Tanning salons, tattoo parlours and nail salons put safety first
CLOSE-CONTACT SERVICES READY TO STOP SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
TATTOO parlours, tanning salons and piercing studios are putting safety first as they prepare to reopen from Monday.
Many have had a wave of bookings since announcing they were allowed to emerge from lockdown.
Extra cleaning, PPE and longer appointment times will be used to keep the risk of coronavirus transmission to a minimum.
The business owners who spoke to the Telegraph said they were facing huge demand – but would prioritise safety over profit.
Bronia Sandell, who owns Electric Beach tanning salon on Grimsby Road in Cleethorpes, has been preparing for the changes for weeks.
“We’ve spent a long time installing screens and hand sanitising stations, and removed potential infection points like soft furnishings and bins,” she said.
“We’re confident that we can welcome back customers safely, especially with five sunbeds that we can spread out and our appointment system. This could be more difficult for smaller salons.
“Everything is naturally going to take longer than usual due to the cleaning and other precautions that we’re taking.
“For a lot of people, tanning can be a great way to relax, and customers have definitely told us they have felt their mental health suffer during the lockdown. “We are planning to bring all of our staff back from furlough. This big rush we’re seeing could potentially tail off but hopefully business will stay steady.”
The tanning salon has been visited by Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers, who mentioned it in Parliament shortly y before the new guidelines were lifted.
Bronia also said that tanning salons s should have been allowed to reopen n sooner.
“I’m disappointed that it took so long g for businesses which are often owned d by women, like tanning and nail salons, to be allowed to reopen, while the e usual male-owned businesses opened much sooner,” she added.
The beauty industry and tattoo or piercing artists have faced a longer wait to reopen than hairdressers due to concerns over more contact between staff and customers.
However facial treatments, such as face waxing, make up application and eyelash treatments, still won’t be permitted under the new government rules.
Denise Thompson will be able to reopen Labyrinth’s piercing studio on Brighowgate, which has been deeply missed judging by the number of bookings they’ve received.
“We spent four hours after it was announced going through our Facebook messages and booking everyone in,” she said.
“It’s the first time we’ve run a booking-only system rather than walk-ins and we were dubious whether it would work, but we’ve had a huge amount of interest so far.
“The government rules say we can’t do any facial piercings yet, which could make a difference as oral and nose piercings are some of our most popular.
“Each appointment will be half an hour, which will give us more time for a full clean down of the studio. “We’ve lost a lot of money while being closed for the lockdown, but we’re focusing on the long-term safety of customers rather than packing as many people in as possible.”