By=laws for Barbers.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 15, 12 October 1907, Page 8

By=laws for Barbers.

Sanitary Precautious in Hairdressing] kfATEMENTBY DR.. MASON. . By Telegraph—Press: Association. ' Auckland, October 10. Dr. Mason states that the hairdressers in Auckland aro willing to adopt his suggestion for the observation of, certain health regulation's in the oxercise of their calling, but most of thom.-said.; in return that they should bo a close' corporation relieved from "the competition of. men who cut prices.. - Dr.. Mason, thought this quito fair. ; His idea" was that the Hairdressers' Association should approach the- local bodies to frame the needful by-laws,; as was dono in Invercargill and Wellington. 'The Hairdressers' Association intends 'taking :iip tho mat-ter-on Dr. Mason's return. SOME LOCAL VIEWS,-. Thbro-is-, no dodging the busy-littlo microbe. It chases humanity from tho cradle to the grave. , Just now, thanks to Dr. Mason, Chief Health Oflicer, its association with haircutting and shaving is causing discussion. Tho sanitary arrangements of barbers' shops • have undoubtedly improved of late years. But there is room for considerable improvement, . as Dr. Mason pointed out to a representative of this paper in Auckland. The main'health provisions that he suggested ,were' tho licensing of barbers, departmental approval of rooms, clgaii .towels, the re-' 1 moval of hair after every operation |

instead of it being' loft in a baskot in n corner all day and the non-use of tbo puff. A Bill for ; Barbers. ■ "With a view to' ascertaining bow these proposals were regarded in Wellington n ' Dominion ;. reporter interviewed various representative liairdr'essors yostorday. Ho encountered but,little opposition to. any reasonable proposals for improving conditions; the barbors expressed ,themsolves quite willing to fall in lino' with practical suggestions, whilst ■ convinced, as a whole, that thero was not much to grumble at... in ..the 'present stato of aft a lis. ■ One- loadings hairdresser, however, ■was refreshingly/ outspoken, arid his romafks 'particularly complimentary to tho trade'/. .Ho lias,travelled extensively', by no means, satisfied that all tho' barbors in. Wellington carried . on- their business in as clean and up-to-date a manner as was to .be-desiretl.-'' : - -i

; :■ '.'lh'oartiiy"'. iigreo>' with ■ all Dr. Mason's'suggestions," he said, "only 'they don't go far onough'. The licensing "of ought undoubtedly to be compulsory, thero should be • an , ; 4nspector—a - thoroughly competent man—to; inspect all saloons.. In • America there is an Act in force for regulating- barbers' ' shops. There is an. Examining Board-'of three thoroughly :men,..and no ;.mari :has a right .to practiso -as a barber until he has ..passed an examination before -that Board.'.-.When ..he gets his diploma,, which costs him fivo guineas, .he is. given, a certificate .'whiclv bo has to hang- up '.iiv his" shop ■'so " that customers can ..see that-he- is';, duly qualified. ;If any man practises as'a barber without .possessing: a certificate he is liable to prosecution. The Examiners' not only make it necessary for the candidate to bo, specklessly clean- in _ his methods, but . also, .to become. familiar with. sterilisation', and its ■ effects on his,tools; I .am satisfied that evory up-to-date shop here would bo pleased to agreo to such regulations. - There is undoubtedly, a great deal of rooin for improvement in Wellington, compared with what Ihavo seen in other, places, especially-America. I don't beliovo in local' by-laws, howover. • I think regulations should, bo enforced by Act of-Parliament'to apply'.to the. whole of 1 the .Dominion., And I don't think any customer would object to paying a- little ..more to. bo attended with all possible cleanlinoss and .ini-

;provemonts. The charges..here are too low; sixpence is all right for shaving, but ,a shilling: should bo .chargj.l J.:r haircutting." ; American. Enterprise. " Although you get such excellent attention in America, you have to pay ifell.for it. In an ordinary, decent saloon— not one 'of the' very best — a shave costs a quarter of a dollar (Is. Id.)V and a-hair-cut half a dollar." That is, if. .the customer is lucky." Ho 'may.'oniy- want fli shavo when he enters •the • shop, but when he- loaves v ho will probably- find lie ' has'had a Turkish bath and' his nails manicured as woll. ■" I went'into one shop for a shave and/it cost mo half a sovereign,"• said the 'hairdresser^!." Tliey. shavod mo', cut .my hair,, cleaned my boots, brushed me up -arid idown/told-mo it was a nice day.' charged me two; dollars; and passed • me. piit . Then" 1-had to tip tho man wlio" liad':titivated mo up." • Chatting further about: his travels, ho said'ho foundi'th'e-clcanest-saloons Denmark) .' andr iho i'wbrst-rtaking : the, 'England.And, unrortu-: >nately,"tho shops., out'. here follow- too much' on''the lines of l those in England." ■ ' ' ••• •-.'

Nothing to Crumble, At. , ; "I don't think there is much to complain about, so far as tho betterclass shops aro concerned," said' tho: President .of the ' Wellington Hairdressers.. Association.,. "At tho an-, nual 'i dinner of our Association, '"the subject was discussed, and I am -satisfied thit in the better-class shops here ovory precaution is being takon against; .tho spread of disease. Sterilising is carried out most effectively, clean towels and brushes, are and no one with - any visible signs' of disease about him ! isi attended to. At the ■same time, I think it-would;be a good thing to make'.;strict. regulations,-so as, to .'guard against barbers who come- into the trade. . It is the bungler who does the . damage. Ho does not know how ; to shave, with the result that tho customer's face get's, cut and sore,-and he attributes it to a'bad or unclean razor. There is nothing of that in- 'the' bettor-cjass shops. ;. ; I have been";.in tho trade twenty-five years, and I have always used the utensils for shaving myself that' aro kept in tho room;, what is good enough for tho customer is good enough for mo." • , , ' " Ho had a few. criticisms to'make in regard to some.- of." Dr. Mason's suggestions. As'to the " removal of hair after every operation, instead of it being, left in a'basket in a corner, all day, he said it was not the custom in decent shops to allow the hair to remain so long.' But it was not practice.ablo'to sweep up' tho hair after 'every haircntting operation; - that would be most objectionable : to customers in, tho room, and .the 'danger of disseminating disease would be much greater. -Tho hair was swept up as soon as tho shop ,was empty, and thofipors were scrubbed . with , strong disinfectants about three times ; a week. Brushes,- combs', .otc.,;were washed-,every, day in disinfectants! 'and the •' razors were always sterilised; beforo- each' operation. Chalk or. alum wero rarely used, except where the customer kopt a supply Of his own. " At- the,"same, time, tho better-class hairdressers have nonobjection what-

!over,'fo"'.*^latiWs''"being made," ho addedj' you are, doing a 'good business yon.'have to look after your customers] 6f,.,.y0u:.500n-lose them." No Time for Frill. " Peoplo'in Wollingtoh aro in too big a hurry to waste timo ' over a lot of frill and paraphernalia, when they go for a-'shave,"; declared another. 1 knight' of the lather breezily. So long as cloarilincs's is observed, they don't want a . lot of messing 'aboutthe'quicker you' shave,thom tho b'ottor they arc pleased. Ono. of my customers is; a' well-known doctor ,■ and,.ho .won't stand any titivat-. ing.- r Wo bustle him through quick'and hearty,'and he is pleased." Tho barber went on to emphasise that, in spite of, the hustle, tho utmost-cleanliness prevailed in all tho decent saloons. Clean towols were used, brushes and combs wore' thoroughly, cleansed, and tho razors wore invariably sterilised. But he strongly objected to the proposal to sweep up tho hair after every operation, and advanced arguments similar to thoso quoted in the preceding interview. He, also; pointed out that puff or chalk were hardly evor used. "The soreness and ] pimples that are frequently attributed to unclean tools are really , caused' by bad shaving," ho added; " The majority of harbors don't know how to shave. 'They' keep on scraping and.scraping, after all the hair has boon removed, and .then, tho customer's faco gots soro and rough, and pimples break out.; If the barbers know thoir business, thcro would bo no .complaints about, inflamed faces. I don't think there is much need for bylaws, as all necessary precautions aro taken, if'you will como along to-mor-row, I will givo you a free shave and some, practical demonstrations," ho addod .generously. But the ropprter was not pining to be mado an example of, and ho declined with thanks. . - . Ofchor barbers soon expressed similar opinions as to the cleanlinoss observed, but at tho same time remarked that they would offer no objection to the enforcement of regulations, as only the inferior saloons would suffer.