GEORGE TOWN: Colouring your hair in shades of purple or red with a tinge of magenta is the trend for the ‘Year of the Hare’.

Checks on hair salons here found both colours to be in the highest demand.

With Chinese New Year arriving in less than two weeks, salon operators have their hands full attending to customers, with some outlets open till late at night to cater to the business boom.

A hairstylist director, who wished to be known only as CF Lew, said colour is a great way to get noticed in the Year of the Rabbit.

He revealed that customers have been opting for a mix of magenta and the ordinary red when dyeing their hair.

“It is purple-meets-pink hue, and can range from dark and inky to light and bright.

“It just looks livelier and there are still dozens of shades to choose from the mix,” the 30-year-old added.

As the salon also provides manicure and pedicure services, Lew said anything that has to do with the rabbit would be a hit among his customers.

“We have over 20 designs and expect a stream of customers to come back-to-back during the final week. Some of them have booked their slots with their own design concepts in mind,” he said.

Steven Chia, who owns a salon in Bayan Lepas here, said apart from the ordinary dyeing with solid colours, many customers were also looking for additional techniques such as Balayage and Airtouch to create different forms of lighter lines and shades to long hair.

“Customers prefer lighter and brighter colours this year, leaving a more pronounced outcome,” he explained, adding that such a preference could be due to the rabbit year where the animals are perceived as clean and adorable.

Chia is seeing a good comeback after the Covid-19 pandemic.

He has to attend to over 30 customers on a busy day and his salon has been fully booked since the end of December.

He added that better awareness towards health and lifestyle has led to more people taking up packages which include hair treatments all year long.

“Many female clients have also been coming in for hair treatments and are willing to spend just to look after their scalp and hair,” he added.