Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Scissors fly at Festival

Hairdressing is a traditional trade of old Kim Lien village, Hanoi. Modern hairdressers grouped up at the village festival to participate in a haircut competition.

LookAtVietnam - This village has become a street and the image of peddling hairdressers on bicycles with a wood box on the back is now in the memory of old Hanoians.



Kim Lien's barbers now work in big barber's shops and they are called "hair designers". They recently grouped up at the village festival to honor their ancestors and to participate in a haircut competition.



Before joining the competition, barbers made rituals in the Kim Lien Temple, Phuong Lien ward and they competed, not in barber's shops, but in the temple yard.

Four barbers performed their skill at once. Each barber giving a haircut to two people at the same time.

The "clients" were anybody who attended the festival and the service was free.


The eight competitors were selected one month ago by the organizing board. Of them seven barbers are the owners of famous barber's shops in Hanoi and one came from the southern province of Dong Nai.

Only this barber used manual hair clippers. Others used electric clippers.


Juryman Pham Duy Hao, a very famous hairdresser in Hanoi, judged the "work".

Today barbers don't have to sharpen razors so razor-sharpening skills are no longer a prerequisite for a good barber.






Juryman Pham Duy Hao performed his skills.

… and this girl seemed to be satisfied with the new design.

Contestants had up to 30 minutes to make a haircut and the winner received bonus of 500,000 dong.

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