These fascinating photographs give an insight into hair appointments of the future – featuring gloves and masks for all staff, protective screens at the reception desk and floor markings to ensure social distancing.
One of Britain’s first hairdressers ready for reopening is the Gatsby & Miller in Amersham, Buckinghamshire – one of the 25,000 UK salon partners of beauty giant L’Oreal which is creating a blueprint for the sector.
This includes a digital screen in the window to display important reminders about social distancing, and clients being welcomed by one mask-wearing stylist who will stay with them for their visit via a one-way system.
All staff will be wearing gloves and masks which will be changed throughout the day, while customers will be also asked to wear a mask during the appointment and hand sanitiser dispensers will be provided for their use.
Photographs taken by MailOnline inside the salon today show a demonstration of the new salon, with Dawn Montgomery acting as a client and senior colourist Lauren Roads being the hair stylist.
Dawn Montgomery acts as a client and senior colourist Laren Roads acts as a hair stylist in Amersham, Buckinghamshire
One of Britain’s first hairdressers ready for reopening is the Gatsby & Miller in Amersham, which will feature Perspex screens
All staff at the salon will have to wear a face mask and gloves, while customers will be asked to wear a mask during their visit
Floor markings will keep customers socially distanced during their appointment at the hair salon in Amersham
Dawn Montgomery acts as a client to show how customers will pay for their appointments – with no cash accepted
Lauren Roads prepares for work as she puts on a pair of gloves to help reduce the risk of spreading the virus at the salon
The Government has not yet issued clear guidelines or rules on how and when salons can reopen as coronavirus lockdown rules are eased, so these pictures provide the clearest indication yet of what they may look like.
Beatrice Dautzenberg, managing director of the L’Oréal professional products division, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘We know that many salons have been getting ready for a safe reopening, like our salon partner Gatsby & Miller.
‘How this salon has modified their space is based on the learnings from other markets where salons have already safely reopened and these modifications can easily be updated with any UK government guidelines.’
It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock today refused to commit to allowing hair salons to open on June 15 amid growing calls from hairdressers that they are ready to pick up the scissors.
Mr Hancock said he would ‘love’ to be able to reopen hairdressers at the earliest opportunity, but admitted that the close proximity the profession requires is ‘a challenge’ for social distancing rules.
Lauren Roads puts on a disposale apron in front of a mirror at the salon in Amersham which is getting ready for business
All staff at the salon will have to wear gloves and a mask during the day, with these being changed for new ones at intervals
The site in Amersham is one of 25,000 UK salon partners of beauty giant L’Oreal which is creating a blueprint for the sector
Customers will be also asked to wear a mask during the appointment and hand sanitiser dispensers will be provided for them
The Government has not yet issued clear guidelines or rules on how salons can reopen as lockdown rules are eased
Clients will be welcomed by one mask-wearing stylist who will stay with them for their visit via a one-way system
He also praised his wife for doing ‘a fantastic job’ in cutting his hair during the lockdown after salons were forced to close on March 24 when the UK went into lockdown.
Mr Hancock said the challenge of having to be in close contact with people in order to cut their hair is ‘not an insurmountable challenge’ if protective equipment were to be put in place.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning about the possibility of opening salons in the near future, he said: ‘I would love to be able to do that and the way to do that is to ensure that, when it is safe to do so, hairdressing is brought back in a way that itself is safe. So, protective equipment.
‘We are working on what it would look like to have the protective equipment, exactly as you say, in place. Hairdressing, like so many industries, we’re doing everything we can to support them through what is inevitably an incredibly difficult time.’
Pushed on whether June 15 could be feasible as an opening date, he added: ‘I can’t commit to doing it on that timetable but I can commit to working with the hairdressing industry, I already am, and talking to some of their representatives who are making this case and seeing how we could go about it.
The fascinating photographs taken at the salon in Amersham today give an insight into hair appointments of the future
Customers will stay socially distanced with floor markings helping to achieve this, while all staff will wear a mask and gloves
Lauren Roads prepares for work by putting on a mask at the salon in Buckinghamshire today which is testing new procedures
Hand sanitiser dispensers will be provided for customers to use, with a notice saying: ‘Stop – wash your hands – thank you’
Clients in the building will be asked to ‘please clean your hands with sanitiser when entering and leaving the salon’
Another sign at the products aisle asks customers to ask a stylist to assist them – and to not touch anything themselves
‘I’m sure everybody understands that it has got to be done in a way that is safe to do.’
When complimented on his own lockdown hairstyle, Mr Hancock replied: ‘My wife cut it and I think she did a fantastic job.’
The Government has set out a road map to reopen the economy after the UK coronavirus lockdown.
But whilst non-essential retailers in England will open from June 15, hairdressers and beauty salons in England are not expected to reopen until July 4 at the earliest as there is thought to be a higher level of risk involved.
The Government has not yet published guidelines for how the industry will operate after the lockdown. However, social distancing measures are expected to be put in place.
Meanwhile, research conducted by MoneySuperMarket suggested that those who have cut their own hair during the lockdown have saved £35 on average.