The 'world leader' profession makes a lot of money at the end of the year

For different reasons, many people choose the end of the year to get their hair cut. Some people do it for beauty purposes, others are too busy with work so they take advantage of the day off before Tet to get their hair cut; some people are superstitious - they have to get their hair cut to bring good luck in the new year... Therefore, near Tet is the time when barbers - who are jokingly called "leaders of the world" - make a lot of money.

Hair salons are always crowded with customers waiting in line during the days leading up to Tet. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Giao, owner of a men's barber shop in Lang Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) said: From the 20th day of the lunar calendar until just before Tet, he serves customers almost every day from 7am until night before resting. Because he has to stand all day, his mind must be alert to make customers beautiful, so at night his legs are weak. The nature of the barbering profession is that even though he is very hungry and tired, when the customer sits in the chair, he must be responsible for doing the job carefully, otherwise he will ruin the customer's hair.

With Mr. Giao’s skillful hands, he can cut hair for about 50 customers every day. Although the price of haircuts in rural areas is not as high as in the city, he can earn millions of dong every day.

"Customers who come to get their hair cut are of all ages, most of them are students and workers returning home for Tet. Therefore, the hairdressing profession requires not only good skills, but also knowing how to look at the head and age to cut appropriately. The hairdressing profession not only requires a beautiful cut but also knowing how to please customers in communication and behavior" - Mr. Giao shared.

The owner of a hair salon named Dung in Nghi Phu commune - Vinh city said that his salon always has 4-5 skilled workers, but during Tet, he still cannot meet the demand of customers. Having been a hairdresser for 13 years, Dung said that Tet is a "bumper harvest" for this profession, because the number of customers coming to the salon is 4-6 times higher than usual.

However, to meet the customers' hair styles, hairdressers have to work very hard, because they have to stand, bend down and be quick-eyed all day. However, with the price of a haircut in the city at least 50,000 VND/head, the shop owner has a "huge" income.

A hair salon in Vinh is also crowded with customers. Photo: PV

Not only men's hair salons but also women's hair salons are busy all day. Even reputable salons require customers to call and make an appointment in advance. According to some salon owners, women's hair requires a lot of care, and some customers who want to curl their hair can take hours. Some customers are willing to wait until late at night for their turn.

Ms. Luong, the owner of a women's hair salon in Dien Dong commune (Dien Chau), confided: Since the full moon of December, customers have started coming to the salon to get their hair done. Not only teachers and local civil servants, but also rural women are interested in their hair, so the salon has been crowded for the past half month. There are days when all four hairdressers work from 7am to 11pm before they can rest. However, the female hairdressing profession has a fairly high income, so Tet is a "bumper harvest" for the hairdressers.