The last hours before the advent of Eid ul Fitr were marked by men and women crowding beauty parlours and hair salons to mark the Eid days in a tidy, fashion-conscious oeuvre.
Even children sat in beauty saloons and discussed the latest hairstyles before letting the barber know their preferred trend. Filled to the brim till late night, beauty parlours and salons were the best business in town with fashion-conscious youngsters paying last-minute visits for a final touch up. Men, too, were found at beauty parlours, not only getting haircuts but colouring and shading their hair.
“It is tradition that women rush to beauty parlours before Eid and I recruit more beauticians to cope with them,” Shumaila Bakhat, owner of a beauty parlour in Gulberg.
To draw the most customers, beauty parlours offered special deals for facelifts skin care, eye-brows, streaking, straightening, rebounding, facial, bleaching, manicure, pedicure, threading, waxing, make-up and cosmetics. There were even some that offered free haircuts to customers bringing business worth Rs 500. The same outlets offered two free deals including facial maks for bringing business worth Rs 1000 or Rs 2000.
However, while parlours offered discounts, beauticians found it difficult to cope with the burgeoning numbers of customers. People are more interested in glamour and fashion and it has allowed the industry to grow, they said. They said the competition prompted parlours to offer discount packages.
Women, especially younger girls, remain obsessed with mehdi and so parlours hire specialised mehndi artists for the Eid days. Each mehndi artist earns thousands on a single day, applying intricate mehndi designs on the hands of women, girls and even little babies. First Look beauty parlour Baghbanpura owner Farzana Yasmeen told Pakistan Today that women of all ages offer us any rate to make the best designs. “Rates vary per design. They vary from R. 100 to Rs 1000,” she added.
“The rate for a single vine starts from Rs 50, we charge Rs300 for the full hand and Rs600 for both hands,” Aneela, a mehndi artist said, working at beauty salons in Model Town said, “we increase our rates as Eid approaches since demand also increases.” Pakistan Today observed many women waiting for their turns at reputed beauty parlours while small parlours were also overcrowded. Robina Amjad, a parlour owner said that women were coming in for facials and skin treatments with vegetables, fruits and herbal ingredients and massage for a fresher look. She said women were also opting for pedicures, manicures, hair treatment and colouring their hair different shades including burgundy, golden brown, copper and blond.
She said most women prefer layer cuts since it matches all face shapes while some preferred straightening their hair with a cut.
“I came to shape my eyebrow and get volume layer hair cut in line with the latest fashion,” Kokab Khan, a customer, at a beauty parlour at Ichrah. The trend of getting light make-up has increased since women preferred looking natural, she said. “Beauty consciousness is rising and now both housewives and their mother-in-laws come together to ready up for Eid,” she added.