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A glimpse of HairXpreso.

Get spunky haircuts — by professionals trained by Jawed Habib — in under 20 minutes and pay no more than Rs 99. That’s the concept at the new venture from the house of Habibs, the HairXpreso national chain of salons that has two branches in the city — at 1/2 Harish Mukherjee Road (near Gol Mandir) and 61A Vivekananda Road (near Girish Park).

The neon red exterior of the Harish Mukherjee Road parlour is hard to miss, and there is more of the red rage inside this cosy 150sq ft parlour. “We wanted to reach out to the masses who feel the pocket pinch while getting a haircut in expensive salons. So, here we provide quick and stylish looks that customers can get without feeling guilty about spending too much,” smiles Anshuman Agarwal, master franchisee, Jawed Habib.

With only four hair stations, this budget parlour does not have room for shampoo basins or pedicure corners. Open to men, women and children, the focus remains haircuts, styling and ironing. HairXpreso stylists are trained to wield the scissors to give a variety of looks. “They undergo special training to fashion various looks in a limited time. It’s a different technique from what is practised in regular parlours,” adds Agarwal.

While styling and cuts come at a flat rate of Rs 99, hair straightening starts at Rs 99 for shoulder-length hair and could go up to Rs 299 for waist-long tresses.

The parlour is open all days of the week, 8am to 8pm. “We are targeting 5,000 cuts a month, given the rates and the speed factor,” says Agarwal.