From lockdown to cut down your locks
As people clamour to get their lockdown tresses tamed, there’s a lot of excitement about hairdressers opening back up again – and it’s something
Claire McKittrick shares.
That’s because Claire runs the Barbers Den in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, one of thousands of hair salons that were forced to close when the coronavirus crisis hit. She has now gone to great lengths to keep customers and staff safe.
“When I found out the salon had to close, my initial reaction was stress, panic, and worry about what would happen to my clients,” she says. But now she and her staff are as thrilled as their loyal customers to be back in business.
“It was a massive relief,” she says. “The guidelines are good and I feel I have a real duty of care to both my staff and the public,” she says. “The council provided ‘please queue’ foot markers for the floor with social distancing marked on them. We have posters up with 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.
There are face masks and face shields for the staff, and we will be providing face masks for the customers if they would prefer to wear them. We also have gloves and aprons for the staff.”
Claire has also given the salon a makeover so that staff and customers can follow social distancing guidelines – and people are advised to book ahead if they can.