WHEN most men leave for the barbershop you know that they will not be back anytime soon, and it is because they have to wait their turn or it is a ‘chill spot’ where men meet to be groomed and take the time off to unwind among their peers.

Well, it may be both for a lot of men, who would leave their homes or wherever else and go to the barbershop and return hours later.

And this is exactly what happens at Shawn Sulemon’s barbershop located in Ocean View, Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara.

He has a nice, cosy barbershop, a place where men would gather, wait out their turn to have their hair cut, beards trimmed and other grooming services while watching television, taking a selfie with the selfie ring light, do a video, or just sit it out in the massage chair that is there for customers.

Shawn is a qualified barber, who is looking forward to setting up his own barbering school and will make the necessary extensions to his barbershop for such a project.

He returned to Guyana in 2009 after spending 20 years in the United States of America (USA) and wanted to do something for himself here, so he got qualified at Hair Tech International and earned a diploma in cosmology and barbering.

He is versed in cutting both male and female hair and also does a variety of grooming services, such as eyebrows line-up and beard-trimming and shaping.

The father of two told the Pepperpot Magazine that life is good, because he has a place where people visit and spend a lot of time and mostly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, he would have a lot of customers.

The barbershop is opened from 09:00hrs to up until curfew time daily and mostly ‘regular’ customers, people who are known to him and repeat customers would come for the services provided.

“I like art, so that in itself motivated [me] to get trained and become a barber and provide a reliable service to the community, and I want to help others to realise their true potential in the world of barbering,” he said.

Sulemon stated that he doesn’t do any appointments because he doesn’t want to be biased and people would wait their turn and things are in order, as he operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

He is popular on social media with his Facebook page called Babj’s Hair Kutterz Westside Hustlerzzz page, where he has an active presence via videos, of his work.

Sulemon’s wife is a beautician, but admitted that her husband’s barbershop overshadowed her small business; so presently she is renting her salon for $15,000 per week.

“I am self-motivated to help others and I will open my barbering school sooner rather than later,” he said.

The salon
Also in Ocean View, Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, Bibi Sattaur, a mother of two, has a salon and specialises in hair-colouring, relaxing, waxing, make-ups, dressing brides, haircuts, facials, manicure, pedicure and nails.

The 32-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that it was from scratch she started with the help of family, because she separated from her common-law husband and had to leave her salon in Stewartville, also on the West Coast of Demerara.

She started afresh at her parents’ place at Ocean View, Uitvlugt, and presently business is a bit slow due to the pandemic, but she would get customers on weekends.

Bibi Sattaur with customers in her salon

The 32-year-old stated that the salon is the only income for her to support two school-age children and she would make the most of it.

Sattaur opened her salon in 2009 and is qualified, since she earned a diploma in cosmetology at Nayelli’s School of Cosmology.

Inside the salon

“I am back living with my parents, they have been supporting me; my brother constructed the salon and I had to equip it, so it’s been hard to start over, but here I am and I will continue to make strides, since I want to do the massage course,” she said.

Sattaur’s salon is located just off the public road at Ocean View, Uitvlugt, and she is opened daily from 09:00hrs to 18:00hrs from Mondays to Sundays.