Men are more vain than women, says celebrity hairstylist Jing Monis
Robin Padilla came rushing through reporters, photographers, and fans not as a celebrity making an appearance but someone running late to meet a good friend and didn’t want to keep him waiting. His friend is celebrity hairstylist Jing Monis who has a string of salon chains to his name (Jing Monis Salons, Velvet by Jing Monis, Salon Privat by Jing Monis, and Hair Philosophie by Jing Monis) but his newest venture M Barbers is a first for him.
The M Barbers inauguration was a starstudded affair where everyone gathered like family. Young actors like Benjamin Alves, Janine Gutierrez, and Jasmine Curtis-Smith, models and the event’s hosts Joey Mead and Phoemela Baranda (“Jing launched my modeling career 20 years ago because of the hair and makeup he did for my first headshot,” she shared) as well as Brent Javier, Fabio Ide, and Hideo Muraoka were all catching up with each other or with Jing all evening.
“Dad! Congratulations, dad!” they all exclaimed.
Jing collaborates with these celebrities by helping build the image that’s shaping their careers. His own father influenced a part of his. M Barbers is his homage to his dad.
“My dad used to take me to a hole-inthe-wall barbershop with the idea that for grooming, there’s no other way to go. Now, my eldest son Anton likes going to the modern-day barbershops we have now because he likes the special kind of pampering you get there. For the past five years, he has been suggesting that I open one, too, but to put it on a higher level. We did a few studies, but I was so busy with the salons, I couldn’t focus on it. Last year, my son worked on all the planning and finally, we made it happen,” he says.
But both couldn’t make it to the opening. His father passed away a few months ago and Anton just survived brain surgery in California and is unfit to fly back to Manila as he undergoes therapy. “It’s so sad I won’t be able to show this to my dad because this old school vibe – like the shoe shine chair! – it is like where he used to take me before.”
He differentiates M Barbers from the competition as well as what they do at his salons. “I remember when I get my hair done at that barbershop, they cut it manomano with scissors. They only bring out the clippers when you request for a 2x2. Now, when you go to a regular barbershop, they use clippers, they clip and clip, and clip then cut using thinning scissors. You would have to go back two weeks later. Here, we applied what I know from salon cutting not to use clippers all the time but the old barber way, comb and scissors. I went to London and studied again how to cut men’s hair. Me and our educator, we trained our barbers how to balance a cut. It doesn’t look like bago kang tasa. Some guys like it too short, but my clients don’t want to go to an event looking like they just had a haircut.”
He’s currently sporting one of three signature M Barber Cuts, a pompadour. He also has his own take on a low fade and 2x2.
“I would say men are more vain than women, but they want to do this with privacy. We have private rooms for those who don’t want to be seen when they’re coloring their gray hair, for example,” he says.
Located on the third floor of Quezon City’s newest boutique hotel concept B Hotel and in close proximity to TV studios, celebrity sightings are to be expected, but Jing assures it’s for men of all ages and professions. “We match the cuts with the personality of the clients and what they do and not just style it fasyon.” But hey, whatever works on Robin Padilla.
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