Salons ‘disregarded’
THE £30billion beauty industry is in danger because the “male-dominated Government” thinks the business is frivolous, a celebrity beauty therapist has claimed.
Tracie Giles – who counts model Vogue Williams and reality star Gemma Collins among her clients – questioned why beauty salons remained closed while pubs had reopened.
She said: “The general beauty industry is worth nearly £30billion to the UK economy but we have been disregarded as frivolous and unnecessary by the maledominated Government, who are actively choosing to ignore this female-led industry. People’s livelihoods are at stake, with many now unable to work and having to claim benefits and survive off food banks.
“Hundreds of selfemployed practitioners and small businesses in the industry are now being forced to close and the heartbreaking reality is that the Government does not seem to care.”
Ms Giles also highlighted the psychological damage to some of her clients, who visit salons for medical tattooing. It is used to replace eyebrows lost after chemotherapy, for example.
She added: “These patients have now been left with nowhere to go. Yet the psychological suffering alleviated by our cosmetic micropigmentation services, and many other services in the beauty industry, can’t be overlooked.
“This is especially important at this difficult time for the nation, where the significant impact of Covid-19 on people’s mental health should not be underestimated.”
In a bid to reopen her London salon Ms Giles has sanitised it with a new “fogging” anti-bacterial spray developed by UK company FiltaShield.
The company’s commercial director Edward Palin claims it can protect surfaces for up to 30 days.