Chinesische friseur Wang Weimei, rechts, und seine Frau an ihrem Geschäft in der Stadt Jinshi darstellen, Santai Grafschaft, der Stadt Mianyang, Provinz Sichuan im Südwesten Chinas, 7.
Chinese barber Wang Weimei, right, and his wife pose at their shop in Jinshi town, Santai county, Mianyang city, southwest China's Sichuan province, 7 March 2015. Wang Weimei is one of the few remaining Chinese hairdressers practicing the ancient hair-cutting art of 'Dahuojia'. The rather extreme technique involves the use of a pair of hot fire tongs to perm hair. Weimei, 72, starts by heating up the tongs in a stove until they are red hot, and cooling them slightly in water. He then uses it to clamp hair to the desired style. The technique is rather baffling, after all, who would want to walk around with a head of scorched hair? But surprisingly, the final effect is rather nice, sort of like a perm, and lasts for about three months. Dahuojia 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, " Weimei explained. "It is mainly older people that come to my shop nowadays. And, like me, one day they won't be here any more either." But in spite of the low demand, Weimei said business is pretty good at the moment, at his shop in Jinshi town, Sichuan province. His customers seem to see merit in Dahuojia because once they have their hair done like that, the shape is retained for a long period of time without having to use any chemicals.
