Why do I want my hair done by you?” and I would look for the overall hygiene of the workspace, the stylist’s image and their mannerisms.
Do I ever cut my own hair? Yes, all the time.
The largest length of hair I’ve ever cut off is one meter.
I was trained at Vidal Sassoon in London. It was a close encounter with “the man” himself.
Many commercial hair studios here have formed their own training schools and turned into an “academy” overnight, but there isn’t any real professional academy in China due to the local regulations.
If I could give new stylists one piece of advice, it would be this: “A good foundation is the key to mastering the art of hairdressing. Learn from the right shifu!”
Who would I trust to cut my own hair? The late Mr. Vidal Sassoon.
If I could only do one haircut for the rest of my life, it would be shaving the hair with my initials “TY” on it!
Hair and Beauty by Hummingbird
Daily 10am-8pm. Unit 103, Bldg 3, Central Park, 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (6597 9119) 朝阳区朝阳门外大街6号新城国际3号楼103
Click here to see the Beijinger August issue in full.
