Baghdad beauty salons face slowdown as costs climb and customers cut back

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Beauty salons catering to women in Baghdad, once among the city's most profitable businesses, are facing a sharp downturn driven by rising import costs, higher rents and declining household incomes. Salons say foot traffic has dropped noticeably compared with previous years, forcing many operators to scale back or close. Marwa Khalid, 25, said she shut her own salon after failing to cover rent and electricity bills, and now works at a larger beauty center where those fixed costs are absorbed by the employer. Durayd Said, a Lebanese-owned salon owner, said currency-driven cost increases have been passed on to customers, prompting many to scale back their spending. He said new centers opening in upscale districts such as Mansour have added to the competition, leaving his business dependent on wedding and special-occasion bookings. Customers are also adjusting. One survey cited in reporting indicated that about 70% of clients now limit themselves to basic services costing no more than 25,000 dinars. Citizen Kawthar Salih said hair coloring prices have reached 200,000 dinars, roughly a quarter of a civil servant's monthly salary, prompting households to avoid non-essential spending. Ihlas Fadhil, financial affairs official at the Baghdad Barbers and Hairdressers Union, said the union is aware of the sector's difficulties and is working to create new job opportunities for workers affected by salon closures.