…master hair weaver of the world
Peter Ray Blood
Published:
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Clem Lue Yat, whose name is synonymous with hair throughout the world because of his prowess with hair styling, celebrated his 71st birthday on Sunday. Lue Yat, born in Trinidad in 1945, is the fifth of eight children of Samuel and Sue Len Lue Yat, originally of Pao On, Guang Dong, China.
Lue Yat’s career in hair styling took flight at the age of 13 when he demonstrated his interest and creative ability practicing on his sisters’ hair. He built up a clientele but needed formal training and after completing a hairdressing course in London, England, he returned to Trinidad at the age of 18 to open his first hairdressing salon on Queen Street, Port-of-Spain.
In the 1960s, Lue Yat provided hairdressing services to the who’s who of T&T, local beauty queen contestants and visiting celebrities and also did platform work in other Caribbean countries demonstrating hair products. It was the late great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson who, so impressed by his work, advised him that he should be “doing hair” in America.
In 1970, Lue Yat emigrated to Montreal, Canada, entered a High Fashion Hair Styling Competition and emerged first runner-up. After six months in Montreal, Clem relocated to New York, USA, and opened up a salon in Brooklyn in the heart of a West Indian neighbourhood on Washington Avenue and then onto his own building at Flatbush Avenue.
A hairdressing business grows by word of mouth, and indeed his clientele grew. The largest black hair preparation company—Johnson Products of Chicago, manufacturer of Ultra Sheen Hair Products—hired Lue Yat to demonstrate his skills using their products at hair shows throughout the USA, broadening his horizons in the hair industry.
Lue Yat moved from high fashion in the sixties, jherri curls in the seventies, created his own unique Interlocking Hair Weaving System in the eighties and then his Wrap Net Weave System for severe hair loss in the nineties, earning him the title Master Hair Weaver of the World.
In the new millennium, many hairdressers have been trained by Lue Yat in his hair weaving and hair styling techniques and more recently, he mastered hair extensions using micro-cylinders without using glue or chemicals. As our population ages, Lue Yat has been paying attention to the needs of the baby boomers by offering solutions to hair loss problems from aging or illness.
To enhance his skills as a hairstylist and a tutor, Lue Yat has designed tools and equipment to make hairstyling easier. He has produced an instructional DVD on his hair extensions technique and will soon release other instructional DVDs for hairstylists.
Lue Yat has appeared in the leading black hairdressing magazines in the USA and at major annual hair shows in the USA and England. Platform work exposed his skills to other hairstylists who are baffled that an “Oriental” (believing that he is from Korea or Japan) is so versatile in handling all lengths and types of hair of both sexes and in particular “black hair.” When the questions arise, he would explain that he is from T&T where the ethnic makeup consists of just about every race and that he has been “playing” in all types of hair for a long time.
Lue Yat operated a Full Service Salon in Brooklyn with a staff of ten employees, seven Trinidadians. He has travelled the world teaching his techniques and while living “the American Dream,” he maintained his Trinidadian roots and still made time to give back to his country by sharing his expertise with local hairstylists and government-sponsored beauty culture classes demonstrating what he knows best to future hairstylists. He stresses the importance of working smarter and faster using techniques he has developed over his many years of experience.
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So why did Lue Yat leave a successful business in North America to return home? He explained: “The cold weather was getting to me after living in New York for 35 years. My life was hectic while I lived and work there.
“When I first migrated to the US in 1971, after living in Montreal for a few months, I bought a big salon on Flatbush Avenue, and in those days, “Up do's” were still in fashion; women were coming from all over to get their hair styled up. My days were very long, as after working I would have to stay back late in the night to style hair pieces as the clients would just pick the styled hair pieces and place them in a wig box.
“After a few years I got a job working for Ultra Sheen Products from Chicago as their main stylist at the hair shows from Florida to LA. I did a lot of travelling, doing hair shows on weekends, for about four years.”
Lue Yat’s sojourn in the hair business has been not just active, but also colourful and exciting. “When I first introduced my weaving system in 1985, women were amazed to see how this Chinese guy from Trinidad was weaving without any corn rowing,” he quipped. “This hair weaving technique is still the only system in the world without the corn row or any foundation.
“I have conducted classes in most major hair shows in the USA, UK, Paris, and throughout the Caribbean islands. I remembered when I visited South Africa, I walked into a salon and the hair stylist recognised me. He said: ‘Oh! You are the Chinese man I saw in the hair magazines.’
“This year when I went to the premier Orlando Hair & Beauty show, many hairstylists recognised me and requested to have their pictures taken with me.”
By sharing his skills, Lue Yat ensures that upcoming hairstylists empower themselves to step out of the box and operate as professionals with the client in mind, ready and equipped to handle any demand for service in the hairdressing and beauty culture. He fell right back into place on his return to Trinidad semi-retired, catering to clients from the 1960s to the present-day by appointment only, while conducting training for professionals locally and abroad.
Lue Yat enjoys cooking “Trinbago” food and is proud to be a Trinbagonian who has traveled the world “styling” winners of Miss Universe and Miss World pageants, Miss New York State and other West Indian beauties, soca artistes, US stars and other celebrities. He has achieved many heights in his career while making five generations of clients more beautiful.
This renowned son of the soil is about to return to India, this time to appear on TV to share his experiences in the hair industry. He said: “Soon I will be visiting some friends in India, where I have been asked to do some demonstrations at a hairdressing school. They have told me that I am the famous hairstylist from Trinidad who did Miss Universe hair in 1999 on stage. I will spend about 20 days there with a friend's family, and after, visit friends in London for a few days.”
Celebrating more than 50 years as a professional hair stylist is Lue Yat’s greatest achievement as he maintains good health to carry out his goals.
Lue Yat, most of all, enjoys his profession—and enjoying one’s work makes any job much easier.
lifestyle
Celebrated hairstylist Clem Lue Yat.