Snip cut hair salon skin#

Once the price is settled, the husband strolls away and Chand gets to work.Ĭhand begins the laborious process of hair colouring with occasional testy interruptions by the client about the length of hair that is being cut and how long it will take for the colour to show up. Meanwhile, Chand holds a long consultation with her client about how much trimming her hair needs and what colour suits her best. She eventually convinces her that the discount is genuine. The Indo-western hair colours and styles followed by celebrities at the event are “hawt” and much in demand. In a virtual demonstration of what we had just chatted about, the client fishes out her phone and there is the dreaded Instagram! Later, Swati tells me the latest trends have all sprung from the launch event of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai. She is accompanied by a man, presumably her partner. For instance, a lady who has been smoothening her hair for years, now believes in keeping it natural and wavy.”Ĭhand’s client, a woman perhaps in her early 30s, settles down in front of the mirror. “Some stick to the conventional styles but many others are more accepting of new trends.

Since it is summer, people are looking for short, easy-to-wear styles.” Swati adds that, interestingly, even some of their older clients are experimenting more nowadays. Swati Gupta, creative director of this salon chain, says, “The blues, greens, really flamboyant pinks and neons are now the hottest hair colours.

Snip cut hair salon skin#

She says, “They bring Instagram and show me… they do not understand that hair styling is also about texture, facial shape, and skin colour!”Īlthough the salon specialises in customising hair cuts and colours, the demand for vibrant colouring has gone up greatly in recent times. But sometimes, she gets obstinate clients who are unwilling to listen. Often, she plays confidant - people confide in her about everything from household problems to boyfriend-girlfriend trouble and itchy skin. She believes she does her best work when the customer trusts her. “When I see a customer and I know they are happy, it gives me a great feeling,” she says. She usually comes in by 9.30 am, gobbles down a quick breakfast, and begins her day, which can go on till 8 pm, sometimes longer. Chand was waiting for her second client of the day.

Today, as one of the senior-most stylists at the salon, she is much in demand, and sees customers only by appointment. In 2010, she joined her current employer. After a year, she worked as a hairstylist at a reputed salon where she honed her artistry further. But she did not give up and kept practising and learning from seniors. “It was usual for me to cry myself to sleep every night,” says Chand about her initial years. She hadn’t cut a single strand of hair yet! She was also committing to memory the purpose of hundreds of products, not to mention colour wheels and the science of hair colouring. But it was also an opportunity to observe and learn as she swabbed floors, cleared dustbins, made tea, cleaned equipment, and after a few months, gave massages, shampooed hair, and trimmed nails.

“It was about doing all the work nobody wants to do,” she says. The work was gruelling, poorly paid and relentless. Having experimented with her own hair from her teen years, Chand instinctively knew she had what it takes. She felt guilty about spending her mother’s money on her education, and thus began apprenticing at a local salon. Now in her mid-30s, she came to the city from Manipur in 2006 to study and find a job to support her single mother and brother. Phalchong Khongsai, who prefers to be called Chand, has been a hairstylist with Bodycraft Spa & Salon in Indiranagar for more than 12 years. But where does this contentment spring from? What is the good, bad, and ugly in the life of a hairstylist? I, well, got in the hair of a senior stylist in Bengaluru to find out. That is perhaps why, in nearly every survey of ‘happiest workers’, hairdressers are the crowning glory. And no one understands this better than a good hairstylist.