For Father’s Day, we wanted to give one of Beijing’s dads a new look, and Kevin Reitz, marketing director for Great Leap Brewing Company, was happy to accept the challenge. Reitz, who has been in China since 2008, met his wife Esther Wang-Reitz through their shared love of Ultimate Frisbee, a sport he has been playing for almost two decades. They met at a tournament in Shanghai, married in 2012, and now have two kids: Jordan (age 2) and Kaila (10 months).
Reitz has a super no-frills approach to grooming. He tells beijingkids that he normally has his hair cut for RMB 30 at the cheapest place in the neighborhood, and that he cuts son Jordan’s hair in his kitchen over a garbage can, just hacking at it until he deems it short enough.
Anais De Castro Lemos, team leader at Catherine de France, is unimpressed with Reitz’s last cut. “They thinned his hair a lot,” she says. “It’s quite bad. If a Chinese hairdresser hasn’t had training for western hair, they generally use the wrong techniques.” She suggests a color update, which Reitz enthusiastically consents to. “This will really bring out his blue eyes,” she says. De Castro Lemos explains that the finished cut can be worn conservatively or with more product for a “cool dad” look.
After the cut and color, Reitz and I head off to Bottle, Boot and Cigar for the final part of the makeover: a straight-razor shave (which includes a glass of house pour whiskey) from Yazhu Li, a barber from Truefitt and Hill. Shaves at the bar are available by appointment only on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. Meanwhile back at Catherine de France, Jordan received a fresh look of his own, before joining dad for the after photo shoot at Great Leap No.12 Brewpub.
Product List
• Truefitt and Hill Ultimate Comfort Pre-Shave Oil
• Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Truefitt and Hill Sandalwood Aftershave Balm
• Truefit and Hill West Indian Limes Aftershave
• Taylor of Old Bond Street Moustache Wax
Get the Look:
1. De Castro Lemos starts by darkening the back and sides of Reitz’s head and his eyebrows, then adds coppery tones to the crown of his head and mustache.
2. De Castro Lemos uses clippers to undercut the back and sides, gradually leaving more length toward the top of the head.
3. Before the shave, Yazhu Li primes Reitz’s face with a combination of hot towels and a citrusy pre-shave oil. She then lathers him up and applies shaving cream before setting to work with a straight-edged razor. Li shaves Reitz’s face twice. Afterwards she applies aftershave balm, aftershave, and mustache wax.
Catherine de France 法式美容美发沙龙
Tue-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun-Mon 11am-6pm. 1/F, East Avenue Building,
10 Xindong Lu, Chaoyang District (8442 5120, 135 2147 3492) www.catherinedefrance.com 朝阳区新东路10号逸盛阁首层
Bottle, Boot and Cigar (BBC)
Daily 6pm-late. Shaves every Tue and Fri, 4-5pm. 168
Taipingzhuang Nanli off Xinfucun (opposite The Big Smoke), Chaoyang District (186 1405 7407) 朝阳区太平庄南里1号
This article originally appeared on page 24-25 of the beijingkids June 2015 issue. Click here to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com.
Photos by Adrian Xuan at Neverland Studio
