A big welcome to a new team at Keymer Parade. Nuri Buyukkilic opened The Barber Shop at the beginning of March. He says: “On our opening day, we held a charity event to support people who’d suffered during the recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkey. A big thank you to everyone who supported us.”

You may already know Nuri from Hoppa, a barber shop in Burgess Hill. He has worked there for five years, but when a possibility arose to work in Keymer, Nuri was happy to take on a new challenge, and says: “I couldn’t miss this great opportunity.” Nuri has done barbering for eight years. He worked his way up from scratch and is fully trained like his full-time colleague, Ali Kaharaman. The pair know each other from Hoppa. Ali is delighted to have the chance to work in Keymer, and says: “The village is nice and quiet with friendly people.” The third team member, Lauren Marie, from Hurstpierpoint, attends college while also learning hairdressing skills in the shop. Nuri says: “It takes time for people to learn about Turkish barbers, but, in Burgess Hill, many people came to value what we’re about.” As well as doing modern barbering for people of all ages, the team use Turkish products and offer specialist Turkish services, such as an old-fashioned razor cut, a Turkish head and shoulder massage, ear inflaming, and ear and nose wax removal. Whenever they do a wet shave, they use a hot towel to clean the neck area. The friendly team are looking forward to getting to know the community in Hassocks.