Rizki Irzawan, 25, took a break from work at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) building in the Sudirman Central Business District, South Jakarta, on a weekday and dropped by Ugo Barber & Shop '€” located in the same area '€” for his monthly ritual: getting a hair cut.

The barbershop, where Rizki is a regular, has an interior designed with a vintage touch '€” it even uses barber chairs produced in the 1950s.

'€œI used to go to a hair salon before I found this barbershop. It was a bit overwhelming: too many women in the salon and I also had to wait too long for my turn,'€ he told The Jakarta Post. Rizki said having a barber cut his hair suited his needs because they knew men'€™s hairstyles better than hairstylists in beauty salons.

Sharing the sentiment, Giani, 23, a private bank employee, said that barbers understood men'€™s
hair styles. '€œThey know what suits a gentleman'€™s [hair] style better,'€ he said.

Suave barbershops, which maintain the signature barber'€™s pole regardless of their interior concept, have sprawled across the capital over the past two years, captivating young adults and stylish men living in Jakarta. Most of them were established by young and trendy entrepreneurs.

Ugo Barber & Shop, located in the heart of the capital'€™s business district, was among the first to pop up in the city. Modern barbershops, which offer various services from hair cuts to shaves, usually set prices at between Rp 40,000 (US$3.28) and Rp 120,000, depending on the service and shop location (those in the suburbs are cheaper).

Realizing that young groomed men were a potential target market, Ranthy Rahajeng, 30, founded Ugo Barber & Shop in April 2012.

It did not take long for her business to pick up '€” thanks to word-of-mouth marketing and media publicity '€” and customers now even have to wait to be groomed by the talented hands of Ugo barbers '€” all of whom are from Garut, West Java, a regency known for its talented barbers.

Ugo Barber & Shop operational manager Aliya told the Post that the shop could handle up to 30 customers a day on weekdays.

'€œOn weekends, we sometimes have to reject customers due to limited resources,'€ she said.

Triputra Salman Salim, 23, co-founder of Barberbox '€” which now has three branches across the capital '€” said his first branch in Senopati, South Jakarta, could handle at least 1,400 customers on average per month.

While smart interior designs and additional services, such as head massage and hot towels, remained pivotal, the skillful barbers were undoubtedly the key to the business.

Aliya said that Ugo Barber & Shop'€™s regulars usually asked for the same barber every time they had a hair cut. '€œThe barbers are our biggest assets,'€ she said.

Triputra said he only employed barbers with at least five years'€™ experience. '€œThey all come from Garut because it is where the best barbers come from. I provide training for them but not on basic hairstyling skills because they already know that. The training focuses more on updating them with new hairstyles.'€

Triputra said the business was promising. '€œI spent Rp 60 million in capital to start the first Barberbox and reached break-even point within six months,'€ he said.

Most of the barbershops also sell hair pomade in stylish packaging. Some make their own pomade, including Barberbox. Triputra said hair pomade was necessary for today'€™s most sought-after haircut: a slicked back undercut, inspired by soccer player David Beckham.

Most shops, however, are not exclusively for men.

'€œWe have a tagline that says '€˜when a man turns into a gentleman'€™ and run the campaign '€˜how to be a gentleman'€™. Among our programs are free hair cuts for female customers because that'€™s how a gentleman treats a lady,'€ he said, pointing out that a Barberbox branch could accept 30-40 female customers every month.

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