No facials, only cuts as parlours, salons open

Nagpur: Beauty parlours and hair salons opened in the city after a gap of three months due to the coronavirus lockdown. Owners had expected a huge rush but not many turned up as people are scared about contracting Covid.
TOI talked to some salon and parlour owners and their customers to know the situation on the first day.
Mangesh Pardhi, owner of Kool Kuts, Subhash Nagar, said, “I had expected a huge rush as salons were opening after three months and it is a Sunday. However, very few people turned up as customers are afraid of contracting coronavirus. I am not allowing anybody to wait at my shop. As soon as I finish with one customer, I call the next one from his home. This is necessary to maintain social distancing.”
Ashish Wania, owner of 90 Degrees Cuts, Dharampeth, said that he had a lot of problems in maintaining social distancing and this probably cost him a few clients. “I did not allow any customer to wait at my salon. We turned down requests for shaving, dyeing, facials, etc. We will start dyeing later as it is allowed by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC),” he told TOI.
Richa Mandhania of Hair Habits, Sadar, said that the response was good on the first day but she did entertain requests for facials. “I don’t know the reasons for not allowing facials. We will take as much precaution as we are doing for haircuts,” she added.
Mandhania said that it was not clear whether the odd even rule was applicable to beauty parlours and hair salons as well. “I will keep my establishment open daily unless I get any instruction from NMC,” she added.
Akriti Mirajkar, a college student, was disappointed as she could not get a facial. “I was very happy when I read in the newspaper that parlours will open from Sunday. However, the parlour people told me that they would only give me a haircut if I wanted. I did not need one. My trip to the parlour was worth nothing,” she told TOI.
Amit Patil, said that he had got a haircut today. “When the hairdresser started cutting my hair he was wearing a mask but soon he took it off due to heat. There were some people waiting at his shop and there was no social distancing. However, I had no option but to get a haircut. I had cut my hair on my own and it was looking very bad,” he further said.
Sanjay Singh, who got a haircut early on Sunday, said that a barber had come to his home about two months ago but had charged Rs160 instead of the usual Rs60 he paid. “I was therefore eagerly waiting for salons to open. I took my own towel, mask and sanitizer,” he told TOI.