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noise from four middle aged hairdressers plaiting a woman and the remnants of braids and weaves lying on the floor stood out and were too peculiar to miss at a salon in downtown Harare.
Men selling cosmetics including counterfeit face powder, eyebrow pencils, metal hair pins, scrunches, pegs and different varieties of vegetables walk in and out of the crowded salon rubbing their wares against women who are being plaited.
Despite the dirt and grim in this salon, two hairdressers with funky orange weaves sit in a corner eating what seems to be their lunch.
They do not look worried as they pluck out foreign pieces of braids and hair from their food throwing it in the direction it came from.
And amid all this, hoards of customers still walk in and out of this salon at different time intervals.
Just a mile away, three women wearing green aprons stand in an alley eyeing all women whose hair they think is due for a retouch, weave, braiding or scurl.
“Huyai tigadzire musoro asikana. Huyai tiise s curl,” the women invite prospective clients.
Once a client agrees, he or she is taken to a fourth floor room of a dirty old building.
There, the hair is plaited, but the finished product is sometimes worrying that one is unlikely to go back.
At another salon uptown, a piece of paper carrying a notice dismissing vendors is affixed to the entrance.
Chairs are neatly arranged, the floors are squeaky clean as a woman keeps sweeping and mopping them.
A plasma television plays the latest Jennifer Lopez music video at a reasonable volume that one can hear the sound of a falling needle.
Clients come upon making appointments and there is less crowding. The hairdressers are all wearing black and white skirts and are all absorbed in their work.
A small kitchen at the back of the saloon is used as the eating area for both hairdressers and clients.
The washing basins are dry as if they have not been used for ages and the same applies for the floors.
The sweet scent from a bouquet of roses at the reception area is too pleasant to miss and a bee can be seen trying to extract nectar.
Welcome to the three faces of Harare’s hair salons where one can find the good, the bad and the ugly.
An adage says one man’s meat is another man’s poison, and this has been the situation in Harare’s salons as customers still go to the dirty saloons because of low charges.
While many people have applauded the rent-a-chair system in most hair salons saying they have opened many opportunities for young unemployed hairdressers, others have expressed concern over the unhygienic conditions that have emerged in the process.
Over the years there has been an increase in the number of hair salons in the city centre, some of them unlicensed and with no regard for the conditions they operate under.
The mushrooming of salons and a rent-a-chair hairdressers in the city centre is now a cause of concern as there are many, which are crowded, filthy and noisy thereby making clients uncomfortable forcing them to hop from one salon to the other in search for a better and favourable environment.
Even though making money is worthy, it must not be at the expense of some people in this case, the clients as some of the saloons have poor ventilation hence exposing them to diseases as bacteria multiply very fast in areas with poor lighting and ventilation.
The pieces of weave, hair lying on the ground are part and parcel of the floor tiling and easily form a web especially when they find their way to the stiletto heels of both clients and hairdressers.
Fears of the increased unhygienic conditions in the under equipped saloons and barbershops keep growing, but nothing has been done.
People say they are being exposed to diseases as they do not have sterilisers. This is a cause of concern especially in the wake of HIV and Aids.
Surprisingly it is not only the sterilizers that worry clients, but also the use of the same dirty towel on several clients.
In most saloons visited by The Herald, towels were not changed as the hairdressers did not have enough against the increased number of clients.
There is no laundry room to do the washing and worse still a hanging line for drying towels after washing them. As such, some of the towels are placed on hair driers dangling in the faces of clients.
A lot of clients said they are exposed to diseases because of the spread of bacteria as tiny hair particles that remain on the towel and combs after a hair treatment may be contaminated with bacteria.
Bacteria are also likely to be carried through the combs and towels that are shared. Ideally a towel should be used on one person while combs should be rinsed or sterilized to kill germs. As such a number of people have developed dandruff and other diseases from towels and combs.
On the barbers’ side, the story is the same when it comes to the issue of towels.
After shaving hair, the barber just removes the towel from the client’s shoulders, shakes off the hair from the towel before wrapping it again on the next client’s shoulders.
“I think towels are supposed to be changed and properly washed and disinfected so that they are clean to avoid the transmission of diseases,” said Mr Simon Munakamwe of Borrowdale.
Apart from endangering their clients, hairstylists also expose themselves to disease as they have a tendency to consume food while styling hair.
For them there is no choice between losing clients and exposing themselves to risk that come up with the different bacteria from hair.
“Most of my clients redo their hairstyles during lunch hour so I cannot risk losing money by going out for lunch. I would rather eat here while waiting for my clients.
“I have been in this profession for more than five years dealing with human hair, ‘rozondirwarisa nhasi’ (how will it affect me today).
“Mind you my friend, this is not a white collar job hence you must not compare us with those in offices who make it a point to break for a one hour lunch,” said a hairdresser who preferred anonymity.
More often than not, clients are exposed to vulgar and abusive language as hairdressers go about discussing their personal issues.
They fail to recognise the presence of their respectable clients.
The saloons have become a ‘no go area’ for children under the age of 12, as they are exposed to vulgar expressions and obscenities.
“I used to go to the saloon together with my husband and kids but these days I make sure that I go there alone.
“The language most of these hairdressers prefer to use is not suitable for children.
“I recall this other day when I was doing my hair while my kids were waiting, two hairdressers started fighting over a scissors.
“They used vulgar language and never seemed to care that there were children and elderly women present.
“To my surprise their colleagues never bothered to restrain them instead they continued with their chores an indication that they are used to such an environment,” said Mrs Grace Chiwuyu of Hatfield.
Despite the call by The Hairdressers and Cosmetology Association of Zimbabwe (CAZ) to induce professionalism in the sector, this has not deterred unprofessionally trained hairdressers to hunt for clients in the streets.
Most of the time when passing through Cameroon, Leopold Takawira, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere to mention just a few, hairdressers would be shouting “Huyai tigadzire musoro asikana”or “toruka chii nhai sista,” or murikutsvaga weave yakaita sei, totaurirana,” thereby causing confusion, unnecessary congestion and noise pollution in town.
CAZ chairperson, Ms Jacky Granger told The Herald that their organisation is worried by the proliferation of bogus hair salons and beauty therapy colleges that had undermined professionalism in the industry.
She said the major problem is that some hairdressers are using sub-standard products, which have undesirable effects to clients.
“Consumers are urged to seek services from salons that are members of the Cosmetology Association of Zimbabwe.
“It is important for consumers to understand that they are protected by the law whenever damage is caused to their hair or skin.
“Our industry has been seriously undermined by people who get into the business just to get money,” she said.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe also echoed the same sentiments arguing that hairdressers should be professional since they dealt with consumers.
“Salons should be registered and certified such that when consumer’s rights are violated, they should know where to go for compensation,” said the organisation’s Executive Director, Ms Rosemary Siyachitema.
She also warned salons who were operating in an unprofessional manner that the long arm of the law would catch up with them.
So as one strolls down the streets looking for a hair salon, the choice is yours.
Do you want the good, the bad or the ugly?
Online Reporter