'Do you wear a hijab and require privacy?' London hair salon's booking policy wins fans

The use of the simple question has been applauded for its inclusivity

The Curl Bar in London is winning fans on Twitter for its inclusive booking options 

A Twitter user has applauded a new salon that offers privacy for its hijabi clients this week.

The social media user, who goes by the handle of @lifffmealone, wrote: "Was [trying to] book a hairdresser appointment and look at the beauty of that question", in reference to a check box on a salon's booking system that asked, "Do you wear a hijab and require privacy?"

The above tweet has been retweeted more than 14,000 times, and the salon in question is The Curl Bar in north London, which opened its doors on November 22, and only started to take bookings from the public in mid-January this year.

Fellow Twitter users quickly identified the salon and its owner, a natural hair influencer, Nia Petit, who goes by Nia the Light.

"This is the beauty of inclusion and seeing that person ... really seeing them and asking what they require rather than ignoring or making assumptions," Dr Nighat Arif wrote on Twitter. "And yes, hijab wearing women love getting their hair cut. Thank you [Nia], may your example be replicated."

Dr Arif isn't alone in her praise for Petit's salon. A Copenhagen-based Twitter user said she was going to travel to London to have her hair cut, because The Curl Bar "does not make [hijab-wearers] feel like their dirty little secret".

"Wow love that energy," wrote one Twitter user, with another using the internet-favourite quip, "you love to see it".

The Curl Bar specialises in natural hair styling. "[Our] journey began in 2013 when a friend of Nia messaged her to ask for hair tips. Nia then invited her to her home where she ended up chopping her hair to begin her natural hair journey," the website explains. "From then all of her friends started sharing her talents and Nia began doing hair from her Mum's living room. Months went on and she found herself meeting women who travelled from Germany to Australia just to get their hair cut and shaped by her.

Nia outside the salon:

"Soon after, she began University and embarked on a journey as a content creator, but the love of hair that she had at 16 always found its way back to her somehow. At 21, she went to view an old shop in Crouch End and the rest is history."

The National has reached out to Petit for comment. 

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Read more:

Ikram Abdi Omar stars in Diane Von Furstenberg's first campaign featuring a hijabi model 

That's a wrap: Five easy hijab styles for any occasion

'Muslims aren’t one size fits all': Hijabi influencer Leah Vernon doesn't hold back in new memoir

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