Looking forward to visiting a salon after over two months of lockdown? Well, the Tamil Nadu government has made it mandatory for customers visiting spas, beauty parlours and salons to carry their Aadhaar cards from Tuesday. The government has introduced this measure to ease contract tracing.

Customer details such as name, address, phone number and Aadhaar number should be mandatorily noted by owners of spas, beauty parlours and salons. This as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the Commissioner of Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan issued for salons, beauty parlours and spas.  

However, the move to collect an individual’s Aadhaar number goes against the 2018 Supreme Court order, which had struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act. Section 57 had allowed private firms like banks, telecom companies etc to collect Aadhaar details of a customer. However, in September 2018, a five-judge bench called Section 57 ‘unconstitutional’, making it illegal for private firms to ask individuals for Aadhaar card details.     

According to the SOP, hair stylists should wear masks and gloves and they should avoid keeping their hands in the eyes, nose and mouth to avoid the spread of infection. If those working in salons have a cold, cough or fever they should avoid going into work. The SOP has also urged customers to avoid visiting spas and beauty parlours if they have a fever or display other symptoms of COVID-19.

To avoid crowding, services should only be by appointment, while the SOP also instructs salons and spas to ensure that only 50% of seats are occupied at a time by customers. 

Water taps, chairs, tables, beds used for massages among other things frequently used should be cleaned at least five times a day. The SOP also stated that hair straightening machine, curling machine, spa stones, face and hair steamers, laser hair removal, dryers should be sanitised before being used each time. Head bands, disposables and towels can be used only once and should be rinsed before being on another customer.

The SOP also issued to the Chennai Corporation Commissioner and District Collectors states Corporations, Municipalities and town panchayats should check the effective functioning of the salons and spas by following the prescribed norms to contain the spread of coronavirus. 

Salons, beauty parlours and spas across Tamil Nadu reopened on June 1 as part of unlock 1.0 easing of lockdown restrictions.