JEDDAH: Barbers in Jeddah have hiked their prices in response to new regulations designed to improve hygiene in salons.
Indian Gangadhar Nizamabadi, who runs Hyderabad Saloon in the Bab Makkah area, has welcomed the measures and said they would prevent customers from catching diseases.
Pakistani barber Shabir, who runs a saloon in Al-Safa, said he implemented the measures three weeks ago and customers have reacted very well.
“We raised the prices because the disposable blades and combs cost us more,” he told Arab News.
Yet Imam Hussain, a Bangladeshi customer who works in Al-Safa, claimed that although from a health perspective the new regulations were good he still felt it was difficult to pay the additional SR5.
He visits the salon twice a month, adding that most expatriates prefer to shave at home.
Other customers have complained that the 50 percent hike is not justifiable as the pack of disposable barbers’ equipment costs only around SR2.
In Jeddah there are two types of salons — one run by Arab and Turkish barbers and another by South Asians.
South Asian barbers used to charge SR10 for a haircut and SR5 for a shave but now charge SR15 and SR10 respectively.
