After five months of lockdown, beauty salons can now offer additional, close-contact services commencing Saturday 15th August.
Just days before this change was due to take place, Boris Johnson announced that the public can now receive a wider array of treatments from their local beauty salons, including spas, hair salons and tattoo studios. This long-awaited relaxation of restrictions was supposed to occur two weeks ago, but was hindered due to a lack of change in the risk of infection (R number).
Before, salons could only offer services that could be performed from a distance, such as nail treatments and hair cuts. However, from Saturday, they have been permitted to offer close-contact services, including eyelash treatments, facials and make-up application. In order to reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus, employees in these salons will be urged to wear appropriate PPE, as well as to maintain cleanliness within their stores.
This comes weeks after salons were initially reopened after the relaxing of lockdown. By increasing the list of services available, the beauty industry hopes to recoup business and income it has lost since the beginning of lockdown in March. This has been urged by skincare influencer, Caroline Hirons. In a letter to Parliament, Hirons notes how it is ‘well overdue that the beauty industry should be allowed to return to work in full.’ Also, she highlights how 1 in 60 jobs are within beauty, with the industry contributing immensely to the economy.
Beauty services that will be allowed to resume from 15th August include:
- Face waxing, sugaring or threading services
- Facial treatments
- Advanced facial technical (electrical or mechanical)
- Eyelash treatments
- Make-up application
- Derma-rolling
- Derma-planing
- Microblading
- Electrolysis on the face
- Eyebrow treatments
Areas that have been put into local lockdown will not be able to reopen their salons.
