New guidelines issued for beauty salons

MUSCAT, FEB 24 - A new set of guidelines for hairdressing or beauty salons in the capital has been issued by Muscat Municipality. These requirements have to be met before businesses start offering services. Among the requirements are, waiting area, makeup room, a toilet, a view cutter to prevent viewing inside, and enough towel baskets to collect used towels. At least three waiting seats must be provided for each service seat. In four-and-five star hotels, this requirement can be ignored if the services are limited to hotel visitors with a pre-booking system. The hairdressing area must not be less than 16 sqm and must have space of 1.5 metres between seats. A hand wash basin with a hot water supply is needed, and for shops in tourist complexes and hotels, the need for a toilet may be ignored provided women’s toilets are not more than 20 metres away from the shop. Only women workers will be permitted in shops while in four-star hotels or higher, or tourist complexes, men can be employed provided they undertake annual medical examinations for infectious diseases. Workers must be given uniforms and must be able to prove their qualifications. Activities that have been prohibited include attached workers’ housing, use of laser devices, intense pulsed light (IPL) without a licence, sale of chemicals without authorisation, Botox, Restylane, Perlane or other injections, medium or strong depth skin peeling procedures, sale and use of recipes for therapeutic purposes, perform liposuction or fat-removal procedures, offering tattooing or body-piercing services, any operations that require medical intervention or supervision, any skin penetrating procedures, bringing pets, installing cameras in facilities and admission of men during work hours. “Owners and workers of these businesses must comply with the health requirements before establishing the business and while providing the services. They have to adhere to the Covid-19 protocols,” the Muscat Municipality said.