Urban hairdressing companies in Western Siberia during the Great Patriotic War (by the example of Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk)

The Great Patriotic War added a lot of difficulties to urban living. A giant stream of evacuated people, overcrowding, lack of accommodation advanced an unfavorable epidemiological situation in the region. Under the circumstances, a significant role in the setting of a favorable epidemiological situation in the towns of West Siberia during the war time was to belong to bath and laundry services and hairdressing companies. Meanwhile, the service of hairdressing companies left much to be desired, it was not enough for customer care. Hairdressers often used not hot, but cold water, used foul linen. Lack of soap, perfumery products and towels, dirt was typical for a hairdressing salon in time of the War. Nevertheless, there were 138 hairdressing salons in Novosibirsk Oblast in 1942, where 5 million people were served. Many enterprises had their own hairdressing salons, alongside with municipal hairdressing salons. In 1943, the number of hairdressing salons remained unchanged in the cities of the region. During the year the plan to serve clients by hairdressing salons was overfulfilled only in Kuybyshevo, Tatarsk and Kolpashevo. Nonfulfillment of the plan was caused by lack of hairdressers, perfumery products, soap and other products, poor quantity of linen because of its wear-out and nonavailability of replenishment. There were often waiting lines in hairdressing salons. The reason was not only the wish to be served, but also to get warm and to smoke in a hairdressing salon. The service of hairdressing salons in Kemerovo in 1943 was also unsatisfactory. The network of salons was insufficient, new salons were opened only by bath-houses and other institutions which were not provided with linen. Rooms were usually uncomfortable, dirty, equipment was shabby and was not renewed, perfumery products were lacking, the operating personnel was rude to clients. Workers often violated the labor discipline. In 1944, the situation with hairdressing in the cities and the quality of service did not change in a big way. Certainly, hairdressing services had to be paid for. For this purpose fees for hairdressing services were set. Therefore, hairdressing in the region during the War functioned under unfavorable conditions. All authorities heavily focused on the maintenance of defense enterprises in uninterrupted operation. Funds for major and minor repairs of hairdressing companies were not given, the funding was insufficient. Frequent power cutoff and water-off, lack of fuel and qualified specialists, lack of equipment and materials completed the picture of hairdressing. To obtain a good-quality and well-timed service in a hairdressing salon was complicated.

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