Datin Dr. Winnie Loo

She weighed just over 40 kilograms when London salon colleagues nicknamed her “Tiny Winnie” and relegated her to shampooing while refusing to let her cut hair. She was 23 when six Singapore stylists made her their “common enemy and punching bag,” driving her out of the industry. She almost quit entirely when her two-year-old son’s kidneys failed. Today, Datin Dr. Winnie Loo holds the title of first Malaysian World Master of the Craft, leads the Branding Association of Malaysia, and has built a 45-year hairstyling empire that proved every doubter wrong.

You must always be willing to cut your losses. I dare to fail.

The tin miner’s daughter who chose scissors #

Winnie Loo was born in 1956 in Ipoh, Perak—Malaysia’s former tin mining capital—the eighth of nine children in a family that ran tin mining and iron foundry businesses. Her passion for hair emerged at twelve, when she began experimenting by cutting and styling her mother’s hair.

Family expectations pointed toward traditional education. She leveraged a missed university entry exam deadline to convince her father to let her study hairdressing in London instead. In 1976, at twenty, she enrolled at Morris Masterclass International, training directly under Vidal Sassoon himself.

London should have launched her career. Instead, discrimination defined those years. Physically small at just over 40 kilograms, she was nicknamed “Tiny Winnie” and treated as incompetent. Customers refused her services, saying “she must be the new kid on the block.” She was relegated to shampooing and perming while colleagues with less training cut hair.

When six colleagues became one common enemy #

Seeking a path home, she moved to Singapore and joined a hotel-based salon owned by a woman with six stylists. The experience proved worse than London. Her six colleagues—who had previously competed against each other—united against her as their “common enemy and punching bag.”

They criticized everything she did, even when customers expressed satisfaction. The workplace hostility was relentless and coordinated. Initially the female owner was understanding, ignoring what Winnie calls “vicious politicking.” But when she realized all six stylists felt threatened by this small Malaysian newcomer, she sided with the majority to protect her business.

“Looking back, I believe my kind and pleasant attitude towards others had been misconstrued as being a meek and timid person and made me a target of bullies at the work place,” Winnie later reflected. “Being the fighter that I am, I believe in myself and refused to be brought down by my tormentors.”

Rather than continue fighting, she threw in the towel and returned to Malaysia. She was 23, trained by Vidal Sassoon, and had been driven out of two countries’ salons by hostile colleagues who saw her presence as a threat.

A mother’s impossible choice #

The crisis that nearly ended everything came around 1990. Her son Marcus was approximately two years old when he developed acute kidney failure suddenly. The babysitter who had cared for him since his first month couldn’t handle the intensive medical attention required.

The timing proved particularly cruel. Winnie had just begun traveling frequently to Brunei to serve the Royal Family as their personal hairstylist—a prestigious appointment that demanded regular international travel. Her career was ascending precisely when her child needed her most.

“I really found I had to choose between career and family,” she later acknowledged. The family attempted nursery enrollment despite Marcus’s medical condition. The memory still haunts her: “The fear in his eyes and the screams when we walked to our car made it even harder. The pain of dropping him there made my heart ache.”

She almost left the business entirely. Richard Teo’s support as the family’s “strict parent”—handling discipline and structure while she provided creative guidance—created space for both career and caregiving. The partnership that began as a business arrangement had evolved into something that could absorb impossible choices.

Marcus recovered fully. He now serves as Business Development Director at A Cut Above, and in 2024 Winnie announced she was “happy to pass the baton to my son Marcus, giving him a lot more authority to plan for the rest of the year.” The child whose illness nearly ended her career now leads its future.

From scissors to microphone #

The trajectory from bullied trainee to industry leader spans nearly five decades of validation. The 1997 World Master of the Craft award from New York’s Art and Fashion Group made her the first Malaysian so honored. Ernst & Young’s 2010 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award marked the first time a hair industry entrepreneur received the prestigious recognition.

But the most significant transition came in 2022, when she became the first female President of the Branding Association of Malaysia in its 22-year history. As she describes her current focus: “I hold a microphone more than a pair of scissors now.”

Her 2024 calendar illustrates this evolution: Shanghai for the Asia Hairdresser Festival in June, London for Salon International in October, Japan as a judge at the United Danks Hair Competition in November. Speaking engagements now fill the hours once devoted to client hair.

“I want to push entrepreneurs to be future superheroes, train them to stand up and shine,” she explains. “I want to give talks that inspire them.” The woman once dismissed as Tiny Winnie now mentors the next generation of Malaysian business builders.

The philosophy of daring to fail #

The X-Cut express chain failure taught business lessons. The Singapore exile taught resilience. The son’s illness taught priorities. Together, these crises shaped a leadership philosophy that embraces strategic retreat.

“You must always be willing to cut your losses,” she reflects. “I am. I set goals, we set goals and be prudent but I’m willing to let go when things aren’t what I expect. I dare to fail. If you ask me how I have failed, I’ll tell you that I may have failed in doing things the way I wanted but, no matter, I achieved the goal.”

At 68, Winnie Loo operates from strength built through documented struggle. The tin miner’s daughter became a Sassoon-trained stylist. The bullied trainee became World Master. The mother who almost quit raised the son who will continue the business. And the woman once dismissed for her small stature now leads one of Malaysia’s most prestigious business associations.

The path from Tiny Winnie to Datin Dr. Winnie Loo proves that persistent excellence eventually silences doubters—and that the impossible choice between career and family often proves false for those willing to build the right partnerships.

Last updated: January 15, 2026