The popularity of Li Xiaohua Barber just shows that many consumers want more authentic haircut services around them.

Recently, a barber named Li Xiaohua has become popular. She is very popular simply because she can honestly cut the right hairstyle according to the customer's needs. She is loved by netizens. is known as the "hairdresser who listens to advice".

Such an ordinary "popularity" may just reflect people's "antipathy" towards some trendy barber shops.

Under the instigation of a friend, I once had the experience of going to a trendy internet celebrity barber shop.

I took the crowded subway to Xinjiekou, followed the navigation to enter the huge shopping mall, and then walked up the escalator following the signs. After asking around a lot, I finally found the barber shop I wanted to go to in the corner on the top floor of the shopping mall.

The store is not big, about 20 to 30 square meters, but the decoration is very good. White background wall, gray marble on the floor and black wooden tables. Mirrors everywhere are polished and various tools are neatly stacked on the operating table.

There is a waiting area on the right side of the front desk. There are sofas in the same black tone, and beautifully packaged candies are placed on the glass coffee table. There were waiting customers sitting on the sofa, including a few girls who must have made an appointment to come together. They chatted lively and laughed from time to time.

At this time, a clerk greeted me enthusiastically. While guiding me to the front desk, he continued to use a headset to communicate with the barber who was not far away.

When she asked me if I had an appointment, I was a little confused. I've never been asked this question at any barber shop I've been to before. "What, do I have to make an appointment first to get a haircut?" I was a little helpless.

The front desk clerk continued to use the headset to shout to the barber inside:

"Teacher **, are you free? There is a customer here who does not have an appointment."

"Okay, please go to the waiting area and wait for a while. Teacher ** will come to you later." She said to me.

I walked towards the waiting area a few steps away with some embarrassment.

The first time I came into contact with the trendy barber shop, the deep impression that left on me was: "What a grand scene."

In related discussions on the Internet, there are many netizens who have had the same experience as me. They share their stories of going to these stores, and complain about these trendy stores, which are expensive, busy, and "pretentious".

"In a small store, we have to rely on headsets to communicate, which is superfluous."

"I cut my hair and paid 68, but the result is similar to the craftsmanship at the door of the community!"

"I washed my hair before getting a haircut. He brought out three bottles and asked me which grade of shampoo to use!"

Under the "peer support" of affordable barbers like Li Xiaohua, the price and service of haircuts in trendy barber shops , it becomes increasingly incomprehensible.

How much is a haircut worth?

Who has the final say between the customer’s needs and the barber’s “aesthetic”?

Let us take a look at it from the "head".The word "haircut" appeared in the Song Dynasty. In Song Dynasty Zhu Xi Commentary on "The Book of Songs", "Song of Zhou", "It is like a comb" said: "A comb is also a hair clipper."

In the Qing Dynasty, because all men had to shave their heads and comb their braids, the barbering industry developed unprecedentedly. However, haircuts are mainly due to the need to shave the head and braid it, not to pursue beauty. Barber pickers providing mobile services are the main form, but fixed barbering business locations are also beginning to appear.

"Shenyang City Chronicle" records the situation of two famous barber shops in the late Qing Dynasty: "In the late Qing Dynasty, the more famous barber shop in Shenyang was Guangyitang Barber Shop. In 1876 (the second year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty) , the owner Zhang Jishun invested 150 yuan... and was opened near Xiaobeimen Wangbei Tower; the Yonghetang Barber Shop was opened in 1894 with the owner Du Yongchun investing 350 yuan... and was opened near the Drum Tower on Zhongjie. Yonghetang was well-known throughout the country at that time, and the two barber shops continued to operate until the 1930s.

After the May Fourth Movement, women’s haircuts became popular. Barbershops began to add women's sections. "Shenyang City Chronicle" also records that in the early 1920s, the technique of using tongs to perm hair became popular in Shenyang... ".

After the reform and opening up, with the changes in social atmosphere, the trend of "fashion" started again. Since then, hairdressing services have increasingly shifted from basic living hygiene to personalized beauty.

The price of services in trendy barber shops nowadays remains high. A hairstylist at a local trendy barber shop told us, “This kind of shop (referring to trendy barber shops) requires a lot of investment, and the cost of the store alone may exceed tens of millions. , so there is also a more complex pursuit of store positioning. ”

In order to attract more customers, hair salons are often opened in commercial areas with greater traffic. According to a survey conducted by The Paper "Half of the Directors in the Country Are in Barber Shops, Who Commented?", store rent accounts for 10% of expenditures. %-2 0%, "House prices vary in different regions and business districts, and for stores with superior locations, rent may account for a larger proportion." Labor costs account for 45-50% of expenditures

According to the detailed figures released by Zhongzhi Cloud, "the average rent of shops in the top 100 commercial streets (hundred streets) consisting of 100 commercial street shops in key cities across the country in 2023 will be 24.35 yuan/square meter/day", which is converted into The unit of year is 8 887.75 yuan/square meter/year. Then a 30-square-meter shop will cost about 270,000 yuan in rent every year; according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the average annual salary of people engaged in social production services and life services in 2023 will be 65,713. . according to this average, The labor cost of a 10-person barber shop is about 600,000 yuan. Taking into account the conditions in various regions, such labor costs may be higher in big cities.

But in addition to store rent and labor costs, the reason why trendy hair salons feel "unattainable" is also related to the industry's "excessive promotion" of practitioners.

According to the "National Vocational Skills Standards for Hairdressers" formulated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, hairdressers in my country are divided into eight levels from apprentice to chief technician. Taking junior workers (level 5) as an example, they need to engage in hairdressing work for a total of one year (inclusive). ) or above are eligible to apply.From the perspective of job requirements, low-level workers are only required to be able to use basic hairdressing tools, while senior workers need to be able to design styles based on their own aesthetic knowledge.

But in barber shops, you rarely see such a simple professional level. Most of the public "titles" of barbers are "art director", "styling director", etc. It seems that in a small barber shop, everyone is the director, chief, and supervisor.

Hairdresser Shisan said that "director" is a title for industry experts. However, the evaluation criteria for "masters" usually do not come from vocational training level assessments, but from various self-defined competitions and training projects within the industry. The "big names" in the hairdressing industry are very respected by their peers, but they may seem "inexplicable" to the outside world. Another hairdresser, Ah Wei, believes that the louder the title, the higher the service price is likely to be. Therefore, hairdressers are motivated to participate in various industry competitions to "package" themselves.

In the industry, some competitions are highly recognized, such as the L'Oreal pro Global Hair Designer Competition, which started in 1954. It is the first professional hairdressing competition in the industry and is known as the "Oscars" of the hairdressing industry. The WorldSkills Competition also has a hairdressing event. Chinese players Nie Feng and Shi Dan won the hairdressing event championships in the 43rd and 45th WorldSkills Competition respectively. But for most consumers, it is difficult to access the winners of such high-end events. The teacher Tony who serves us may have a bunch of industry competitions and training certificates that you have never heard of. What's more, you may also feel that it doesn't matter whether you have a certificate or not. What's important is that you can leave the barber shop with a smile.

Speaking of my first trendy barber shop experience, it should be said: good or bad, completely in line with my previous "stereotype" of trendy barbershops.

The hairdresser’s service is indeed attentive: he will introduce his own shampoo when washing my hair, and will also patiently ask if the water temperature is suitable; chat with me during the haircut, and provide his suggestions on hairstyle from time to time; after blow-drying my hair He also handed me a drink order and asked me to order a drink for free.

But the price is unsurprisingly expensive: a simple haircut cost 128 yuan. This is several times what I usually get at the community barber shop.

Looking in the mirror, I can see past it. But it is similar to the feeling I usually get after getting a haircut. It did not give me a "stunning" hairstyle because of the high consumption.

For me, this is obviously a one-time consumption that is not very cost-effective.

But I can also understand that many consumers are still willing to pay higher prices to enjoy the personalized services of trendy barber shops.

The most important thing is to allow consumers to make their own choices conveniently.

The popularity of Li Xiaohua Barber just shows that many consumers hope to have more primitive haircut services around them.

This article was first published on the WeChat public account "Jia Shu Studio".

This article is the practical work of students of the "wechina Micro China" project of the School of Journalism and Communication of Nanjing University and the first-class course of the Future Editorial Department.

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