After A Close Shave, Barbers Are Back In Fashion
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday April 6, 1988
ONCE BARBER shops were twilight zones - male preserves where the form guide, Men Only magazines and tabloid newspapers were the set texts, condoms were sold discreetly in brown paper wrappings, and Ken Howard's race-calling boomed away in the background. That was when a haircut every three weeks was almost compulsory - only violinists, poets and painters bent the rules.
By the '70s that kind of barber shop was in a state of decline.
Years ago, I lived next door to a noticeably under-patronised barber shop in Forest Lodge. It was owned by a very spruce young man who wore a sky-blue uniform and lived on the premises with his wife and baby. I can't recall his name now, but I remember one of his property improvements, which involved covering his back garden entirely with concrete.
We were much more in touch with the mixed business on the other side, which was run by a Lebanese couple with a daughter named Hazel. Our pet name for this shop was Pazel's, because of our small son's inability to pronounce 'H'properly.
During a particularly hot Sunday, spent doing home renovations, my then-husband bought from Pazel's 18 lemonade iceblocks - a record for that serious and self-confessed iceblock addict (I know, because I counted the wrappers in the bin).
But we weren't good customers for the barber. I used to search Sydney for a hairdresser or barber who could give my tot the perfect Beatle haircut (Joe Bardetta at Rushcutters Bay was pretty good) and my ex-husband used to cut his own hair - and still does. The barber shop in Forest Lodge, like many others, has gone now, replaced by a film production service.
Barbers everywhere are struggling to survive. The one my son goes to keeps an out-of-date printed schedule on his wall, which prices a basic haircut at$8.50. Some favoured customers rate an even further reduction.
Tony White, from the Professional Hairdressers' Association, says you can still walk down George Street and see signs advertising men's haircuts for $5. The Barbers' Guild faded from existence some years ago, and a separate barbers' course at technical colleges has been incorporated into general hairdressing for both sexes.
There's no price control on haircuts, and any effort to set a regulated minimum fee would be in breach of the Trade Practices Act. However, there are guidelines. The Australian Workers' Union informs me that the mid-'85 recommended price for a man's haircut was $9 (there are no up-to-date prices available). The PHA's lowest price for a dry cut in a unisex salon (the association doesn't deal with barber shops) is $13.
Students have developed ingenious ways of avoiding these costs. Amateur barbering by friends and relatives has always been commonplace, with results varying from passable to disastrous. When the Australian composer Malcolm Williamson (now Master of the Queen's Music) was pursuing his studies in London in the '50s, he used to shave his head completely, wear a beret to ward off chills, and let his hair grow for six months before shaving it again.
But with time and success, most men end up going back to some kind of professional hairdressing. Many go to unisex salons, but some services - such as shaving and short-back-and-sides - are only offered at the ever-decreasing traditional barber shops.
For the past 16 years, Sid (barber to the conservatives) D'Urso has run a one-man business in the basement of the Astor Apartments in Macquarie Street. Location plays some part in Sid's success - his shop is a quick walk from Parliament House and the CBD, and is right in the heart of lawyer and medico land.
Politicians - including the Premier, Nick Greiner - make up a large part of his clientele, as do many top-ranking public servants. Sid has kept the decor of his shop functional and his prices reasonable. It costs $11 for a conservative haircut, $13 for a hair style (that's for longer hair) and $11 for a shave. A shampoo, haircut and blow-dry costs $18, and a beard trim $11.
John Coombs, QC (Nugget's boy) has his hair cut and sometimes has a shave at Wentworth Hairdressing, on the Bligh Street side of the Sheraton-Wentworth Hotel. The tastefully decorated grey salon is colonnaded in pink. Women employees dress in white, and the men wear black trousers and white shirts. Three of the women were trained in Europe, where men's hairdressing is still a separate trade, and are therefore qualified to shave with a cut-throat razor -a dying art. Along with a haircut for $13, style cut for $17.50 and a shave for $10, the Wentworth offers a half-hour face massage and hot towel treatment for $12.50, and a manicure for $12.50.
The Men's Grooming Salon on the first floor of David Jones' Market Street store is a light, airy room with huge potted plants. The reading matter is strictly serious - newspapers are usually left open at the business section, and the magazines concentrate on news and investment. The clientele is varied, with a steady stream of country visitors, increasing numbers of young men who want the full luxury of a hair cut, highlighting, body wave, shave and manicure, and notables such as ex-premier Barrie Unsworth.
Joseph Tanios, the salon's manager, likes to encourage customers to have a shampoo and blow-dry with a haircut, but some of the older men prefer short back and sides dry-cut for $15.50. Haircuts with shampoo, conditioner and blow wave range from $20.
Four of the barbers at DJs are qualified to give cut-throat razor shaves($11) and requests are increasing - up to 10 a week. A beard trim and neatening shave costs $12. The manicurist comes in on Thursday and Friday only, and is usually kept busy with regulars (book in advance, $13.50).
Body waves to lift the hair and provide fullness are priced from $55. Highlighting starts at $39 and is about $56 with a haircut. A subtle form of chemical colouring to disguise grey hair is also popular.
Tea or coffee is provided with all services. When customers are having chemical treatments - such as body waves, highlights or grey hair camouflages- and there's time to relax, wine is also offered as a refreshment.
© 1988 Sydney Morning Herald
