Glam for cam: Men queue up at salons

Delhi-NCR parlour owners say they are now seeing more men coming in, than women. Many men are regularly making appointments for hair colour, haircuts, hair spas as well as facials, manicures and pedicures, to look on point for their virtual meetings!

Gone are the days when only women would wait for lockdown curbs to be lifted, so that they could resume parlour visits. Now, as the pandemic continues, it’s the men who are making a beeline for grooming sessions. Salon owners in Delhi-NCR claim that they are, of late, receiving more requests from men than women. And many are making bookings for themselves to ensure that they are ever ready for the official video calls that have become a crucial part of the #WorkFromHome scenario. So, from hair colour to haircut and mani-pedi to facials, men in the city are opting for everything required to look their best, as the focus is now on the face!

Delhi-NCR salons are reportedly receiving more bookings from men than women. (Photo: Sanchit Khanna/HT (For representational purposes only))

“I was very particular about being well dressed for work till the time we were working from office. And honestly, it was much easy because I would dress well and could look sharp. Par ab toh sab ghar par hain, and if I’m not well groomed then it looks so shabby on the camera because only the face is visible during all the meetings with clients,” says Kripneet Singh, a computer engineer, adding that he has been regularly visits salons during the pandemic, “whenever lockdown eases”. “I want to look presentable in the virtual meetings so have started going for face clean-up and beard grooming more often than earlier. After all it’s all about making an impression to stay afloat at the work front,” adds the south Delhi resident.

Jaya Ahuja, the owner of a salon in Punjabi Bagh, says that men are more particular about what they want. “I’ve noticed that more than women, men know about the hair style they want. Most of them come and brief the hair dresser even before they wear their apron, and start giving detailed instructions of what they want,” she says.

But not everyone is opting for salon visits for the need to look presentable on the video screen. Ajay Malviya, a Delhiite who works for a US-based firm, shares how going to a salon for regular grooming sessions helps him relax. “It’s certainly therapeutic to go to a salon. Life hasn’t been easy during the pandemic and I go at least once a week to get my beard coloured, and at least once a fortnight I opt for a pedicure and manicure, which is super relaxing.”

Author tweets @anjuri

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter