Makeover in Manipur: Trans-run beauty salons brave bloodshed
It’s hard to style hair, pluck brows and do makeovers when armed troops are on the streets suppressing months of deadly clashes.
Harder still if you’re a transgender 30-something running a professional salon in socially conservative India. But Bobbii Laishram is not ready to quit her job yet. “I set up Bobbii Hair Art Studio in September of 2012,” Laishram told Openly in a phone interview. “I like styling, so after passing out of school, I took a beautician and hair course,” said Laishram, winner of the 2010 trans beauty pageant, Indian Super Queen.
The 35-year-old’s salon sits in Imphal, the capital of India’s troubled far eastern state of Manipur. Her salon is chic, with bright lights, tasteful decor, giant mirrors and all the kit needed for a thriving beauty business.
Customers come for makeovers, threading, waxing, haircuts, blowdrying and facials, with treatments costing anything from 50 rupees (60 cents) to 1500 ($18).
