Barbershops and hair salons across Hanoi are filling up following an announcement that, after a two-month prohibition, hair services will be allowed to reopen.

At 5:30 am on Tuesday, Quang Huy, a Hanoian street barber, set up shop on Thai Thinh Street in Dong Da District. 

His first order of business: dusting off his array of clippers and shears which had been sitting idle for two months.

Hanoi shuttered all hair services in mid-July as part of its effort to curb the fourth wave of COVID-19.

Nearly two months after imposing intense social distancing measures, city officials say they have managed to contain the spread and non-essential businesses, including barbershops, can resume operations.

“I was delighted yesterday when I heard I could start working again,” Huy said. 

“I haven’t worked for two months and it’s been irritating not having a source of income.”

Across the city, other hair businesses welcomed throngs of customers on their first day of operation in two months.

“I came to this barbershop knowing it would be busy today,” said Hai Nam, a customer at a crowded hair salon in Dong Da District. 

“It’s been two months since my last haircut and it’s getting so long that I have to borrow hairbands from my daughter to tie it up.”

Nearby, on Thai Thinh Street where Huy works, ten other street barbers were also welcoming customers. 

Each cut at a street barber takes 20 to 30 minutes and costs only VND50,000-60,000 ($2.2-2.6), equating to about VND1 million in revenue on high-demand days.

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