left in a room long enough. This seems to be true of some service jobs
that pitch both sexes together as service providers and clients.
Dalliance between male hairstylists and female clients
Kunle Olutayo, a male hair stylist, gets an average of ten female
customers a day.
Although not bad in terms of good looks, Olutayo grew up as a shy
little boy, particularly around girls until his painful fortune
changed about seven years ago when he became a hairstylist.
Shortly after starting the job following a six months' training,
Olutayo could not believe his luck.
With an endless string of female customers, he no longer had to worry
about his failing nerves since some of his female customers were woman
enough to take the initiative.
Olutayo was busy fixing the hair of one of his numerous female
customers when our correspondent visited the salon he shares with four
other stylists around the famous Ikeja Under-bridge in Lagos.
As he attached a weave-on to the customer's hair, the two joked about
the lady's receding hairline.
Some of the customer's hair was falling off at the front and Olutayo
teased her about it being one of the signs of old age.
Olutayo is close to many of his customers and has dated a few, even
though he repeatedly described it as bad for business. When he was
still new on the job, he was overwhelmed by the surplus number of
women he encountered daily and so indulged himself when he could.
However, Olutayo has since learnt a few lessons.
"This job is not for womanisers. If you're a womaniser, stay away from
this job because you will continue to lose money. When I first started
the job, it exposed me to so many women for the first time. I used to
be very shy but on this job, I met women who seduced me. Some of the
women would seduce their stylists to avoid paying for the service,
which also means not paying on subsequent visits.
"So a womaniser has a lot to lose as a hairstylist. Now, I've learnt
my lesson, I no longer sleep with my clients anyhow. I only date one
lady customer now and that limits my loss. Before now, I used to forgo
a lot of money to female customers that I had affairs with," he said.
Explaining how his seducers perform their act, Olutayo demonstrated
with his eyes, feigning sexual interest and willingness and hands,
rubbing on our correspondent, who had briefly assumed the role of a
stylist.
"The women won't open their mouths to say they want any hairstylist,
but once they are seated and you're about to start fixing their hair,
they can say they don't have money and need to fix their hair for an
important occasion, or say they can only afford an amount not up to
half the price of the materials to be used and the service.
"While they are appealing, they are caressing you with their hands and
looking at you with funny eyes (seductively). Some may call ahead to
say they don't have money. In such cases, negotiations can be done
over the phone.
"If I'm interested, I only have to tell the customer that I've always
liked her and ask for her affection in return. Almost 100 per cent of
the time, they are open to an arrangement or rendezvous that could
later lead to a hotel room," he said sheepishly.
Special hotel booking called 'short time,' which is for an hour or
two, is usually used for such rendezvous.
Saturday PUNCHfindings reveal that many of the male hairstylists who
actively womanise often fall under two categories- those who are new
on the job and those who could not complete their apprenticeship for
some reason.
A source explained that the newcomers are too inexperienced to deal
with the temptations associated with their new job, while those in the
other category are too grateful for their fortune in spite of their
inability to complete their training that they over-indulge themselves
in their good fortune.
"I look at some of them (hairstylist womanisers) and I shake my head.
They lose in so many ways because if the customer cannot pay for the
weave-on, the stylists may have to use their own weave-on as well, fix
the hair free of charge, pay N1,500 or N2,000 for the 'short time'
they will spend at the hotel with the customer, possibly buy drinks
there and even miss one or two other customers that will call at their
shops while they are away," said Segun, a male hairstylist with eight
years' experience.
-Source: Punch
-contd in comment box.
