Haircuts return with new safety measures
THE BARBER’S DEN
HAIRDRESSER AND barber Claire McKittrick faced worrying times when she had to close her salon The Barber’s Den, which also houses the Hairdresser’s Den. But Claire, her staff and her customers are delighted that the Lisburn business is reopening after putting safety measures in place. Claire first opened the Barber’s Den four years ago and such was its popularity she also decided to expand to include The Hairdresser’s Den for all the ladies of Lisburn. When they had to put the business on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was an understandably worrying time for Claire and her staff. She said: “I am heavily pregnant. I’m 37 weeks now. When I found out the salon had to close the first thought was stress, panic, and what is going to happen to my clients. We closed early. We have about 30 to 40 clients a day so that is a lot of footfall and I had a real concern about safety.” Claire and her team have been busy getting the salon ready to welcome back her valued customers. With the rearrangement of the salon to allow social distancing, the introduction of PPE, risk assessment and team training, Claire is ready for the influx of people who are desperate for a haircut after the long months of lockdown. Claire said: “The guidelines are good. We have posters up with the guidelines on them and I have held a team meeting to carry out a risk assessment and explain to the staff what is expected of them. “Hand sanitisers have been installed and everywhere has been thoroughly cleaned.”