No barber? no problem!
When the lockdown ends, an army of longhaired men looking like cavemen will be trooping to their barbershops or salons.
During the lockdown now on its eighth week men had nowhere to go to get a proper haircut, hair coloring, manicure, pedicure, massage, facial, and whatever grooming rites they were accustomed to.
A lot of men did grow a mustache or a beard — was this to match their long hair or to celebrate the full macho look they’d acquired? Or was it just an expression of bravado over the weeks of frustration when they felt helpless?
Helpless, some men were not, as they found barbers and grooming specialists right at home! The women who stood right beside them proved to be multi-taskers, as they put their salon skills to good use. Or put their men at the mercy of their scissors.
We asked four couples to share with us their lockdown experiences... or were they ordeals?
Joanna Preysler & Raul Francisco: Haircuts based on trust, not skill or perfection
You’d think that a haircut was too small a matter for Joanna Preysler-Francisco and Raul Francisco to argue about.
The couple have bigger tasks to face: There is their Provenance Gallery, which features well-curated artworks. Then there is their retail business (Carbon, Tint, Eterno, Othello), which shows they are not just entrepreneurs — they are provocateurs and innovators as well.
During the lockdown, having a haircut was no problem at all for Raul. “Actually I have been cutting Raul’s hair for maybe 15 years,” Joanna says proudly. “I mean, he goes to get a professional haircut every now and then — damage control, perhaps? But for the most part, I have been giving him his cuts.”
Joanna continues: “He tries to direct me from his position of absolute vulnerability... but I subtly remind him that I’m in charge! I have a sharp object dangerously close to his jugular, and many times he just has to go with the flow. And trust that I want a good-looking husband! Oh, wow, that whole statement mirrors our real life!”
Did Joanna take lessons in haircutting?
“These haircuts are totally based on trust and our comfort with each other — not on skill or perfection!
“With hair, as in life, it always works out, and if it sucks, we dust ourselves off, laugh, and move on to more important matters!”
Marga & Karlo Nograles: Do or dye!
It has been over a month since we last went to the salon,” says Marga Nograles. “Karlo and I miss Basement, but for now we will have to make do with whatever in-home service is accessible.
“In Karlo’s case, since he has no choice but to have ME cut his hair, he said, ‘Tiis’ na lang daw muna siya. Hahaha! His excuse being that he didn’t cut his hair the whole time he was reviewing for his bar examinations, so he wants the same look.
“The only thing he will allow me to do is give him a shoulder massage and a one-time trial color spray experiment for his white hair. For his massage, I use my essential oils that I super love. Karlo is not usually a fan of my oils but this one, he says, will do. For his trial hair color, I used what I had in stock from my travels,” adds Marga.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles is usually at his desk for meetings or studying the whole day, thus, shoulder massages — and hair dyes — have to happen while he is working.
“Our deck has now become Karlo’s office, meeting room, TV studio and parlor,” says Marga, who is famously credited for her innovative work highlighting the Mindanao tribal heritage through her fashion brand Kaayo.
“Despite all the ups and downs this pandemic has brought to us, we are okay and blessed to know that really, we have everything we will ever need at home for now.”
Apples Aberin & Miles Roces: Clay mask? All smiles, no bullying at all
Did Apples Aberin have to bully Miles Roces into being photographed with a clay mask?
Maybe yes, since men generally do not care to wear beauty concoctions. But maybe not, because as you can see, Miles is all smiles in the photos. The handsome Miles, who was a former Congressman (of the Manila district held for five terms by his grandfather, Joaquin Roces), is no stranger to all kinds of creams and facial washes.
Mainly since Apples is in the business of making people look more beautiful and younger (she is head of public relations of Unilever), Miles has no choice but to try out products specifically created for men, as well as those that are not gender-specific.
“When we started seeing each other, I actually threw out all his personal-care products and replaced them with my faves. I think he was a bit shocked when he saw them in the trash. He didn’t have much of a choice though,” laughs Apples. “I was pleasantly amused to find some moisturizing masks in his drawer. He uses them when he feels his skin is extra dry, specifically after a trip to the beach or a long plane ride.”
During the lockdown, Apples says Miles realized the importance of a consistent skincare routine. “And yes, his skin is now softer, smoother and well-nourished.” The quarantine period gave Miles the “me” time to focus on skincare, thanks to Apples.
But it didn’t give Apples the opportunity to cut or shave his hair off. “It has grown to Einstein levels at this point. So far, he won’t even let me touch his hair!”
No amount of bullying will do?
“Well, Samson was asleep when Delilah asked a servant to cut off his hair. So let’s see!”
Kaye & Freddie Tinga: The whole Korean 10-step, including a moisturizing mask
Freddie Tinga is a regular at the Henri Calayag Salon; he gets his hair cut and colored every three weeks, says his wife, Kaye.
So, did Freddie have no choice but to let Kaye do the salon rituals for him during the eight-week lockdown?
More on that later, because what Kaye is proud of is that the no-nonsense Freddie — a businessman who served as Congressman of Taguig — allowed Kaye to put a mask on his face and joined her as she did the whole Korean 10-step skincare ritual.
“Freddie is not very fussy about moisturizing and skincare rituals, but once in a while, when I do my own spa at home, I ask him to join me,” says Kaye, a woman of style and one of the entrepreneurs behind W17.
“But of all his wellness activities, he probably misses massages the most. No problem at all, because we have this Theragun, which is a godsend,” smiles Kaye. “It allows deep-tissue massage, especially for not very strong people like me.”
When Freddie asked Kaye to cut and color his hair, she was at first hesitant and held off until quarantine was extended a second time.
“I was able to find a pair of clippers at Watson’s, and after 10 hours of watching YouTube videos on how to cut hair during a lockdown, I was pretty nervous, so I asked him to start on the front part of his hair, while I worked on the sides and back.”
The result? It looked like the Banaue rice terraces! “No problem, because whoever he meets on Zoom can’t really see it. And anyway, hair grows back.”
Kaye says the hair-coloring part was way, way easier. It took less than an hour.
“I’m proud to say this came out well,” she says. “ This was really a lesson in teamwork.”
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Follow the author on Instagram and Facebook@milletmartinezmananquil. Email her at mmmananquil@philstarmedia.com.
