I am missing you: Longing for barbers, beauticians to return to work, bad hair days to end

Unkempt hair, grey roots and scruffy beards were probably last in the list of worries when India went into lockdown three weeks ago but with stay-at-home' extended till May 3 on Tuesday, these are problems growing by the day quite literally.

Hair, say experts, grows half-an-inch a month. And with salons and barber shops closed in the pan India shutdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, this is one issue that just can't be snipped away.

It's not just about one bad hair day but about 40 and maybe more as increasing numbers of people sport the quarantine look.

So, you have men who can't deal with their long hair, bushy moustaches and overgrown beards and women just waiting to get their hair back in style, their eyebrows shaped and their arms and legs looking smooth and, well, hair free. And, of course, there are those who need desperately to touch up their roots with the black, blue-grey or burgundy tones that cover the grey.

Because looking good is left to experts trained in the art of hair styling, threading, waxing and trimming, the hair dresser-beautician is being sorely missed. Even the roadside guy who sets up shop on street corners.

Most people usually have hair appointments every four to eight weeks. Many were already due for their next haircut when the lockdown was imposed on March 24, first for three weeks and now extended by 19 days.

"Never did I think I would have to wait for my trip to the parlour for this long. I guess bushy eyebrows and grey roots must be bothering a lot of women now. Unlike wives, husbands are useless when it comes to helping in our grooming," said Vandana Thapa, a homemaker who helped her husband with his haircut just a few days ago.

As men look for bands to push back their hair, some tying it up in a not so trendy ponytail, and women deal with their ungroomed selves and chipped nails, there is no solution in sight except one do it yourself. Or get a family member to take quick lessons and do it for you.

Ankush Mangotra, 29, just went the full monty and shaved his beard and hair after being mocked by his girlfriend and mother for his long hair and biblical beard.

It had been more than a month since I had my last haircut. Then the lockdown happened. My mother and girlfriend were after my life Eventually I gave in, and got myself a buzz-cut with a little help by my mother, said the Delhi-based IT professional.

Mangotra is not alone in the DIY trend.

Cricket captain Virat Kohli as well as Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan went that way too.

'"This is what quarantine does to you. We allow things like this to happen. Getting a haircut with kitchen scissors! Can you see this gradual fade? Beautiful haircut by my wife," Kohli said in a video of his actor wife Anushka Sharma cutting his hair.

Paswan got his beard trimmed by his son, MP Chirag Paswan.

"Tough times but see lockdown also has a brighter side. Never knew had these skills too! Let's fight Corona19 and create beautiful memories too! StayHomeStaySafe," Chirag Paswan tweeted along with the video.

Forced self-grooming sessions, according to celebrity hairstylist Apeni George, should make people -- celebrities and commoners -- understand and appreciate grooming professionals better.

After things get back to normal I sincerely hope people will no more ask us why we are taking so much time. This aside, I make it a point to educate my clients about the process when they come to me so they can work out something when I am not around.

"There are no secrets, the more they are aware the better it is for us, the Mumbai-based stylist to many cricketers and Bollywood stars told PTI.

But holding clippers or kitchen scissors is not everyone's forte.

Social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok are filled with images of DIY haircuts gone wrong -- from accidental bald patches to uneven skin fades.

Even the suave Sachin Pilot "botched it up".

When a noted journalist took to Twitter asking if haircut can be declared an essential service. Pilot tweeted in reply, "Too late. Did it at home. Botched it up."