THE SECRET FORMULA

BY COLLETTE SAUNDERS

Imagine meeting your soulmate, finding that you both are impassioned by the same creativity, then singularly creating, in flow, a dance around a medium that becomes the outward expression and joy of those you touch.

Then you travel the globe searching for more of that thing you love. Experiencing it, learning more about it, giving it back in a way that is both fascinating and memorable for the receiver, and fulfilling for you, the humble artists, who execute it.

Mandy Lim Liman & Reno Okuyama are like two moons orbiting a planet, shining, delivering gentle light and ebb and flow, yet causing the most cosmic of reactions. The desire to learn has never left them since meeting in TAFE as apprentices. It still stirs them and calls them to places far away to meet some of the world’s hair masters and study under them.

Most recently they joined the scissor master Sailee, owner of Saileeism Academy, Seoul, Korea. Known as the “God of Texture” Sailee covers 1:1 Master Courses where he reveals his formula for cutting excellence in Korea’s first academy for re-education.

As I write, they are in Singapore and China for another global journey. Collaborating, entertaining, learning. Creating experiences and memories that will have meaning, in hair and much, much, more.

Mandy is originally from Singapore and Reno from Japan. When placed together at TAFE in Australia their language barrier became their greatest asset. Though words were not spoken, the connection through hair and the expression of it was the soldering. The aesthetic of it, the way a pair of scissors and a comb could “manifest such significance in one’s image and aura”. The hair bound them as one…

… And so it began.

MANDY AND RENO, WHO ARE YOU AND TELL US YOUR STORY:

It’s hard to point a finger to describe who we are really. We are a duo who love creating with hair. Perhaps you could call us hair entertainers? Through our craft, we thoroughly enjoy giving you attention to bring out who you are. We created _2SINGULAR in 2020, and our philosophy is simple – we do it with meaning.

_2SINGULAR: “These are the moments in which my mind becomes entirely absorbed in my creations and I forget myself. I roll with a heightened sense of awareness of the here and now with you. My mind and body is (willingly) stretched to its limit to create something worthwhile.”

Surprisingly, for the same reasons, the both of us were fixated on how with just a pair of scissors and a comb, it can manifest such significance in one’s image and aura.

In the past, our personal emotions and visual tastes often met with such huge disconnect with hairdressers. When we were to get our hair done, hairdressers would never quite understand the aesthetics, or maybe it was the lack of technical skills to support their craft, or perhaps the lack of attention towards everything… We always needed to re-cut it ourselves after visiting the hairdresser.

Fast forward years on, moving to Australia, we were put sitting next to each other at TAFE. Reno (at that time) knew no word of English, and I, Mandy don’t speak Japanese, but because we shared the same fervency of emotions towards our past experiences with hair and hairdressers, our communication was fluid.

It still amazes us how coming from completely different backgrounds and cultures, across countries with language barriers, we connected. It was as if, in almost every way, our meeting to bring _2SINGULAR to life was serendipitous. There was such an honest attraction between us and the realm of hair.

Needless to say, our eagerness to experience hair has seen us working in many different kinds of salons and barbershops (from the express to high-end salons) over the years in Australia. We saw this as a huge opportunity to be inevitably exposed to all the various types of hair, aesthetics, and even the diverse characteristics of humans.

YOU ARE A UNIQUE COMBINATION… WHAT SETS YOU APART?

Reno, quite naturally, carries her mind full of inquisitiveness and imagination, and Mandy is intently observant and meticulous. We found that our unusual way of seeing the world has led us to become _2SINGULAR to create.

All our hair designs created for our clients are done together. This means we cut / colour simultaneously on a client. Our approach to hair has many layers and details. We value understanding our clients not just about their hair (hair type, head shape, growth patterns etc..), but also their fashion style, body proportions and lifestyle, to curate a hair design that personally suits.

Clients often comment on how much they can enjoy their hair for so much longer as our cuts can last with the shape still holding beautifully as it grows out.

With consistency in mastering the endless technical skills acquired for the many different hair types, with our ever-growing hair knowledge along with our aesthetic visions, it has truly allowed us to understand our clients’ wants and needs. We see hair as hair. Which is why our clients are extremely diverse in age, genders/genderless, ethnicities, personalities, style vibes etc.… Our hair designs are one off, personalised and customised for each individual.

_2SINGULAR: “Like a chameleon… We need to be ready to change and adapt to any person who sits on our chair. We dig deeper beyond the fundamentals to deliver a personalised experience.

YOUR STUDIO OPERATES IN A MOST INTRIGUING WAY WHICH ADDS AN ELEMENT OF MYSTERY AND WORKS PERFECTLY FOR YOUR CLIENTS, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?

We have curated our system – “一見さんお断り” (Ichigensan Okotowari). Which directly translates to “First-time clients without introduction, we do not accept”.

_2SINGULAR is based in Perth, WA and we only accept new clients who have been introduced to us by our trusted existing clients. Perhaps this system may seem a little harsh, but we like to preserve a circle of respect and trust between us and our clients. What we do is extremely personalised, we offer exclusivity and connection designed to suit each individual client. Our location is private at the moment; however, we are looking to open that up sometime next year.

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF _2SINGULAR AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

_2SINGULAR is just us. The two of us as a singular entity. We train ourselves daily to ensure that we can each connect to our own mind and body as one, and in turn, the two of us are able to connect as one whole together. We are a transcendent expression of flow and form when we create.

Over the years, we have been pushing boundaries to reach out to hair artists from around the world to seek valuable knowledge and skills. We have had amazing opportunities to learn in Moscow, Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Paris, Seoul, Rotterdam, Taiwan, Berlin to name a few… The both of us believe that creating a creation is an unlimited evolution. And it is important for us to travel outside our usual habitat to allow ourselves to be stimulated by all the different energies each country brings.

YOUR CONNECTIONS AND COLLABORATIONS ARE GLOBAL AND LOCAL. WHERE ARE YOU HEADING WITH THIS?

_2SINGULAR has been blessed with opportunities as invited guest hair entertainers, to look after special clients of salons overseas, and currently in Singapore and Japan. The meaningful connections exchanged between us, the clients and the salon owners carry such deep, delightful warmth and of course not to mention the great hair.

The experience of giving through creating feels transcendent. We would like very much to tackle the Australian hair industry to open up to new collaborative ideas. To collaborate with our hair designs and entertain your core VIPs of the salon. We have seen in the past how creative industries hold guest appearances and guest spots for artists to perform, to entertain for people to enjoy. As we move further into a future of digital intelligence and social media “religion” as the norm, we strongly feel that human connection is vital. Human connection brings vitality.

DO YOU HAVE PREFERRED PRODUCTS AND TOOLS?

Having worked with many product brands before, we both feel it’s only natural and necessary to pick out what we love. Our product range for our craft and retail are carefully selected. We use a variety of brands, locally and internationally sourced. Redken, L’Oreal, Arimino, Lebel, Calatas, to name a few.

We only use products that we love and trust, and the process of knowing what works for our clients is important. At the moment we have 7 pairs of scissors. Each pair cuts differently, allowing us to cater to the many types of hair and also the cutting effects on hair.

We are looking into customising our own scissor range in the future, as the right blend of blades will give freedom of versatility within creating hair designs. As for our clippers, we use both Wahl and Babyliss. As both brands hit differently, there’s so much to love about each of them because they allow us to have different clipper/fade effects on different hair.

AND FINALLY, TELL US WHAT BABERING/HAIRDRESSING MEANS TO YOU?

Everybody wants what feels good. For us, we do what we do simply because we find meaning in giving you attention. We should celebrate looking and feeling beautiful from the outside, which in turn, radiates from you inside.

SUMMARY … BY COLLETTE

From the first post I ever scrolled to years ago, to the absolute excitement of seeing what they put forward today, I have been encapsulated by Mandy and Reno. I highly respect their attitudes and selves. They have brought to our industry a standard that is out of the norms of general operation. It is a standard that is entirely their own, and it resonates like a perfectly tuned sound bowl. A circular motion that will move around your aura.

Facial features, fashion style, head shape, face structure, hair texture, hair density, hair growth patterns, lifestyle, nothing is over-looked in a virtual analysis process which they regard as a form of cutting skill even before taking the scissors to the first section. They will present you photographically in ways that resonate with the form they have created. Both skilled photographers also, they innately place you as a structure within a structure, be that hard-urban backgrounds of tar and cement, to the softness of Mother Nature. Each photographic presentation is deeply considered and shown as a reflection of who you truly are.

You’ll be lost in the moments as you hand over your visual identity to them and emerge the most perfect version of yourself.

-2SINGULAR

Mandy Lim Liman & Reno Okuyama, Perth WA @_2singular

By Collette Saunders @collettesaundershair Founder @australianfemalebarbers @afb_recruit Director @jackreedfoundation