“Neighbourhood barbershops and salons are becoming places only for people who are too lazy to wash their own hair or who have certain physical limitations. For example, they may have just undergone eye surgery,” 53-year-old hairdresser Nong says with a laugh.
In every neighbourhood, there is a hairdresser. The profession has long provided a vocational career for Thais and, for some, a dream job. At a time when annual lists warn of occupations at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence, hairdressers are rarely mentioned.
For a look behind this seemingly simple and low-profile profession, the Bangkok Post visited several barber shops and salons to speak with Thai hairdressers whose decades behind the chair reflect how society has changed over time.
