Everyone should be able to enjoy some of life’s smallest pleasures. For some, going to a hair salon is a treat. Yet, this may not always be possible for those who find themselves confined to a wheelchair. While most salons are wheelchair accessible these days, they may not have the ability to wash hair in wheelchair.
Hair Salons and Accessibility for All
Some salons cater to their aging clients. They are well aware of the challenges faced by this segment of the population. They also understand the need of many women – and men, to get out and socialize. They know how they want to look their best. This is true whether they stay at home or are part of a larger retirement community.
Salons that truly understand the issues facing the elderly, know how to accommodate wheelchairs. However, only a small segment has realized the necessity of making changes to oblige and wash hair in a wheelchair setting. They truly are able to serve their clients in the best manner possible.
Why Wash Hair in a Wheelchair
When someone in a wheelchair comes to a salon, he or she wants to be handled like a “normal” client. This means being able to have all the treatments without any unexpected discomfort. While the average person can sit in a seat, have it raised or lowered and not be discomfited by the basin or sink, this is not possible with a wheelchair. To wash hair in a wheelchair requires certain adjustments that many salons simply do not have or even have considered.
The result is the inability to treat the wheelchair bound client as a regular client. The overall experience fails to come up to par. Someone who has come to enjoy a visit complete with the gossip, the relaxing sensation of someone caring for his or her hair and a carefree time is denied it. Instead, there is awkwardness, discomfort and an increased sense of being different. The experience of visiting a hair salon is deprived of all it emotionally beneficial rewards. The lifting of the spirits resulting from what may be a rare day out is lost. However, if the salon is equipped to wash hair in a wheelchair, the sense of self-worth, the pleasure of treating yourself and the overall good feelings that arise from such an event, are retained.
Accessible Sinks Letting a Salon Wash Hair in a Wheelchair
The above scenario, in which an elderly person is accommodated and treated with the respect and dignity everyone deserves, is possible. A salon can purchase and install portable sinks. They are adjustable and can accommodate wheelchairs of various sizes. This allows such individuals not only to come inside an accessible salon, but also to enjoy a visit to that lets the experts easily and soothingly wash hair in a wheelchair.