Beauty salons demand incentives

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The owners of the beauty salons foreseeing acute business loss during the upcoming festival of Eid-ul-Fitr amid lockdown situation in the country in wake of prevailing health crisis demanded incentives from the present government. The beauty salons industry usually earns the most on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr when majority of the customers especially women avail different services including facials, haircut, henna applying and makeover.

However this year, majority of the women customers are avoiding visits to the salons due to the risks of violating social distancing measures and catching coronavirus which may affect their families. “Lockdown situation in the country has undoubtedly affected many of the businesses but beauty salons were among the most affected as we cannot provide all the beauty enhancement and other services through adopting social distancing”, Saiqa Awan, owner of a salon said.

“Physical contact with the customers is unavoidable in different services we provide to enhance the beauty of the customers. Even, we offered these services at their homes with using masks and other precautions but not even a single customer expressed willingness to get any of the services out of fear of the COVID-19”, she said while talking to APP. Shaheen Mushtaq, who runs a parlour to meet her household expenses, said that she is the only earner in her family as her husband is critically ill.

She said, since lockdown, I have not earned any significant amount due to closure of parlours.I have spent whatever saving I had. Now I don’t have money to pay fees of my three school going children and bear the medical expenses of my bed-ridden husband.

She urged the government to provide some incentives to the owners of the small beauty salons so that they can also compensate their employees who are facing it difficult to make their both ends meet.

Azhar Saeed, who is also an owner of a beauty salon said the salon owners wait for Eid during the whole year to get maximum profit on this occasion so that they can meet their unusual expenses.

However on this Eid , it seems difficult for us to earn due to lockdown. Our services cannot be digitalized and contactless which is the main reason behind our severe business loss.

He said we earn the most from bridal make over but this time majority of the weddings were cancelled and those who have managed simple weddings are also not visiting parlours for makeovers.

He urged the present government to consider the miseries of salon owners and provide them some incentives through its welfare schemes as well as tax exemption.