‘Everyone is beautiful in her or his own way and it is the beautician’s task to bring out such beauty and make it glow’, says Malini Jayakody, a beautician from Hingurakgoda, Polonnaruwa, for whom beauty care is no mere job but a vocation of the highest kind.

‘The problem with the beauty culture industry in Sri Lanka is that it is not regulated by any quality standards. As a result, businesses said to be dealing with beauty culture are mushrooming all over the countryside but there is no guarantee that patrons are getting their money’s worth, particularly in terms of being rendered a quality service’, says Malini who runs a beauty salon in Hingurakgoda titled, Malija Hair and Beauty Salon.

‘Making the innate beauty of a person surface is the job of the beautician but it is doubtful whether the majority of these establishments makes this happen on account of their not being subjected to any quality standards by the state or its agencies’, she said. At the moment, the industry is not helped in any way by the state, it was pointed out.

There is a vast qualitative difference between a ‘salon’ and a ‘saloon’, Malini explained. The former needs to adhere to rigorous quality standards, as in the case of the medical profession. For instance, besides enhancing the attractiveness of a person, the salon should also ensure that sound health care and hygienic standards are maintained, she explained. However, currently, the requirements are so lax that anyone going through the motions of cutting hair, could pose as a beautician. This is highly detrimental to the profession, she said.

However, there is a steady demand for beauty culture even in the provinces on account of the influence wielded by the mass media and the state should take cognizance of this situation and its implications for job creation, she explained.

The increasing interest shown in beauty culture and personal attractiveness by even the youth of Hingurakgoda, thanks to the relevant media exposure, enables ‘business’ to be brisk for Malini.

Starting small at her home, she has graduated to medium scale status and now runs a full fledged salon, reaping a annual net profit of 70% of her investment in the region of Rs. 1.2 million.

She employs two assistants and caters to the most sophisticated needs, such as ‘perms’ and curling of hair. The latter operations, she said, brings a sizeable income.

What brought Malini into this vocation was her passion for beauty culture and this interest has survived the years since her childhood. She was placed runner-up in an all-island bridal show and sometime back won a scholarship to Thailand to study beauty culture.