Of all the things you can do when traveling in a new country, getting a haircut isn’t usually near the top of the list. But I came across an article about the coolest barber in Hong Kong, and it got me thinking about haircuts abroad.
Has anyone ever gotten a haircut while traveling? For many, I imagine, this would be a great (though temporary) souvenir. Come home with a stylish Parisian haircut, for example, and sit back as all your friends and family shower you with compliments (or make fun of you, depending on how it goes and how often you get stylish haircuts).
I thought it might be fun to look at cuts from around the world, so below are links to hairstyles from countries visited on EF College Break trips. Actually, I couldn't find good links to hairstyles from around the world, so I just googled “[country] hairstyles women” and “[country] hairstyles men” to see what happens:
French hairstyles for women and men.
Italian hairstyles for women and men.
British hairstyles for women and men.
Greek hairstyles for women and men.
Japanese hairstyles for women and men.
Australian hairstyles for women and men.
South African hairstyles for women and men.
As for the Hong Kong barber shop, I’ll let the article do the talking, but the main point is that expert barbers from Shanghai flocked to Hong Kong back in the 1970s. Shanghai has long been considered the most cosmopolitan city in China, and the barber shop tradition was big among Shanghainese transplants living in Hong Kong. Today this kind of barber shop/salon has become retro and hip—you can go there yourself and get a great cut for just about $10 USD.
Photo via Flickr
Great post. I read the article on the Hong Kong salon. My wife is a hair stylist, and while she'd find the "the frog" cool, I doubt she'd ever give up her electric clippers. As for the hairstyles linked above, I think the Japanese are the best. Asian hair is the hardest to style, so being successful styling that kind of hair is impressive.
Posted by: Charlie | Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 08:41 AM