The first shop in Hong Kong, scheduled to open in June, would be equipped with six of the second-generation hair washers. — SCMP
A hair-washing robot, which has attracted widespread attention in southern China, will enter the Hong Kong market in June, according to its maker.
Faxiaoka AI Hair Care, which runs roughly 40 stores in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Hunan, offers innovative hair-washing services that can also examine hair quality and skin health.
The machine consists of a massage table with electronic massagers and a helmet-shaped module at one end for washing hair. Inside the module are high-pressure water tubes that can wash hair from all directions. There is also a therapy system inside the helmet, which uses low-level wavelengths of red light to help treat skin conditions.
The basic package, which costs less than 20 yuan (RM12 or US$2.70), lasted about 16 minutes, according to a Post reporter’s experience in mid-April in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.
However, the machine is not able to dry hair. Customers must sit on a separate chair to dry their hair themselves or have a shop assistant do it. It was not fully automatic either, as it required the assistant to start the machine and adjust the temperature and strength based on the customer’s requests.
The team is working on a second-generation system that would add a drying function. It would also allow users to start the machine by scanning a QR code with a smartphone. The new system would be ready in June, said He Qiufeng, founder and chairwoman of Guangdong Sheng Tai Health Technology Group, which owns the Faxiaoka brand.
The company plans to expand to Hong Kong and other overseas markets. The first shop in Hong Kong, scheduled to open in June, would be equipped with six of the second-generation hair washers, and charge HK$99 (RM59 or US$12.70) for a basic hair-washing service, He said.
Across the mainland, the company’s network would more than double to reach 100 stores by the end of June. Meanwhile, some hair salons have ordered the machine to replace human shampooers, He added.
It recently shipped two machines to Canada to test that market, while importers in the US, Japan and South Korea have been in touch about the product. He said she is not worried about the tariff hikes imposed by the US because that cost would be covered by the importers.
Overseas markets are optimistic about the autonomous hair washer because human labour is expensive, she added.
The 45-year-old businesswoman, who previously worked as a waitress and ran a roadside barbecue restaurant, made her first fortune with the skincare brand Qianweina. After the Covid-19 pandemic, she founded the body care brand Zhengnianqing, as health had become a priority among consumers. Both brands are now owned by Sheng Tai.
As China’s consumer market remained weak after the pandemic, He realised that new opportunities would be in products or services that were cost-effective. She saw that the need for hair care was strong, but its cost was high, and that some hair salons in China do not wash hair any more.
The Faxiaoka brand was created last year to bring down the cost of providing hair care. Although one type of machine sells for 23,900 yuan (RM14,191), equal to 60% of last year’s average disposable income in China, it enables the operator to charge only 19.9 yuan (RM12) for a basic hair wash.
There have been complaints, though. A Guangzhou resident surnamed Lin, who tried the more expensive herbal treatment at a discounted 39.9 yuan (RM24), said she preferred human shampooers because the machine was not powerful enough when massaging the scalp.
Founder He said she does not expect everyone to be a potential customer. “There must be people who prefer human service over robots ... what we do is to help cut labour costs via technological innovation, which is scalable”, she said. – South China Morning Post
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