Italian town orders local hairdressers to wash customers’ hair only once

In view of the unprecedented drought plaguing northern Italy, the ways to save water are getting more and more creative

Castenaso is a small town, which forms part of the larger Bologna metropolitan area in the Region of Emilia-Romagna (Italy). Last week, it made headlines thanks to an ordinance issued by the local town council, which stipulated that local barbers and hairdressers will have to drastically cut down on their water consumption.

What’s more, there are some specific guidelines on how to achieve that. Among them – wash the customers’ hair just once instead of two times. It is believed that so far, this is the only Italian town to undertake such drastic, but also creative, measures in the face of an ongoing drought that has been burdening the Po valley.

Establishments which break the rules can face fines of up to 500 euros. There are 10 hairdressing salons and barbershops in the town.

Thousands of litres of water can be easily saved

The restriction is meant to stay in force until late September, in other words until the end of the summer.

A handbook issued by the municipality and accompanying the measure’s guidelines states that 13 litres of water a minute flows from an open tap and that at least 20 litres are required to rinse someone’s hair twice.

“If we multiply the amount of water used for each customer, we are talking about thousands of litres a day,” Carlo Gubellini, the mayor of the town, told Corriere della Sera. “Castenaso is small: imagine what it means in terms of water consumption in large cities. We issued the order on Saturday, considering hairdressers are closed on Sundays and Mondays, to give them plenty of time to adapt.”

The mayor also claimed that people were on board with this measure, though some business owners found it impractical due to the availability of hair products that require dual washing.