We were in Tuen Mun this past weekend and decided to catch the light rail into Siu Hong MTR Station. When we were coming up the escalators, we ran into the QB House.
I remember the QB House all over Tokyo's Train stations. It was like a barber shop where you could get a 10 minute hair cut for 10 dollars…or something like that. I remember thinking how it was a great way for guys to get a haircut on a busy schedule.
The Yuen Long Plaza also has a QB House!
I actually never thought about trying it out, but I thought that, since it was (1) empty and since it was (2) interesting, I was going to do it! Life should be full of first times!
There were two guys in the barber seats and two guys waiting for haircuts when we got there…it was around 1 pm when we did run into QB House.
There was some sort of special going on, which I need someone to help translate for me!
So, when you first enter the shop, you have to go to the auto pay machine and tap your Octopus Card against it. Each hair cut is 60 HKD.
I wasn't going to really cut my hair, but I did need a trim around the bang area, so it was a good time to test out how a little trim would be. And 60 HKD is a really good price for a quick trim (MAYBE!)
Usually a hair cut for me (with long hair and side-sweapt bangs + shampoo + blowdrying) comes out to around 300 - 500+ HKD in the Yuen Long area. It really depends on where I go and who does my hair. There are junior stylists and senior stylists to choose from. The people with the most experience are obviously the ones who charge more, but they are totally more trustworthy, in my opinion!
So, I thought the 60 HKD price of QB House, at that moment, could have been either a brilliant price or a crumby price.
After paying, a receipt will pop out of the machine. Take the receipt and head on to the waiting area, which is a long bench that marks who the first person is and everyone else afterwards. It is quite Japanese to have so much order, for sure!
Each hair cutter had their own little station. The hygiene of this place was pretty average. I mean, the combs were in a hygienic heated box. But, the capes they put over you to protect your clothes from falling hair were reused. And, after each session, when the hair cutter cleaned up the fallen hair, they would sweep (as best they could) the hair into a little vacuum box at the base of their station.
There were still particles of hair around the base of each chair, but that's quite common in Hong Kong, I think.
Each haircut seemed to be around 10 minutes or less. It goes to show that cutting/shaving/trimming a guys hair may, in deed, be easier than cutting layers into a woman's hair. But, it took only about 10 minutes for me to get to the 1st position spot!
So, at around 1:30 or so, I found myself being the only person in the shop.
When I got up to the chair, (no photos at this point), I used all the body language that I could (and images from my phone) to show the woman that I just wanted a trim on my bangs. It was easy enough. She cut my bangs once, then asked if it was all right. I asked for her to cut it a bit Bit BIT shorter to be out of my eyes. Then she asked if it was all right.
After 10 minutes, I was done.
My bangs were fine.
And I had a great experience in the chair with my lovely hair cutter.
She cleaned up my face with a facial tissue and bid me farewell.
I really liked my experience at QB House. I think, if I am ever in desperate need of getting a trim, I would probably check out the QB House at the Yuen Long Plaza, but for a full on hair cut, I doubt they'll be able to do as well of a job as the salons around town.
But, overall:
1. This was fun!
2. It was nice to try something new!
3. The price was right for a bang trim!
4. The shop was all business (as you can see from the image above)!
5. And the hair cutters were both so lovely!
