One might argue that District 2 barbershop Le Barbier De Saigon has a grudge against hair.
Take a look at their eye-watering menu of waxing services, for instance. It’s enough to bring tears to your eyes just looking at it.
On it, the torture begins gently with an eyebrow clean-up from VND250,000-300,000.
After that, things ramp up substantially with a full arm wax for VND520,000.
But it’s the chest and stomach wax for VND550,000 that really gets the teeth gnashing.
The thing about a chest and stomach wax is that it’s kind of like when you finally decide to dust the house – it’s not until you run your finger along the window sill that you realise just how dusty the rest of the house is.
So you might as well go for the full back wax to get the entire top floor of the house in order and pay VND600,000 for the pleasure.
Not all of us are as hirsute as a baboon, so you might be one of the lucky ones who can skip the back wax.
But for those less-fortunate souls among us, you can’t have one without the other I’m afraid, unless you plan to lie on the beach all day on your back.
Now, you might be wondering where all this is headed.
Well, you can’t just get upstairs done and ignore downstairs, can you?
This is where Le Barbier De Saigon comes into its own.
For starters, they can wax your legs for VND800,000.
I’m not sure if stress balls to grip onto or mouth guards to bite into are provided, but they tell me it’s worth the experience once it’s all over.
The problem is, just the other day I removed a band-aid from a scratch on my leg and it left me in a blithering mess, so I can’t see myself getting one of those.
Speaking of which, just the idea of their “Boy Brazilian” wax has me wincing.
For just VND750,000 you get your crack and sack done by an experienced waxologist (?) who happens to tell me that doing the procedure is similar to how they reckon you feel when you kill someone for the first time, the trauma is blunted in the knowledge that the second time round will be much easier.
Still, I’m not sure if I want to be left in this good woman’s hands for a first time or a next if you know what I mean. But I must admit, I’m curious as to what it’s like.
If you’re a little shy and after something a bit less invasive, Le Barbier De Saigon also offers facial care packages ranging in price from VND500,000 to VND1.65million, along with nail care services up to VND280,000.
Their barber services are very competitive starting at VND250,000 for a haircut, VND450,000 for a combo haircut and beard trim, or add on an extra VND50,000 if you’re after the combo head shave and beard.
Le Barbier De Saigon is a nicely put together space, their barbers are professional and have built a reputation for providing quality cuts and shaves.
There’s also a relaxing waiting area where you can enjoy a cold beer, thumb through a magazine or browse some of the menswear on sale.
Respect.
DISCLAIMER: The author hasn’t experienced any of the services described in this article yet, but will consider doing so once his beach holiday to the Maldives is confirmed.
Le Barbier De Saigon is at 8C Nguyen Ba Huan Street, District 2, HCMC
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/LeBarbierDeSaigon/
Words & photos by Matthew Cowan. Follow Matt on Instagram at @mattcowansaigon
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