Hard-hit Cork salon owners make Covid-19 plea: 'We hope the Government will give us support'

Grappling with how to reopen safely, Cork salons call for clearer guidelines, says Áine Kenny

Into the second month of the coronavirus lockdown and hairdressers, barbers, and salons are facing into the storm.

It is hard to imagine how the physical- or social-distancing measures that have widely been applied by supermarket retailers can work in the cutting of hair.

The chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, does not offer much hope that hair salons will be able to reopen soon.

Dr Holohan told reporters last week that future restrictions would continue to be based on the risk of transmission of the virus, and he saw difficulties with hairdressing, which involves close contact between people.

Some hair-salon owners said the wearing of protective gear and the installing of acrylic barriers might be a solution.

However, Co Cork salon owners wondered how comfortable customers would be with such arrangements.

For customers, what should be a relaxing and pampering treat could turn into something of an ordeal, if staff were kitted out with protective gear.

And if there are fewer customers, in compliance with social distancing, salons may not be able to make ends meet.

Zoe Kelly, of Citywax, said its four Cork outlets closed on March 15.

Ms Kelly said it was “an awful time” of huge pressure and the only option was to lay off staff.

“The week running into March 15, we had cancellation after cancellation. People’s holidays were being cancelled, so they weren’t coming in for their appointments. People felt unsafe, especially with the new social-distancing guidelines,” Ms Kelly said.

I kept thinking: ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ Some people may want to work, others might have been scared to come in.

Ms Kelly said it was tough to close, but her priority was the safety of her staff and customers. She is not sure what the industry will look like in the future.

“It will be impossible to be socially distant and stay two metres away from someone. All services require therapists to be right next to the client,” she said.

Ms Kelly said she was researching the use of plexiglass dividers for nail bars, how to obtain protective gear (such as face masks and visors), and the possibility of extending opening times and staggering shifts to reduce the number of people in the salon at one time.

There are, however, treatments that will be impossible, such as eyelash extensions, which require close proximity to the client.

And Ms Kelly said the beauty industry is already low-margin and that reducing customer numbers will affect every salon’s profits, a point she wants the Government to acknowledge.

The Government needs to publish specific advice for hairdressers and beauticians, outlining if, and when, they can reopen, and the necessary health-and-safety guidance they will need, she said.

“It’s a very confusing time,” Ms Kelly said.

We might not be seen as an essential activity, but we hope the Government will give us support.

Wayne Lloyd, of Wayne Lloyd Hair, has two salons in Co Cork, in Bandon and in Ballydehob. “We closed on March 10. With social distancing, it was too hard, because hairdressing is so intimate,” Mr Lloyd said.

But Mr Lloyd said there was a black market in hairdressing and that some stylists might be still doing “dangerous” house calls.

“To hairdressers, I say, don’t do it, and to clients, please don’t ask your hairdresser to come to your house. Social isolation is there for a reason,” Mr Lloyd said.

He said it was difficult to help customers at home, because even pre-mixing hair colours could nullify insurance.

Then, you have clients using box colours at home, not patch-testing the dye beforehand, which can lead to disastrous results.

The hiking of the Vat rate back up to 13.5%, the abolition of the training payment rate, and minimum wage increases had left many salons struggling, he said, because the profit margins are wafer-thin.

The West-Cork based hairdresser said that operating with fewer customers, under physical-distancing rules, won’t make financial sense for smaller salons and he said that officials should issue guidelines on reopening and on safety procedures.

“Masks, gloves, Perspex barriers at the reception desk, it will take time to order. How will we pay for this, when we are closed for six weeks?” Mr Lloyd asked.

He said spreading client appointments over longer hours could be a workaround, although it remains to be seen if this is financially viable.

“The banter and craic you have with clients is great. But if the person standing behind you is now looking like a stormtrooper from Star Wars, wearing full PPE... it will be a very different type of experience. I don’t think anyone can envision what comes next,” Mr Lloyd said.

Valerie Finnegan Cahill, of Ikon Hair Design, in Cork City, closed her doors on March 15. “We took the decision on health-and-safety grounds. It was a big decision, but I know it was the right decision. Nobody could have envisioned this. Sometimes, I find myself thinking: ‘Dear God, is this really happening’?” Ms Finnegan Cahill said.

In terms of reopening, Ms Finnegan Cahill said that each salon owner would have to tailor a specific plan.

“We will have to sit down and make out a system to follow, by tracking each client’s journey across the salon floor, and train our staff within this system,” she said. Ms Finnegan Cahill said she keeps busy posting on Instagram to stay connected with customers and staff, who have given her “amazing support”.

Salons will take the lead from government guidelines, but until then owners can only speculate.

“We will have to manage the flow of people traffic, we will have to keep six feet apart. We have 13 sections here, so we would only be able to have a max of six clients at any one time," Ms Finnegan Cahill said.

You’d have to stagger appointment times and staff shifts; maybe have special hours for senior citizens.

However, she said the Government has given “huge assistance”, citing continuity vouchers and help from local enterprise offices.

Shirley Feeney, owner of Shirley’s Beauty Clinic, in Glanmire, said it closed on March 14.

“We do feel like we are being left aside. We are not getting any guidelines, so we have been left to our own devices with planning ahead,” Ms Feeney said.

Ms Feeney said the masks, gloves, visors, and aprons that salons will have to purchase will cost a lot of money, and she wasn’t sure who would be able to afford it, given that salons have been closed for six weeks.

“Would customers be happy paying an extra €3 to €5 to pay for the cost of [protective gear]?” she said.

Loans and other government supports were welcome, she said, but it would be difficult for salons to pay suppliers.

Suppliers, who provide wax, nail polish, and other beauty equipment and treatments, were paid in advance.

Without the usual cash flow, Ms Feeney wasn’t sure how salons would be able to pay suppliers for stocks.

Another area that needed to be addressed, said Ms Feeney, was the lack of government advice on reopening, because salon owners needed to plan ahead.

“I am trying to sort out staff groups for when we go back, as we will have less staff on the floor. We need to leave enough time between each client to completely sanitise each space. Each surface has to be wipeable and cleanable,” Ms Feeney said.

Ms Feeney said that the health and safety of the public was of the utmost importance, but that the industry had been “left in the ocean”, in terms of how to prepare for reopening, whenever that occurs.

“Not knowing is really upsetting and confusing. We need to know what to prepare, what the situation will be like when we reopen, what treatments will be allowed, what PPE guidelines we should follow,” Ms Feeney said.

I just worry we will be given two days’ notice and it will be panic stations then.