With modern development, several trades in Kuala Lumpur are dying. One of them is the sisterhood of lady barbers. Yet in the smaller towns of the country, the trade still flourishes. Kuala Lumpur’s lady-barber shops are squeaky clean as compared to those in China, of which many of them are fronts for hanky panky.
A lady barber is different from a hair dresser in a unisex salon as the former caters to male clients only. A lady barber’s premies is identified by a red-and-white revolving pole outside and her services also differ from those of a hair dresser.
Tea, coffee or beer is first served to the customer by the lady barber. Then she will wipe the customer’s face with a hot towel and proceed with the haircut. After the hair cut, she will tilt the chair backward, move a lamp towards one ear of the customer, and use the ee doe (a miniature sharp razor) to shave off all the hairs on the ear lobe and near the entrance.
Then she will use the ee fin (which is a small, sharp, ointed stick) to loosen wax formation. This process tickles and sounds like a cave-in. The fairly large pieces of wax are now taken out by the ee chiam (small tweezers) while the ee waa, a miniature spoonlike tool is used to scoop out the small bits. A liquid is then used to wash the ear and it is dried by balls of cotton wool held by the ee chiam.
Finally, the lady barber will use the ee so (a small brush) to dust the ear. The entire process takes about 20 minutes. Other services can be provided by the lady barber. She can give a shave, shampoo, and facial treatment and also massage the head and body. The body massage is done with the barber’s chair tilted backward so there is no hanky-panky. The process involves slapping cupped hands against the legs and arms and wringing the shoulders. Before the customer leaves, the lady barber will again wipe his face with a hot towel as part of the post-haircut service.
For reasons of privacy, most lady barbers are known to their clients by numbers instead of names. The best girls in terms of skill are usually the top three; they are also the prettiest.
Some lady barbers are well educated. My friend was reading an international affairs magazine and having his hair snipped by a lady barber recently. The lady barber looked over his shoulder and said: “I’ve read that article about Obama’s alleged links with terrorists in Indonesia. It’s rubbish.”
Not all men are eager to go to a lady barber. My buddy commented: “When I was young, my mother advised me not to patronize lady barbers. According to her, sometimes they put kung tau (Cantonese for “black magic”) in the tea that is served to you to make you come back again.”
Looking for a lady barber in KL? You can find them in Chinese areas such as Pudu and Chinatown. To get the prettiest to snip your hair, ask the lady boss for a "red number"
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