Bruce Choy Wai-Choi believes he has magical hands. And it's easy to be convinced, watching them whiz around a head of hair wielding eight pairs of scissors at once. The 51-year-old inventor, hairstylist and guitarist hopes that one day, the scissors and hair-cutting techniques he invented-which won him a place in the Guinness World Records- will take hair-styling   into a new era.

“I'm hoping to find the right partner and together we can do something to contribute to the hairstyling industry. Then perhaps one day, even westerners will come to study our skills,” says Choy.

“Hairstyling techniques haven't improved at all for the past five to six years., in fact , they are going backwards.” Choy, whose nimble fingers can also speed lightning fast over the frets of a guitar, started out with one pair of scissors, then two, and scissors by joining eight sets together.

Able to be controlled by just one hand, the contraption earned him his Guinness record in 2002, for cutting hair with the most scissors.

In the youth, the China-born, Hong Kong –bred Choy was passionate about two thing- hair and the guitar. He began cutting hair at the age 15, and picked up his first guitar at 17. His haircutting experience began when he attended the Hong Kong Sea School. “Three pupils, including me, together had to cut hair for 630 students,” Choy recalls. One teacher taught us the basics. We charged 10 cents per head,” He started off using the traditional Shanghai barber's style. But even then, he was on the lookout for a new direction and learned the technique for cutting wet hair.

“At that time. Hong Kong only had two people who knew the wet-cut technique. “he says. “I was so surprised. I was among the early ones who learnt the skills” At the end of the 1970s, he went to England to the trade at various salons, included Vidal Sassoon.

At the rime, he still played the guitar, and his passion for music was growing stronger than ever. “I played folk songs and songs by Neil Young, followed by Jazz I totally immersed myself.”

  In 1982. With only US$56 in his pocket, he arrived in the US to pursue his musical dreams, supporting himself by working as a hairdresser.

He studied at the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, practicing his scales 15 hours a day.

“I loved doing both…….but I realized that if I want to master one thing, I have to give up one of them.”

So the guitar was put in it's a case as Choy continued to work on his haircutting techniques. “I could only think about cutting hair all day,” he says. “I was thinking of cutting hair at different angles and pondering the results.” By 1991, he could cut hair using either hand. Then, in 1993, he opened his hair salon in San Francisco, decorating the place inside-put, making his own furniture, sewing cushions and even making his own clocks. At the same time, he experimented with dry-cutting hair. The more he practiced his dry-cut and wet-cutting skills, the more he noticed the shortcomings of each style.

“The Shanghai style, which allows you to cut hair dry, requires you get only the length right. Shape isn't very important. But when you cut wet, it doesn't work very well either because when the hair is dried after cutting, it doesn't look the same any more.”

 

It was his fascination with the guitar that helped him pioneer he use of multiple scissors, inspired by guitarist Stanley Jordan, who was famed for playing two guitars at the same time. “At first I put two pairs together, and then I added more… three, four, five and so on. “h says. In 1998, he patented his multi-blade shears in the US, Japan, China and Taiwan. He says his Flyingshears technique helped to make a more accurate cut. After winning his Guinness World Record. Choy became something of a celebrity in the US. But Hong Kong is still his home. In 2004, he sold his San Francisco salon and returned to Hong Kong. “It's like bringing something home,” he says. Choy has had salon owners and top stylists pay him for haircut. “They wanted to see what I do,” he explains, ”I don't mind telling them, actually I wish they could learn my technique.” Choy doesn't have a hair salon anymore but he still cuts hair for friends and clients from San Francisco.. “Some stop by for only a day to get a haircut.” He says Choy has produced his own booklets, DVDs and websites to help explain his techniques. He believes he can do almost anything with his hands. “Hands are magical objects. But every idea comes from your brain. I visualized my ideas, and kept changing and altering them during the process. “The outcome may be different from your original idea, but it is always better. I don't know what I can't make. If I want something. I make it.” Vivienne Chow reports

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