A hair-raising challenge awaits salons, beauty parlours

Anticipating the demand for hairstylists and barbers once the lockdown is lifted, the Savitha Samaj is starting to educate the traditional barber community on personal and customer hygiene.

The community is likely to pass on the expenses for the safety measures on to the customers to dodge the additional cost.

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Sampath Kumar, president, Karnataka Savitha Samaj, said that the association had appealed to several ministers to protect the community and the general public amid the pandemic.

“We have discussed using disposable chair covers for each customer and sanitisation of equipment after each service," Kumar told DH. "These would require additional investment, which the community members can’t afford. We have asked the government to provide Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and gloves. If the government does not come with guidelines and assistance, this could trigger potential community transmission and we will not be held responsible. There are already examples in Andhra Pradesh and we don’t want that to happen in Karnataka."

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On its own, the association has been planning several initiatives.

"We have already suffered for a month-and-a-half without work,” another community leader B Narayanaswamy said. “It would be difficult to screen every customer. We can’t change gloves after serving each person. But some (safety) measures can be put in place. We could issue online tokens or book telephone appointments to avoid congregation at saloons. We will still be at close quarters and run the risk of contraction and seek the government’s help in this regard,” Narayanaswamy added.

A few initiatives

Namdev Nagaraj, who runs Spin Salon and Spa outlets across the city, said they had launched the Salon Swatchata Abhiyan, teaching members how to separate the falling hair and sterilising or spraying disinfectant on the equipment.

"These measures will make every customer feel safe to visit us,” he said. “By the same token, customers should postpone visiting the salons if they have flu symptoms."

Women's parlours

Expecting a similar customer surge, women’s parlours are also putting safety measures in place.

Tashi Lhamo, of Tenzin Stylist, in Koramangala, said she was planning to make her staff use disposable gowns, gloves and masks while working with customers.

“We plan to thermally screen customers at the entry, besides asking them to wash their hands,” she said. “All our staff will also sanitise themselves after attending to every customer.”

Although materials such as wax strips and gowns are disposable, pedicure and manicure kits, black-head removers and combs are reused. "They will all be sterilised after each use,” she said.