(ECNS) -- A Chinese female barber recently went viral on social media platforms by giving customers exactly the haircut they envision. Her remarkable talent for truly understanding clients’ requests has earned her a reputation online of being “a barber who actually listens”.
Xiao Hua, 33, co-owns a barbershop called “Liangdian” (Bright Spot) with her husband in Huaihua City, central China’s Hunan Province. Operating for 11 years., the shop is just about 20 to 30 square meters.
In February, she posted her first haircut video on social media to draw more customers. To her surprise, within a month, one video went viral. By October, she gained widespread attention onine.
Xiao Hua also livestreams her haircuts, attracting more than 10,000 viewers per session now. Many of her viewers are also fellow barbers who tune in to watch and learn from her techniques.
For Xiao Hua, building her strong reputation is simple: "communication." For example, if a customer shows her a picture asking for that same haircut, she’ll explain that she can only offer a similar result, not an exact replica. If the customer agrees, she proceeds with the cut. "If they don’t agree, I make sure to clarify exactly what I can achieve," she explained.
Equally important is her skill in understanding client’s needs. For example, for customers who ask for “just a little off,” she first checks how often they get their haircuts. If it’s once a month, then she’ll just trim the hair to match typical growth in that period, around half of the length of her pinky finger.
Since Xiao Hua’s rise to fame, her barbershop has been bustling, with some customers traveling far away from other cities, and even from South Korea. Many of them need to wait up to 8 hours just to experience her skills. Other fellow barbers have also come in person to further their training, and learning how to cut hair by following her videos.
Despite her newfound fame, Xiao Hua’s prices remain affordable— charging only 30 yuan for men and 45 yuan for women. Due to time and energy constraints, she only serves about 30 customers daily. Although it’s tiring, she says she’s happy with her work.
When faced with praise, Xiao Hua stays humble, insisting her skills are not special. She claims that “I just make fewer mistakes.” She doesn’t encourage people to come specifically for a haircut, but she welcomes anyone who’s visiting the beautiful city of Huaihua to "stop by for a haircut while they’re here."