Town’s barbers are a cut above

WHEN it comes to competition among Huddersfield town centre’s barbers – it’s cut-throat.

At one time not so many years ago there was little choice but in the last couple of years there has been an explosion in the number of premises turned into barber’s shops with more than 20 dotted around the centre, many of them often clustered together, particularly around Westgate.

Several of them sport the iconic, old-fashioned red and white sign outside with barbers from the Middle East keen to use this ancient symbol.

And there are styles to suit all tastes from Westgate, which boasts of being Huddersfield’s premier barber shop and where a haircut by its master barber can set you back as much as £25, to the rather more modest Leo’s Barber Shop in Market Walk where chaps can get their locks snipped for as little as £5.

One of the latest to get into the market is Kamel Dhay, a 29-year-old, father-of-two from Aleppo who originally came to this country in 2013 as a refugee from the civil war in Syria.

A PhD student in business management at the University of Huddersfield, he set up his pal Ghani from Damascus, who has 18 years’ experience of hairdressing.

Kamel said: “The shop had been empty for over a year but I could see its potential and I’m in the process of turning it into two shops, the other one will probably be a ladies’ hair salon. I had the money and Ghani had the experience.

“We have only been open two weeks but business is good – we offer a lot more than just having your hair cut, with everything from a wet shave with hot towels to facial cleansing. Customers can relax with a game of pool if they wish and there are toys for the children.”

And he says he is not at all fazed by the competition which could all too easily spill over into a ‘hair today and gone tomorrow’ situation, saying he thinks there is room for everyone.

Not far away in the Imperial Arcade New York-born twins Nick and Alex Clark are busy plying their trade as Czar Men’s Hairdressing.

Nick says he is not bothered by the increasing number of salons mushrooming across the town.

He said: “I guess the explosion is healthy, there’s plenty of heads to go round! We get a lot of students coming in for example.”

One man who has a unique perspective on the town centre’s changing topography is 74-year-old, multiaward-winning Jon Laurence who has been trimming gents’ locks for more than 55 years.

He and his daughter, Alexa Marsden, operate from a salon hidden away in Brooks Yard which is a world away from most of the barbers’ premises customers will be used to.

International Hair Design boasts a wonderfully ornate till – complete with pre-decimal signs – which was first used before the First World War and which he still uses to this day.

In addition there are striking green chairs where customers find it easy to relax, especially when offered a cup of properly brewed coffee before the snipping starts.

He remembers the days in the early 1960s when “I had to register as a barber with the council as they didn’t want there to be too many shops in one area offering the same services. That’s all gone to the wall.”

Alexa added: “I wonder how long they are going to last for.”