Salons bear an empty look before Eid

KARACHI: While in years past, it would be hard to get a salon appointment before Eid because of the sheer number of women crowding appointment books with requests for haircuts, blow-dries and manicures, this season is far different.

The sombre mood in the country has seen a decline in shopping markets and salons.

Representatives of salons in Karachi told The Express Tribune that business is down this year. According to Yasmin Salman of Clippers for Women, “The floods, the economy and the way things are in the country,” has contributed to the decline in clients.

According to Pivot Point’s Daulat Rahimtoola, business is “slightly slow.”

She told The Express Tribune that the main reason was the “floods, because of which many people feel sad.”

However, clients are still requesting hair treatments and straightening.

“People are coming in with a new, different and fresh approach,” Sana Nomani of Pivot Point said. “Women are becoming more adventuresome and bold. They prefer not to have shorter hair because it is difficult to maintain in the hot and humid season”

Salman told The Express Tribune that while the number of clients had decreased, but women were still coming in for regular hair colouring and cuts.”

According to Nina Lotia, who runs a salon at Zamzama, “Lowlights are the ‘in’ thing and highlights are out. The colours that people usually want are chocolate brown and hazel brown.”

Moreover, Lotia said, “The trend hasn’t changed since the last year and as far as the rates are concerned I have only increased Rs500 for colouring. “

Lotia also said hair straightening was here to stay, as “everyone from an eight-year-old to a 60-year-old wants it.”

She says, “The trends that started last year are more or less the same, but the change has come in the form of make-up. Women apply lighter make-up now.”

Salons used to hire extra staff to cater to the increased number of clients in Ramazan and the days before Eid, but representatives of these three salons said they had no plans to do so this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2010.