By Evangeline Majawat

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Squeezed by a contracting economy, many Chinese are skipping the customary visit to the hairdressers -- a tough choice to make in a society where "face" matters.

Traditionally, salons do roaring business a month before Chinese New Year, as those who are beauty conscious have their tresses made up before the big day.

It is at this period that prices double or triple for the three most popular treatments -- hair colouring, rebonding and perming.

But with the celebrations just days away, salons around the city are mostly deserted.

"It is a bad year. Even with all the offers and promotions, not many people are coming into the salon," said Coco Hair Salon stylist Benjamin Lee.

He lamented that those who walked in often opted for a haircut instead of chemical treatment as it was cheaper.

A random check found that most salons had not raised the prices. Instead, they had special offers to attract more customers.

Speedy Salon stylist Chan Chin Wai complained that this year's celebrations came too soon.

"People have spent all their money during the Christmas holiday period and the schools have just reopened. Chinese New Year came too early."

He believed that most of the would-be customers had had their hair done late last year and were unwilling to spend again so soon.

"Even my family members and friends tell me they prefer to just make do for now or just have a haircut.

"They are planning to style their hair themselves or get friends to help them instead."