Wang Weibu is one of the few remaining Chinese hairdressers practicing the ancient hair-cutting art of ‘Dahoujia’. The rather extreme technique involves the use of a pair of red hot metal tongs to burn hair off, instead of cutting it. 72-year-old Wang starts by heating the clamp in a wooden fire until it is red hot, and cooling it slightly in water. He then uses it like scissors to chop off the hair to the desired length. Later, he slides the hot metal all over the remaining hair.
Apparently, Dahoujia used to be quite popular in China, until it went out of fashion in the 1980s. “It’s not just a shortage of hairdressers offering the method, there are also not very many customers that are interested in it any more,” Wang Weibu says. It’s understandable, considering the technique leaves your head smelling like burned hair, but the old barber says his clients aren’t too bothered by it and love that the long-lasting perm-like effect of the “haircut”.
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