CHENNAI: Little Ishan Raj has not made up his mind. He shows pictures of cricketer Virat Kohli’s French crop and of a long spike to his stylist, and asks him for an opinion. After an hour of discussion, he chooses the former. “My friend and I love cricket. He went for cricketer Dhoni’s V-hawk haircut. It feels good to share a similar hairstyle with that of your favourite sports star,” said an exited 11-year-old Ishan.
Unlike the usual bob or short summer cut, kids are open to exploring different styles. A majority of them draw inspiration from Netflix characters, celebrities, influencers and cartoons. Keeping children as the centre of focus, the Abra-Cut-Abra salon launched two weeks back in Anna Nagar. Tucked away a few metres down the fifth street of A block and sporting colourful signage, the 350-sq ft space was started by Gaurav Dalal, Deepal Dalal, and Bhisham Sahi.
The ambiance here is vibrant with rainbow hues and a small green lawn outside. A shelf has organic creams, lotions and conditioners for kids from the US-based brand Little Green. Monitors are mounted on the bottom space of the mirror to keep the children occupied. Regular salons can be overwhelming for kids due to the sounds of trimmers and hairdryers. “Not many salons cater to children exclusively. Kids are often taken to unisex salons. The stylists might not be equipped to handle them with patience and care. The child-friendly surrounding keeps them happy and occupied. The main idea is to have a family salon in a friendly neighbourhood,” said Gaurav.
Among the highlights is their head tonsure option and anti-lice treatment. Apart from these, kids also go for hair wash, spa, styling, nail art, facials, pedicures and manicures. “Summer vacation is the best season to confidently experiment with unconventional styles since schools have certain restrictions. Kids these days are influenced primarily by media. But, they’re way more advanced than previous generations,” says Bhisham. Social media exposes these kids to the latest trends.
Like hair styling, hair tattooing, nail art, pedicures, and fruit facials have struck the fancy of children from this generation. While fringes, bangs, trims, bobs, and pixie cuts seem popular among girls, boys go for short on side and medium on top hair cuts.“Nowadays there’s no point in controlling our kids. They’re sure about what they want. I let my daughter, who is in Class two, decide her hairstyle. She’s particular about grooming and styling her hair as per her liking,” said Sneha Hariesh, an interior designer.
The salon has a cut-for-cut initiative. For every paid cut, an underprivileged kid gets a free haircut and body cleaning. “We’re planning to build a mobile hair salon with the same ambience, to go to slums and rural areas. The child would be given a full body clean-up. We also explain a few fundamentals of hygiene — hair grooming, lice treatment, dandruff, and more,” said Gaurav.