a gentleman's barber vs a ladies hairdresser

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello,

Could you explain if a gentleman’s barber and a ladies hairdresser common expressions in the UK now? I thought a gentleman’s barber is used mainly in the USA. But I came across these expressions in an e-mail from the UK I received the other day:

Within ten minutes walk from my house there are some very nice local businesses. There is an excellent butcher, a fantastic baker, a gentleman’s barber, a pre-school nursery, a replacement windows company, a Harley-Davidson showroom, a website designer, a bicycle store, a florist, a tools merchant, a ladies hairdresser and nail salon, a spray tan business, a tile store and bathroom showroom. There are probably a dozen more that I can’t recall off the top of my head.

Thank you for your help.

2

Although the unisex ‘hair salon’ has become a feature of all towns and cities in the UK, the more traditional ladies’ hairdresser and gentleman’s barber shops still exist.