The rush at beauty salons in Doha increases as Ramadan draws to a close, and women can be seen quarrelling over prices and appointments during peak hours.
In some salons, customers make appointments two days in advance for treatments such as hair styling and facials.
The service most in demand is henna application. Many salons employ additional staff for a week or three days before Eid in view of the high demand, especially for henna application.
In just three days before Eid, young women who know how to make intricate patterns in henna can earn QR3,000 to QR4,000.
Sara Arif, a grade 11 student at an Indian school in Doha, said it was easy for girls who knew how to apply henna to earn some money before Eid.
“Once these girls become popular in their areas, they get calls from beauty salons, which are always in need of extra help around Eid,” she said.
A regular henna design on either side of both hands can cost QR100, and more detailed patterns can cost as much as QR450. Some women also get henna applied on their feet and legs.
Many women, however, create a ruckus over the prices, and others get angry if they are told that they would have to wait a few hours for their turn.
Recalling an incident, Sara said that not too long ago, she went to the house of a Qatari lady along with a colleague to provide home services of henna application on behalf of the salon she works for.
“We spent the entire afternoon applying henna on the hands of 12 women, who were all very particular about the designs they wanted. The total bill came to QR2,000 but we were paid only QR500. On top of that, the women kept shouting at us for asking the money we deserved to be paid for our services,” the 17-year-old said.
Others have also complained about similar treatment by customers.
Rose, a beautician from the Philippines who did not want to identify the salon she works for, said it was common for some women to be rude to beauticians.
On the other hand, some customers say they are treated differently at salons because of their nationality. Even if the salon staff is from the same country as them, they are more accommodating with Arab customers, they say.
According to Rose, this is because many beauticians are afraid of Arab customers.
“Even if some women shout at us, we can’t do anything. This is why we are careful about how we treat them, especially Arab customers. If they don’t like some service, they just scream at us and leave without paying,” Rose explained.
Another concern raised by beauticians is that increasingly many Arab mothers are bringing girls as young as nine years for treatments such as hair straightening, eyebrow threading and facials.
“They usually come for hair straightening or rebounding, which is a process through which hair is straightened temporarily using some chemicals,” said Noor Ahmed, a beautician who arrived here from Egypt three years ago.
She said some treatments were fine for young girls, but they should be used in moderation.
“Mothers need to be careful about the products some salons are using for young girls because they can harm the hair in the long run,” she added.
The number of beauty salons and spas in the country has almost doubled over the past few years, with a jump in the number of pricey establishments. Some say that since 2008, the prices of services at salons have gone up 100 percent. This is partly due to a number of such facilities opening up in hotels in the country.
Some women say they prefer to go to salons in hotels because of a difference in the quality of services, and that they have better standards of hygiene and the quality of products used is also higher.
The increasing prices have created room for home services, wherein many unlicensed beauticians provide facials, waxing and other such services to women at home.
Salon owners say the rise in their prices is inevitable because of spiralling rents. They say that the salaries of their workers have also increased 100 percent, from QR4,000 to QR8,000. Many customers have also become more aware and they can easily tell an amateur beautician from a professional.
They add that they are always under pressure to provide the latest services and follow new trends in make-up and styling. This is why they keep a lookout for qualified beauticians.
“Our main aim is to satisfy our customers and provide the best services. Sometimes, we need to invest more to provide better services, and the only option for us is to increase the prices,” the manager of a beauty salon in Al Muntaza said.
Huda Al Kuwari, a Qatari customer, argued that even though the prices of salon services had gone up in line with the general price rise in the country, the authorities needed to regulate them.
Most women go to salons almost every month for eyebrow threading, pedicures and manicures. Some working women visit nearby salons every other day for make-up services.
A standard haircut for women may cost QR100 at one salon and more than QR600 at another. Facials start at QR250 and can cost as much as QR1,000 at high-end salons.
“There is no standard rate and everyone charges as they like in the salons. Generally, if the owners have rented a nice villa for the salon, they are likely to charge you higher even if the services are just average,” Al Kuwari said.
She said that a 10 to 15 percent hike in the rates would have been reasonable but a 100 percent increase is unacceptable.
“Opening a salon seems to have become an easy way to make money in Qatar because women want to look their best and they are willing to pay any price for that. The authorities must step in and at least monitor the prices so that customers are not exploited,” she added.THE PENINSULA
