Plexiglass, masks, gowns, disinfectants, limited number of clients, distancing… these are the criteria that many hairdressers and beauticians will not be able to meet due to limited space or increased costs. The well-known Zagreb hair salon and barbershop Salon, which is frequented by a large number of business people, has all the prerequisites for complying with the measures in its structure. It has a waiting room of 30 square meters where customers can be sufficiently distanced, two working rooms (each 20 square meters) for haircuts and shaving, and each room has two employees. However, the problem is how to organize work.
– Honestly, I would rather not work under such conditions, but we will start working because we must maintain the loyalty of clients who count on us. Working under these circumstances will be very exhausting. Primarily, the organization of work and scheduling clients because not everyone stays in the salon for the same amount of time, they do not have the same treatments. Will we wait for all four workers to finish one round simultaneously before the next one arrives? Will I send women with highlights to the yard so I can shave the next client? How many clients will we even manage to process during working hours? – asks Marko Stanzl, the owner of Salon, which will open its doors on May 4, but with some limited scope of services, specifically without SPA shaving and beard grooming.
Stanzl also believes that part of the protective equipment does not have much effect in practice.
– If they require masks, where will we get them? They are no longer 22 lipas but eight kuna today, and their shelf life is two hours. That means over 100 kuna in costs for four employees daily. If they also introduce gowns, and each costs between 160 and 200 kuna, they need to be changed every day; otherwise, it all makes no sense. If they are already imposing certain things, the government should provide craftsmen access to protective equipment under the same conditions as our healthcare system – says Stanzl.
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Where to obtain protective equipment without the business going bankrupt is also a concern for many other craftsmen. Recently, Saponia Osijek sent a statement inviting all craftsmen, dental offices, health centers, and entrepreneurs to contact them for protocols and products that will help them conduct their business as relaxed as possible in these unusual times, although it is not known at what prices.
Lider has written several times about the reorganization of production in companies that have adapted to market needs during these times and started producing plexiglass and visors. However, the cosmetology profession is not at all thrilled with the measures being prepared, which assume the aforementioned ‘props’. Professional groups on Facebook have published a letter on the page Entrepreneurs RH that they intend to send to the relevant institutions, warning them that some measures make no sense. They particularly oppose plexiglass, which they believe is pointless, especially in hair salons where hair dryers blow air in all directions. A beautician we spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous because she believes such strict measures are imposed solely to fill the budget through the State Inspectorate, says that beauticians have already practiced tool disinfection and wore masks and gloves because they perform delicate work where bleeding can occur.
– Masks are quite sufficient in this situation. The visors sold on the market are impractical. When I do a pedicure, I am in a bent position, and the visor digs into my chest. Likewise, plexiglass makes no sense during a manicure because my forehead keeps hitting it – emphasizes the beautician.
Her biggest problem is the reduced number of clients, which means she will not be able to cover even half of her monthly expenses, and no one will dare to violate regulations for fear of inspection.
– Everyone thinks that after the ban, salons will be full. However, that is not true because there is still fear among the population, especially the elderly, who predominantly use pedicure services. The older population canceled appointments even two weeks before the complete ban on salon operations – concludes the beautician with a business in the center of Zagreb.
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