Good hair day for salons as customers return
HAIR salon staff were filled with excitement as they welcomed customers back for the first time since December as part of stage two of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.
And with many people desperate for a post-lockdown haircut, hairdressers and barbershops have been preparing for busy weeks ahead.
Luci Owen, owner of Secret Lengths, in Heaton, Newcastle, said: “We’re fully booked for the next three-and-a-half-weeks, but we’re all so happy to be back at work and able to see each other and our clients again because they’re like friends.”
To mark the special occasion, Luci decorated the salon with balloons and ordered a cake decorated with the words “better days are here.”
While she is positive about the future, she admits she felt nervous about reopening the salon after such a long time.
Luci added: “I felt very nervous this morning. It was like that feeling you get after the six weeks holidays when you’re a kid and it’s time to go back to school.
“I think I feel more nervous about reopening this time because I feel like this is it and it’s time to give my business a chance because I relocated here from Jesmond in December 2019, but it wasn’t long after we had to close.”
During lockdown Luci has set up a hair extension training academy, which will begin in May and she has also booked 38 new clients in the last week, which has given her hope for the future. But loyal, regular clients have also been eager to return.
Fiona Cruzier and her mum Lil Cruickshank have booked with Secret Lengths stylist, Lyndsey Nichol, for 12 years.
And as soon as Boris Johnson announced that salons could reopen they contacted Lyndsey asking when they could have an appointment.
Lil, from Heddon-on-the-Wall, said: “I felt on top of the world coming here, not just to get my hair done, but to see the girls as well.”