Aisha’s Salon and Spa chain bans men from entering any of its 25 locations after man’s lewd act

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston-area beauty business is taking drastic measures after the owner said a man entered one of their salons on Tuesday and inappropriately touched himself.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the incident at the salon chain’s location in the Copperfield area.

According to the owner, only female stylists are employed there with exclusively female clients, but the business plans to take that a step further after what happened.

Aisha’s Salon and Spa was founded 30 years ago to create a safe space for women. On Tuesday, the owner said a man came in saying he was waiting for his girlfriend, but instead, sat in the waiting area and sexually touched himself.

The salon namesake’s son, Usman Hasib, runs the business now, and he decided men will no longer be allowed inside any of its 25 locations.

Video obtained from the salon shows the man entering the Copperfield location at about 10:41 a.m. Tuesday.

“My girlfriend is trying to get an appointment,” the man could be heard saying.

The man in red shorts led employees to believe his girlfriend was on the way.

In the video, he says she wanted an eyebrow appointment, and then he sits down.

At about the 50-second mark, he reaches toward his private area, never takes off his pants, but begins to pleasure himself.

Hasib said an employee noticed after six to seven minutes when she saw the man’s reflection in the mirror.

Hasib said he was at another location when he got the call.

“I logged into our camera system, and I immediately saw that there was someone, and he was touching himself inappropriately in our reception area,” Hasib said, adding that he was scared for his employees and advised them not to confront the man.

Hasib called the police while on his way to the location but ultimately decided to intervene before getting there.

Hasib tried to get the man’s attention by talking through his Ring camera, which, he said, scared the man off.

“They sent somebody from the sheriff’s office, and they said, ‘Oh, we got a report of someone.’ He had left before they had come, and they said, ‘We have a report of someone here.’ They said, ‘No, he left,’ and they said, ‘Oh, he left. Well, let us know if he comes back,'” Hasib said. “Then they just walked out.”

ABC13 called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office asking questions. HCSO said a report should have been taken.

On Wednesday night, Hasib said shortly after ABC13 left his office, someone from the sheriff’s office took a report and requested the surveillance video.

“I am trying to gather any information on him that could help the police hopefully capture him, because it doesn’t look like this was his first time, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be his last unless he knows somebody is watching him,” Hasib said.

According to Hasib, his mother cultivated the space so women could get beauty services comfortably around other women. Many of them also needed a cultural safe haven.

Hasib already hung signs in some locations that say men aren’t allowed beyond the waiting area. Those signs, he says, will now be posted outside, barring them from entering the salon altogether.

“We just want to create a safe space for women to get beauty services done, and a safe space for women to provide beauty services for women, and we will continue that policy for as long as we are here,” Hasib said.