From giving financial advice to giving free haircut

When wealth adviser Mark Yuen retired in 2016, he decided to use his time to give back to the community.

He put his SkillsFuture credits towards a 150-hour course that taught him how to cut hair.

Mr Yuen, now 69, told Shin Min Daily News: "I never held scissors like that before, let alone cut someone's hair. It took some getting used to.

"Cutting real hair was so different from cutting the fake hair during lessons. There is also a difference in cutting male and female hair. There is so much to learn."

Little Red Hat, as Mr Yuen is affectionately known as, started out with giving free haircuts at a nursing home. He was eventually joined by others and today has a team of more than 100 certified volunteers.

Mr Yuen has expanded his hair-cutting services to include senior centres and community clubs, and also makes house calls for bedridden or immobile individuals.

“After a haircut, when I see them smile and they say ‘thank you’, it rejuvenates me,” he told The Straits Times.

“Sometimes, a new haircut makes them feel neat and look younger.”

When he helped distribute household goods during the pandemic, Mr Yuen would offer to cut the hair of the senior recipients.

One of them, a man who was in his 50s, always had his hair tied up. 

In their chat during a haircut, Mr Yuen discovered that the man had fallen out with his family and had not had a haircut in 13 years.

"After I cut his hair, his mood improved. When I asked him if he planned to go home to reunite with his family, he said he would consider it."