NO SAFETY SHORT CUTS
OF ALL the things that lockdown has stolen from us since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Wales, one of the main things people are craving is the ability to sit back, relax and be pampered and transformed in their favourite hairdresser’s chair.
Salons and barber shops across the country are now making their tentative journeys towards reopening, although nobody knows for sure when exactly that will be.
At present, Wales continues to exist in the “red stage” of its “traffic light” approach to exiting lockdown and a return to something approaching normal life. This stage allows certain shops and businesses to trade, but not “non-essential” retail and businesses offering “personal services”, such as hairdressers.
For that to happen, the country must move to the “amber stage”, which may or may not become a reality in the coming weeks.
If it does, that unkempt hair that has been getting ever more unruly since March may be in line for a makeover, and despite thousands of people across the country taking up a DIY approach to hairstyling in recent months, a return to your favourite salon will be most welcome.
One business getting ready for the new and brave world of postlockdown hairdressing is Morgan Edward. The salon, located in the centre of Carmarthen, has been in business for the past six years, while its other location in the town of Llandeilo has been operating for 11 years.
In all that time, the owner said he had never seen anything like this.
“Back in March we were already taking measures to keep people safe like encouraging social distancing and getting clients to wash their hands, but we took the decision to close on that Monday (March 23) even before the Prime Minister made the announcement, in order to protect our staff and our clients,” said Edward Rees.
“We could see what was happening in other countries but we did not foresee things getting as bad as they have done, and as quickly as they have done.”
Now, 12 weeks on, Mr Rees is hoping to reopen. Measures have been put in place to get the business moving again in a safe way, and in a way that allows it to become profitable once more.
“We have put a screen in place at the front counter, and we’ve moved around the reception area to ensure that there is enough space for people to adhere to the two-metre social distancing guidelines,” he explained.
“The problem we have is that there isn’t really an official governing body for hairdressers giving out specific advice, so we are having to prepare for all eventualities.”
The main difference inside Morgan Edward and other salons hoping to open within the coming weeks is the extra space. Every other station has been removed, meaning that the maximum number of people getting their hair done will be effectively cut in half. That could change if there is an altering to Welsh Government guidance on social distancing, but for now the two-metre rule remains and will be adhered to strictly inside the salon.
“I’m in discussions with someone who can provide us with screens to place between each station, which we will put in place if we have to,” said Mr Rees.
“At the moment those screens aren’t needed because there is a twometre gap between stations, but if the guidance changes, putting those screens in place could allow us to have more stations and more clients.”
As for what getting a haircut will be like, it will be a very different experience to what we have become accustomed to.
All staff will wear face masks, face visors, gloves and a disposable apron.
Clients, meanwhile, will be given a disposable gown to wear and, depending on advice at the time, a mask.
They will also need to follow a oneway system inside the salon, thus minimising their contact with others, and sign in when they arrive for their appointment, noting the exact date and time of their arrival. This means they can be traced and easily contacted if needed.
As for the equipment, it doesn’t come cheap, as Mr Rees explained.
“The visors we have at the moment cost £2 each, so we’re just trying them out to see how comfortable they are; after all, my staff are going to have to wear them all day. There are others that cost up to £40 each, which gets expensive when you have 17 staff across two salons.
“But we’re going to try some of those, too. It’s paramount that the staff are comfortable and can do their jobs.”
The financial burden left on many businesses during lockdown has been well documented.
Mr Rees said he was grateful to the UK Government for the furlough scheme – which had allowed him to keep his staff in employment – and to the Welsh Government for business rate relief and a business grant, schemes which have obviously helped to steady a ship rocked by a £0 figure on the income sheet since the end of March.
“Between the two salons we have lost out on at least £120,000 in takings,” admitted Mr Rees.
“But, with the help we’ve had it’s allowed us to shut the door and prepare to re-open in this way.”
Initially, it was hoped salons in England might be in a position to
reopen on June 15, in line with the reopening of non-essential shops. However, a date of July 4 now seems more realistic. In Wales, it all depends on the Welsh Government’s roadmap to “unlocking our society and economy”, the next review of which is due to be addressed on Friday.
“We seem to be around two weeks behind England so if they do open salons and barber shops on July 4, there’s a possibility that we could then open in mid-July,” said Mr Rees.
“At the moment we just don’t know, but we want to be prepared and ahead of the game.
“We’ve been contacting all of our clients by phone to keep them updated and to provisionally book in appointments for July. We spent a day ringing everybody and it may be that we need to spend another day ringing them again, but it’s important to us that we maintain that contact with them.”
In a bid to maximise appointments and takings once salons do reopen, Morgan Edward is trying to counter the fact that fewer people will be allowed into the building at any one time by extending the business day.
The salon will be open 12 hours a day, Monday to Saturday, with staff shifts split between 9am-3pm and 3pm-9pm, while they will also be open on Sundays between 10am and 3pm.
This, they hope, will give enough clients enough of an opportunity to come through the door, while providing all staff with the opportunity to work their allotted weekly hours.
“We don’t want to make anyone redundant and we want to give everyone a chance to keep their jobs,” said Mr Rees.
“At the moment, we can probably keep the doors shut another month, so things are OK, but we have to reopen at some point.”
While the exact date is still up in the air, the National Hairdressers’ Federation – which represents 234 salons in Wales – has welcomed the clarity set out by the Welsh Government, which effectively says that non-essential retail, some personal services under appointment, such as hairdressers, and some accommodation businesses can reopen when the lockdown stage moves to the amber zone.
Hilary Hall, chief executive of the federation, said: “The safety of our industry has always been our top concern.
“We welcome the Welsh Government’s clarity that hair and beauty sits alongside retail and accommodation businesses.
“We have recently released robust guidelines to our members and government contacts to show that salons and barbershops can operate safely whenever it’s time to re-open.”
If the staff at Morgan Edward are itching to get clients back into their socially distanced chairs, just think how excited the general public are. For some, three months without a haircut can seem like a lifetime.
“I think that when we do reopen we’re going to see a really nice and positive atmosphere,” said Mr Rees.
“We have really missed our clients and I think they’ve really missed us.
“The amount of messages we’ve received has been incredible – a lot of whom are devastated with the way their hair is looking at the moment!
“So we’re really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a new normal for a long time but it will be great to get going again.”