From colourful manicures to pedicures, these men are polished in the art of female grooming. The men, mostly in their twenties, are sitting on benches reserved for customers waiting for long-distance transport at the bus terminal behind Dr Frans Indongo Open Market at Oshakati. Among those waiting are women who make use of these men’s convenient services for a quick beauty fix.
When The Namibian arrives at the bus terminal on Wednesday, a woman has her feet propped up as Panduleni carefully does her nails. Panduleni says he saw a gap in the market after resigning from a shop at Oshakati about four years ago. “I would earn N$1 000 per month.
I resigned because the money was little,” he says as he starts painting Christer Haiduwa’s nails. Haiduwa is a regular. The open-air salon charges N$50 for a pedicure, N$70 for a manicure and N$100 for eyelash extensions.
“We do eyelashes, nails and microblading,” Panduleni says, adding that the practice is common in Angola. He says before he started offering his beautifying services, he observed an Angolan man doing so. “Then I started as well, but later on, I attended training offered by a woman at Lubango in Angola,” he says.
Panduleni says he regards his job as operating in the feminine domain. “Our customers are happy with our services, as they also refer their friends to us,” he says. He says he makes N$400 per day and N$500 to N$600 on Mondays and Fridays.
“We order stock from Lubango and Luanda in Angola. You .