Salons need to go to great lengths to do business safely
The first stage of the Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted tomorrow but for beauty and hair salons, there are still many weeks to go before they can return. The plan is to open hair and beauty salons on July 20 in Phase Four of the Government’s back to work strategy, subject to change if the virus numbers increase.
For salons, even when they open, there are many challenges. Artistic director of Preen Salon on Dublin’s Dame Street, Katherine Sweeney, explained the impact the virus has had. ‘The virus has had a devastating affect on our business. We took the initiative to close our doors a week before the official lockdown along with the majority of other salons, as we couldn’t see how we could perform hairdressing services safely for our clients and staff. I had to lay off all of my staff, a team of 14,’ Katherine said.
Katherine told me how they might have to operate in the future. ‘We do know that we will need PPE for our clients and staff, but exactly how much we can’t be sure of. Will masks be adequate or will we need disposable aprons and gowns gloves etc? Should we have perspex screens between sections?There is going to be a lot of extra cost for salons and something we may need to reflect in our pricing. We know there is going to be a huge demand for hairdressing services but the likelihood is we will only be able to have a limited number of people in the salon at the one time which is going to make it very challenging for salons to make their businesses viable. We are looking at having an A and B team and opening longer days and hours to cover the same number of bookings we usually would, if this is the case. We will most likely go cashless and salons could be taking clients’ temperatures before their appointments. Salons are potentially going to have to operate with hospital level hygiene and PPE and the cost that goes along with that.’
Ultimately we may see some salons close for good after months of no business. ‘It’s inevitable that not everyone will survive and every salon is ultimately at risk. Salons have had a challenging time up to this point due to our VAT increasing by 50% last year and the training wage for juniors being removed. There’s a big risk of black market hairdressing undermining salons also, this is another factor that will make things difficult for some salons to keep going.’
She is looking forward to a new way of working ‘It will definitely be a time of rethinking. I think we need to get back to work and see how things are going to be with restrictions in place. Then we can come up with solutions.’
Temperatures could be taken prior to a client’s appointment