Hairdresser in S’pore Filmed for Being Rough While Cutting a Kid’s Hair

On 13 June, a mother took to Facebook to post a video and an accompanying story of what happened to her four-year-old son.

So one fine day, mom Karen Yongie brought her 4-year old Kaeden to HI-Salon at Jurong Point for a haircut.

Which is where both her and her son suffered quite the ordeal.

Here’s the video:

In the video, you will see Kaeden’s hairdresser being extremely and unnecessarily rough with his head.

She bends and pulls his head this way and that.

Karen also mentioned that before the filming of the video started, the hairdresser did something even worse – instead of combing out the knots from her son’s hair before cutting it, she simply yanked and pulled on it.

She could see from her son’s face that he was in pain and extremely uncomfortable, though you’ll have to give kudos to him for staying calm throughout (at least in the video).

You know when the hairdresser combs out your stubborn knots, no matter how carefully he/she does it, it still stings right?

Imagine if the hairdresser just roughly pulls and pulls and pulls on those knots. That’s what 4-year old Kaeden had to go through…I am cringing in sympathy pain for him. 

What Allegedly Happened Behind the Camera

Anyway, Karen did ask the hairdresser to be more gentle with Kaeden. She did not respond. Then she went to ask her son if he felt pain. He said yes.

And the hairdresser still didn’t change her methods. That’s also when the footage started, when Karen stops the hairdresser (who walks away) and someone else takes over.

People commenting on the Facebook post were generally quite sympathetic to Karen’s plight. I mean, I’m no mother but if I saw my kid being manhandled unnecessarily, I’d feel really hurt and disturbed.

But people on this local forum thread were less sympathetic. A lot of them went on to say that if she wanted to pay so little for a haircut, she shouldn’t be expecting any quality services.

They went on to say that she should not be so cheap and spend more on her son’s haircut.

Reviews Online

In case you didn’t know, reviews HI Salon, at least in the online sphere, aren’t exactly all roses: crowdsourced Google review is at 1.2 out of 5 stars, and Facebook review is at 1.8 out of 5 stars.

They charge $3.80 nett for haircuts and they’ve been around for about 5 years in Singapore.

I am on the side that thinks that it really doesn’t matter how much you spend on your child’s haircut. Spending more doesn’t make you a better parent…just like spending less doesn’t make you a worse one.

Young kids often need basic haircuts anyway, nothing fanciful.

But I think everyone should remember that no matter how much or little you pay for a service, you should not be expected to be treated with so little respect and care. You should not expect pain.

Unless you’re getting a wax…or some kind of threading. Or any service where some pain is normal. Cuz then that’s a different story…

It’s not expecting a ‘five-star’ service to expect a hairdresser to cut your child’s hair simply and without causing unnecessary pain.

Many netizens have likened the hairdresser’s haircutting methods to that of shearing a sheep. That is treating a young, human boy with very little respect and care.

Parents magazine has a very informative article on how a child’s hair should be cut. And nothing in there says you should manhandle your child’s head or treat the hair roughly.

Speaking of prices, renowned Kimage Hairdressing School does cut hair at an affordable price of just $6.

In the meantime, our sympathy goes out to Kaeden and we hope he has a better experience with haircuts the next time round.

And oh, perhaps it’s best to read reviews before buying a product or service #lifehacks101

Now you know what Singaporeans are talking about today; do check back tomorrow for another piece of news of the day!