The fresh set of standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the health department for salons has evoked mixed responses among hairdressers and salon owners in the city.
While the elite salons and beauty parlours are willing to comply with the guidelines, neighbourhood shops are going back to the old practices, citing escalating expenses.
“They are already reeling under losses,” said Namdev Nagaraj, a member of Bengaluru Savitha Samaj and owner of Spin Saloon and Spa. “They are operating in less than 10X10 setups and find it harder to comply with the SOP. But unisex salons and parlours operating in more than 500 square feet would somehow comply.”
On Wednesday, neighbourhood salons in Kanakapura Road, Rajajinagar and Mahalakshmi Layout have ditched the SOPs and carried on with their business in the usual style.
B Narayanaswamy, a member of the samaj who owns a unisex saloon, said the government should have extended the ban on salons until May 31. “If they survive (the COVID-19 pandemic), they will earn tomorrow. Deciding to continue with the traditional method, what if they contract coronavirus?” Narayanaswamy asked, pointing out that many salons may become superspreaders in the coming days as it is impossible to screen every customer in a small shop.
Raju, who owns a neighbourhood saloon in Kumaraswamy Layout, said most of his customers are regulars and so it would be easy to spot the symptoms by looking at them. “We wash racers and scissors with a disinfectant solution. But investment on disposable towels, paper sheets and extra accessories for our staff is beyond us,” he admitted.
Keeping the financial constraints in mind, office bearers of the samaj have asked people visiting neighbourhood salons to bring their own towels and sanitisers.
The elite salons and unisex parlours have embraced the SOP with a greater verve by adopting the appointment system and ensuring adequate social distancing.
“We allow one person at a time,” stressed Raghu of Premsagar Men’s Beauty Salon in Sudham Nagar. “If people have issues, they can go elsewhere. They can call us for an appointment and visit us (at the given time).” Ramesh of Smart Salon on St John’s Road said the establishment has decided not to trim or shave beards, but to offer only haircuts.
The parlours for women are also facing similar challenges. Alice Li of Fairy Beauty Parlour on Brigade Road is waiting till Monday to open the shop. Her staffers are still practicing doing haircuts with their gloves on. “We will not thread the upper lip, but only offer to wax so that we avoid touching the nasal cavity or mouth,” Alice said.
Patricia of Fee Chu beauty parlour put emphasis on thermal checks and sanitisation. “Instead of biting the thread while doing eyebrows and upper lip, we have begun to wrap the thread around the neck."
BBMP’s instructions:
- Turn away people with cold, fever, cough
- Refuse entry to those coming without masks
- Make hand sanitisers available at the doorstep
- Provide masks, hats and aprons for employees
- Give customers use-and-throw towels/paper sheets to cover their shoulders
- Cleanse utensils used to serve customer with 7% Lysol for 30 minutes
- Avoid crowding of premises, ensure one-metre distance between customers
- Disinfect door handles, saloon floor, lounge, stairways and the whole premises twice a day with 1% sodium hypochlorite
- All disposables, including blades and razers, must be disinfected and handed over to a biomedical waste disposable agency
- Salons, barber shops should display posters with COVID-19 awareness messages