As hair and beauty businesses prepare to reopen this month, we caught up with the owner of an independent salon in Staffordshire to find out more about her plans.
If you can’t wait to head back to the hairdressers to have your unruly mop sorted out then just imagine how frustrating it must feel for stylists who have been waiting months to pick up their scissors once again.
Fringe, in Upper Brook Street, Rugeley, is one of so many salons around the UK eagerly awaiting reopening day on April 12.
“There are so many of us in this boat,” says business owner Anna Waterworth. “We have four stylists, three helpers and a beautician and we’re self-employed.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time and all have our own regular clients, who we can’t wait to see again.”
For Anna, the stop and start nature of trying to trade around three national lockdowns has been difficult but she says she was pleasantly surprised when it was announced salons would be amongst the first wave of businesses to reopen.
“Hairdressers were amongst the last to reopen after the first lockdown, but it worked out pretty good for us this time. At this stage the opening date is still provisional, but we’re going to carry on making plans to reopen until we’re told otherwise.
Anna, who has owned the business for five years, has put in place a number of safety measures including dividing screens between customers. Staff will wear both a mask and a visor, a plastic apron plus gloves wherever possible.
“We have to ask clients to wait outside until it’s their turn, rather than in an indoor waiting area, but everyone has been very good about that,” she says.
Anna says she and the team are genuinely excited about getting back to a job that they all love.
“Our job is so sociable, it’s a happy job,” she says. “We all love what we do, we all love coming to work.
“Over the years our clients have become our friends, in fact sometimes we end up seeing them more than we see members of our own family.
“We’ve been getting lots of texts from people saying they can’t wait to be back in the chair and having a pamper session.
“Going to a salon is a treat for a lot of women. It’s time out, something for them and they can’t wait to get back to that.”
Fringe reopened its phone line for bookings from April 1, with Anna expecting an initial surge of interest.
She adds: “Like all salons, the pandemic has definitely put us in a difficult financial situation, but we just can’t wait to welcome people back.
Fringe, Upper Brook Street, Rugeley, www.fringe-hairsalon.co.uk
