A mobile hairdressing service that specializes in seniors is on the road for the first time since November as Ontario eases COVID-19 restrictions. Haircuts on Wheels started out doing kids cuts, but interest from seniors lead to a rethink.
The Globe and Mail
Haircuts on Wheels, a mobile hair-care company offering services to seniors and people with special needs, is getting back on the road in the Greater Toronto Area with Ontario’s reopening being moved up.
Kimberly Irwin, who started the company 12 years ago, has spent the better part of last week taking stock of inventory and making phone calls to regular clients, letting them know that she’s back in business. “When I’m phoning people to book an appointment, they feel like they’re winning the lottery because they’ve been waiting for this for so long,” she said.
Alicia Benko, mobile hairdresser and stylist with Haircuts on Wheels, gives a colour and cut to 92-year-old customer Helen Baumgard in the front yard of her Etobicoke home.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Irwin first started the company to cater to children. But two years into the business, she started getting calls for seniors. She said, “I was like, wow, [seniors] really need this. For moms, it was a convenience. But for seniors, it’s a necessity. Many are homebound, they have difficulty getting out. So we moved into this market.”
A decade later, she has a phone and online booking system on the Haircuts on Wheels website for bedside service and also operates salons in 12 long-term care homes across the GTA. In addition to Ms. Irwin, Haircuts on Wheels has one person handling operations and a team of 15 hairstylists with their own cars. Ahead of next week’s reopening, the entire staff had returned to the business, Ms. Irwin said.
Ms. Benko follows Ms. Baumgard out of her home after rinsing her hair during a cut and colour. Haircuts on Wheels has one person handling operations and a team of 15 hairstylists with their own cars.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
For Ms. Irwin, providing service to seniors is more than just giving them haircuts. A large part of her work is also to provide companionship and regularly check in with some of her clients.
When COVID-19 forced shutdowns, Ms. Irwin had to shut her business temporarily. But she tried to continue checking in on the mental well-being of her clients. But that proved harder as the pandemic stretched on. During the first shutdown in March, 2020, she checked in on one of her clients, but then lost touch. “In the fall, after the next shutdown, I called her up. It said I had the wrong number. … So I phoned reception, because she was in one of our retirement homes. I said I’m looking for Joan and they said, ‘oh, she died last month,’ " Ms. Irwin said.
After months of having to turn people away owing to public-health restrictions, Ms. Irwin is happy to help again. Not being able to get a haircut during repeated shutdowns has been frustrating for many. She said, “I had a couple of people call me and say, if you don’t come soon, I’m going to have to get a lawn mower for my hair.”
Ms. Benko gives a colour and cut to Ms. Baumgard while neighbour Jean Szawiola snaps a picture on her phone. Haircuts on Wheels has a phone and online booking system on its website for bedside service and also operates salons in 12 long-term care homes across the GTA.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
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