Social distancing, few clients nightmare for barbers, hairdressers

Social distancing is one of the recommended ways to prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

But for barbers and hairdressers, they have to keep close contact with their clients. Their area of interest is the head of the client. 

Coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose. 

On Wednesday, the Health ministry directed that barbers and hairdressers should wear masks. They should also provide sanitiser and ensure their clients observe social distancing.

The close contact with clients and the limiting of the number of clients in their shops has become a nightmare for most barbers and salon operators. 

James Karimi, 35, who owns a barbershop in South B Estate, Nairobi, on Friday told the Star he is now permitting only two clients in his shop at any given time.

"Before the virus, clients would line up inside the shop and at times watch football matches. But this has changed because of the social distancing," he said.

Karimi said reducing the number of customers in the shop will definitely have a negative impact on his business since most clients will assume they have been chased away.

To take extra caution, he has started using gloves while attending to his clients.

“A mask and gloves are now mandatory and clients are sanitized before being attended to. My tools are disinfected after each client,” he said.

CLOSE CONTACT: A salonist in South B Estate attend to a client on April 10, 2020
Image: /CHARLENE RAEL

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Salon owners are also feeling the heat of the coronavirus pandemic. They say the dusk-to-dawn curfew has reduced the number of clients and earnings.

Umoja One Market, located along Moi Drive in Umoja One ward is a business place to over 5,000 people, mostly hairdressers.

As soon as a woman alights from a matatu at the stage opposite Consolidated Bank, the hairdressers scramble to catch her attention and encourage her to seek services in their salons.

Since the first case of Covid-19 was recorded in the country, the number of women alighting matatus has drastically reduced. The government has urged Kenyans to stay at home to break the coronavirus spread chain.

Kimberly Jagero, aka Jagz, has been a hairdresser at the market for the past 10 years. She told the Star that business has taken a turn for the worse and the number of clients reduced as soon as the 7pm to 5am curfew was introduced.

“Before the curfew, I used to close my salon at 8pm or 9pm since some clients preferred to come after they leave their places of work but now it is rare to find a client after 4pm,” the mother of five said.

A common feature in salons is that as many as four women work on a client's head to reduce the time a client stays in the salon. But with the social distancing, this is now impossible.

Jagero said she is now avoiding the salon for fear of crowding.

"It is rare to find a salon in Umoja Market with less than three clients being attended to at the same time. Our stalls are very small and social distancing is very difficult for us," she said. 

Some hairdressers, Jagero said, have started wearing gloves when working on clients nails.

“Despite salonists washing their hands, most clients demand that one person attends to them because of Covid-19. Due to this, most end up not earning much in a day,” she said.

RISKY: A salonist attends to client without a mask or gloves at Umoja One Market on April 10, 2020
Image: /CHARLENE RAEL

The story is no different for Whitney Nduku, a hairdresser at Kenyatta Market. She said she is now spending more on disinfectants and sanitisers to keep her business running.

“With the new virus, I clean my salon twice a day but in between, I tend to spray the seats, especially when there are many customers. And still, we have to purchase hair products which cost a lot of money,” she said.

“You can imagine the little profit we get when we buy all these items not forgetting we have to feed our families back at home. The business environment is proving to be very tough."