Males storming a female bastion:

Lanka's 'Beauty-rush'
 

BY CHANDANI Jayatilleke

SRI LANKA'S beauty industry has come a long way since its humble beginnings many decades ago. Today, it has produced many talented and skilled people in this field, of international standing.

Many young people have made beauty and hair dressing a lucrative career. Some who have done well and set up their own establishments, have also provided jobs to other youth. The beauty business is thriving as Sri Lankans become more and more fashion conscious and concerned about their looks.

Another interesting and new trend in the beauty industry is that an increasing number of males are going for beauty treatment.

Men come for treatments such as facials, manicures and pedicures which were earlier known as treatments confined to women, according to the beauty industry.

To cater to this growing demand, beauty outlets are mushrooming around the country, being set up by people who have followed short training courses offered by various institutions. This has created some alarm among professionals as well as customers.

Many of these small outlets do not have qualified people who can properly handle beauty treatments some of which require the use of chemicals.

In certain cases, product manufacturers conduct workshops and training sessions for beauticians where they tell them the purpose of the product and demonstrate how to use it on individuals. But this alone is not sufficient to give an effective understanding of the products and their proper use.

Today, people take great care over their hair, face and skin. Even some simple people sometimes spend a lot of money to get various beauty treatments to make them look good. Call any popular beauty salon in the city - they are flooded with clients and their appointment books are usually full. In many places, clients are expected to make early bookings for their treatments.

The growth of the industry is good for consumers as well as beauty professionals.

However, there is growing concern among top beauticians in the country about these mushrooming beauty parlours. Are the people employed in the small outlets that have sprung up qualified to carry out skin and hair treatments? Do they know how chemicals in beauty products react on various types of skins?

"It is dangerous to enter into the beauty business without a proper training as it involves various beauty products which contain certain amounts of chemicals and beauticians should know of how these chemicals react on different skins and hair and so on," says Ramani Fernando, an industry expert.

This concern over lack of training and standards has prompted industry professionals, in collaboration with the Vocational Training Ministry, to introduce a curriculum and a set of rules and regulations for the industry in order to maintain high standards.

In recent times, there has been a surge of newcomers to the industry, many without a proper education, except short training courses of a few weeks to a few months.

While their knowledge may be limited, some of them are creative and have the required talent as shown in their work.

Fernando, a well known beauty specialist with a career spanning 30 years, is one who has taken up the responsibility of setting up of rules and regulations for the industry.

Fernando sees a marvellous change in the industry today, from when she began 30 years ago.

"It was an industry confined to a limited number of people at that time. As far as the clients are concerned only a few opted for hair and beauty treatment. Today, everything is different. People are aware of various beauty therapies and techniques.

Many Sri Lankans travel abroad and get exposed to the latest developments in the beauty industry and become aware of new beauty techniques and products. This automatically creates a demand for professional services from the local industry.

And the local industry is getting prepared to cater to these changes. "Now there's lot of professionalism in the industry. There are new products; the products are being upgraded all the time. It's a never ending process," says Fernando.

"Beauty and hair dressing is an art. It needs innovative ideas and a creative mind. Moreover, it has become a big business now where young people could earn good money if they are talented and qualified," Fernando says.

"People should not think about the money factor alone, however. They should think about the industry's challenges and of contributing to professional standards."

There are many trainers who have invaded the industry with short courses. However, some of these short courses are not comprehensive enough to make a complete beautician. Such short courses are not sufficient to provide in-depth practical knowledge to the students. Training in this industry needs a lot of practical knowledge.

But, what happens in reality is that many students who complete short courses end up opening their own salons or beauty parlours.

Ramani Fernando feels sad on seeing people doing short courses and starting it as a business or as a self-employment project.

"This is why we have decided to introduce certain rules in the industry and also to issue licences for the beauticians."

Through this system the industry hopes to maintain its standards and ensure the clients a safe service.

In many developed countries, a fully qualified beautician would be someone who has completed a five-year apprenticeship with a well-known hair dresser. "This ensures that the beautician has the practical as well as theoretical knowledge to start on their own," she said.

People come to a beautician with much hope. Therefore, we have to have the ability to perform our duty to provide a satisfactory service to the customer, she says.

Fernando alone has eight beauty salons in Colombo, two in India (Calcutta and Bangalore), and one in Bangladesh. Some Sri Lankans are also working in the overseas branches.

She also plans to open branches in Kandy and Dubai in the near future. She believes that there's lot of potential in the hair dressing industry in India.

Foreign employment is another attractive aspect of the beauty industry. "Sri Lankans who are qualified and well-trained are always being recruited by foreign employers. There are so many Sri Lankans who have made it to the international beauty industry at present," she says.

Moving another step forward, Fernando has entered into the spa business where she provides therapy and steam treatments for those who seek to relax and rejuvenate their minds and bodies after long and stressful work schedules.

"The spa is also a growing concept in Colombo. There are many people who have gone into this area and we have a growing clientele as well," she says.

Being a beautician is a lovely job, a lucrative business and it has been a good experience. As a beautician, I have enjoyed it and I still do enjoy it. There's lot of self-satisfaction involved in it too, says Fernando.