Malaysia hair salon owner on impact of virus

The owner of a hair salon in Kuala Lumpur has returned to work after nearly three months of closure due to the coronavirus lockdown, ensuring his business was ready to adapt to a new operating landscape.

There wasn't the usual bustle of activity on the first day of reopening for Michael Poh.

Appointments have to be made in advance and each customer cannot stay longer than an hour.

Sanitation tools and protective gear were stocked up and salon capacity trimmed by half to adhere to social distancing protocol.

Wearing a protective visor over his face mask, Poh snipped away at his client's hair with gloved hands.

The customer, who was wearing a mask and a disposable cape, had earlier filled in a health form, had his body temperature checked and had been sprayed with disinfectant.

Poh is a master hairstylist image consultant and has worked with many Malaysian celebrities, but he has received zero income while his salon was closed.

He heads one of the multiple hairdressing associations in the country, which estimated that Malaysia's 74,500 hairdressers suffered a cumulative loss of at least 2.25 billion ringgit (USD530 million) during the lockdown which started on March 18 and ran until the end of May.

The hairdressing industry reportedly contributes 13.5 billion ringgit (USD3.2 billion) to Malaysia's economy annually.

Malaysia, which reported more than 8,300 infections and 117 deaths, has now reopened nearly all economic sectors with minor restrictions still in place.

Poh, who has a total of three hair studios, expects his business to slow down next month as clients may cut back on hair salon services.

He is negotiating to cut down rental, but pays full basic salary to his 18 staff members.

Four of them, mostly support staff helping wash or dry clients' hair, are not back at work yet to avoid overcrowding.

Prices remain the same for his salons despite the increased cost to maintain hygiene.

Poh expects things to return to normal once a vaccine is available but for now, both the industry and clients must get used to the new bare-bone service routine.

(Representative Image)